Perhaps the outcry over what might now almost be described as the Bolt, Blake Affair has reassured me that a lot of Jamaicans have more pride in their national emblems than I was beginning to fear. Surprisingly perhaps, for a protocol consultant, I don’t really blame Messrs Blake and Bolt, but do I blame anyone else? Yes indeed!

Firstly, as I indicate in the penultimate paragraph of this article (partially deliberately repeated from my letter in last week’s Sunday Observer) today’s casual, common disrespect for national emblems just didn’t exist in even the last colonial days — when Jamaica had already been completely internally self-governing for years.

Why? Because officialdom still quietly ensured that ‘God Save The King/Queen’ and the Union Jack were treated with respect. Children knew and sang correctly the (British) national anthem from their early school days. However, just a few years ago I went to a formal state ceremony at King’s House and the printed words of our National Anthem on the JIS programme card contained errors (Verse 1: ‘Guide us…’, instead of the correct ‘Guard us…’ and ‘Be our guide…’ instead of ‘Be our light…’).

Whose Fault?

Usain Bolt is a happy, as well as superb athlete. His enthusiasm is infectious to others around the world, as well as to his fellow Jamaicans (just recall so many Chinese grandstand spectators at the recent World Championships). His ‘trademark’ lightning-bolt stance is great! My only caution to him is don’t overdo the other gestures; he could slightly risk ending up looking like a clown. However, where were Minister Grange’s own ministry personnel, and where, as she implies, were the various relevant athletic association people?

The answer

Years ago when the Reggae Boyz were first coming into their own, Captain Horace Burrell promptly asked me to give them all a collective briefing on the various aspects of image abroad.

Didn’t anyone think of this in relation to our athletes? Hey people, the Olympics are next year, don’t let’s slip up twice. Bring in the office of the Chief of State Protocol and carefully plan both a briefing and a reminder check sheet for all the athletes and managers. And these should, of course, give tips on off-the-cuff responses to media reporters, so as to avoid, as much as possible, remarks which might demean Jamaica or be offensive to other nations.

The three emblems

Especially shortly before the commemoration of the first half-century of our National Independence, I’m afraid I have to generally deplore the sheer lack of respect for our three national emblems.

The Flag

The National Flag is by no means always displayed properly, being exhibited incorrectly in several ways, flown after dark without being illuminated and even flown when tattered and in severe need of replacement. Desk-type flags are sometimes blatantly pushed aside because they ‘are in the way’ of something.

I once attended a concert by an American orchestra at the Little Theatre in Kingston, where US Embassy officials had correctly placed the Jamaican and US National Flags, with ours at stage right. To my absolute amazement an uncouth television crewman moved the Jamaican Flag behind the wings and out of sight, because it was in his way!

The hoist to fly ratio of nearly all our National Flags seen in Jamaica, including those on government buildings, is incorrect, being 3:5 instead of the designated 1:2 ratio. The ‘bends’ of the saltire cross are usually much narrower than designated (a refreshing exception is the flag displayed in the governor general’s study but regrettably seen by relatively few Jamaicans).

State Arms

Use of the State Arms (colloquially the Coat of Arms) is restricted to permission granted by the Office of the Prime Minister and by international norms is restricted to display only by government ministries and certain other government agencies. This was very carefully monitored when Mr Patterson was prime minister. Immediately he retired (and I don’t mean just when there was a change of government), this fell apart.

I have seen the Arms displayed on the calendars of commercial banks, on an arch in a private telecommunications company headquarters, and so on. A state arms is always the principal visual emblem of any nation, restricted in its display, but you’d never think so in Jamaica.

The Anthem

As for the Anthem, few civilians stand properly for it, with heels together; many don’t even stop moving if it is played in their presence. And do you know what? As I indicated earlier, none of this disrespect applied in the late colonial days to ‘God Save The King/Queen’ and the old Union Jack. Yet, among the worst offenders that I’ve seen are the trenchant so-called anti-imperialists. But cho man, is jus our ting, so it nuh matter too much!

Merrick Needham is a logistics & protocol consultant