BIG NEWS! BIG NEWS! The economy has turned around? We don’t need the IMF after all? There will be jobs and we won’t be needing a Czar of Lay-offs any more? The long-held hope of Peace on Earth, goodwill to all, has finally come to be? Dream on.

The big news of the week, as some would have it, is the Jamaica House Summit of the two deejays and the three ministers, to settle the Gully-Gaza feud. We’ve not been told if an actual peace pact was signed, but word is, as one news report puts it, “The deejays have agreed to end their lyrical feud.” There is to be obliterating of graffiti from the walls, buses and other public spaces, T-shirts will proclaim “Peace”, a new song will be recorded, and there will be a Peace concert. The war is about to be over… just so.

From what I’ve heard, planning for the Jamaica House meeting has been in the works for some time. While there has been no official word, it is almost certain that the discovery of picture postcards of the two leaders of the Gaza-Gully faction in war poses with the latest in gun power and the enthusiastic response of school children woke the authorities up to a boundary having been crossed.

The meeting was held last Tuesday but as we know, the prime minister was unable to attend. In his stead, three ministers of his Cabinet were assigned – Dwight Nelson (National Security), Andrew Holness (Education) and Daryl Vaz (Information). There is no word if Culture, Youth and Sports had representation.

Bishop Herro Blair, head of the Peace Management Initiative, was among those attending. He told me that he was there in his personal, not PMI capacity, because he had been working with the deejays, prior to the meeting, to get them to deal with the situation.

The effect of the Gaza-Gully feud on young persons was a focus of concern. Bishop Blair said he was fully supportive of the recommendations in the Memorandum of Understanding which emerged from the meeting – especially the removal of the graffiti which he found particularly distressing. He has every confidence that the agreements will be respected.

In some people’s opinion, the PM’s involvement was seen as a waste of time. Others felt it would be legitimising the two deejays whose names have become synonymous with the crudeness and outbursts of violence which have reached a new level in the Gaza-Gully feud. It was argued that for the prime minister to give them his time was to elevate them to a level which they did not deserve. Others, of course, disagreed. The meeting was a positive move, they said, and the PM should be commended.

The counter views persisted. A meeting at the level of Jamaica House would be a stamp of approval. The deejays would only get “bigger and badder” and send up their fees which were big already. “Not a thing gwine come outta the meeting. Pure gimmicks.”

On the other side of the argument, there were those who felt that it was good that the nation’s leader would meet with the two young men who were leaders of the “dancehall nation”. “Dancehall is the people business”. Mr Golding put an end to the speculation when he did not participate in the consultation. Is there a winner in this situation? Bishop Blair seems to feel that we’ve all won because the deejays have agreed to the demands for clean-up for the benefit of one and all. Not everyone agrees.

SOME QUESTIONS I’VE HEARD:

(1) What guarantee does the nation have that the deejays will stand by the agreement?

(2) Will the clean-up include their act – so that there will be a softening of the kind of material which they perform and which has brought such offence?

(3) What if they do clean up and their audiences don’t want their new sanitised act? After all, people who follow them do so because of the edgy, rough and raw element in their presentations. There must be no censorship. Leave the people music alone.

4) If the public turns away from the new sanitised, clashless act, then who is going to make up the revenue which the performers will certainly lose?

5) After Gaza-Gully, then what and who? What will be the new excitement? Who will drive it? Will the fans of the two deejays feel that they’ve sold out?

THERE ARE ALL KINDS of issues to be faced. If a section of the society is unhappy with the kind of lyrics which the deejays present, will we hear the dreaded word “Censorship”? I doubt if anyone will. The best we can hope for is to sensitise those who hold the power and make the money in the entertainment industry. It will be interesting to see how many artistes would do an about-turn if it meant a cut in income.

There are those who feel, however, that a change can come, not by draconian measures but by gentle persuasion of both the performers and the audience to a new, more positive vision. While we consider that, Sting is on the horizon. This is one of the most highly anticipated events of the end-of-year entertainment, noted for the clash between certain artistes. Members of the public want to see it, pay to see it, wait for it.

After Tuesday’s meeting, with the authorities seeming to indicate that they’re not prepared to put up with violence, plus the stepped-up enforcement of the night noise law, will the sting of Sting be removed? Can’t say we don’t live in interesting times.

LETTER TO A GOLDEN BOY: You have brought us much joy this year by your astounding prowess on the track. You are our pride and joy – and we want it to remain so. In that spirit, we beg you, ease up on the clubbing. Let them stop using you as a prop in photo-ops for social wannabes seeking pictures for their FaceBook pages. When you’re not preparing for another victory on the track, my dear child, please, please, get an education, like so many of your trackmates are doing. Trust me, an education will give you solid ground to stand on, when the times change, as they do for everyone. Love and Respek.

gloudonb@yahoo.com