Now that I am the prospective candidate for the People’s National Party in the new constituency of Central St James, I have had to revisit as well as renew my personal wardrobe. All green items of clothing will have to be put away or dispensed with otherwise. Can you imagine my turning up to a PNP meeting in a green outfit? It would not only be deemed sacrilegious but politically suicidal!

Such is the nature of our political culture whereby orange (and I gather red as well) is the official colour of the PNP, while the Jamaica Labour Party’s colour is green all the way. So once one is known to be a supporter of either party, then one must ensure that one is appropriately dressed at all times. I well remember turning up to the launch of a JLP Manifesto some years ago at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel and I was chastised for entering the room in a red tie and black shirt, which are deemed to be PNP colours. Incidentally, black is my favourite colour.

In 1997 when I ran on a JLP ticket, I turned up in Sam Sharpe Square for a mass meeting in a brown shirt. And even as all 60 candidates were being presented, there was I the odd man out. I will never forget when Anthony Johnson who was ringing a humongous bell came up to me and bemoaned the fact that I was not properly bedecked in the party garb. He forthwith commandeered a green T-shirt which he pulled over my brown shirt, thus making me look a bona fide Labourite.

Well, I am now a full-fledged Comrade which means orange all the way. I must confess, though, that it going to take a while for me to fully appreciate this colour coding. As a team player I have no problem wearing an orange shirt, but it still bothers me that the colour of one’s shirt should be such a determining factor in one’s everyday life. Some years ago, a certain high school for girls in the Corporate Area had to change their uniform because of the colour which caused students to be threatened by partisan hoodlums. Yes, it does get that bad.

Interestingly, a good friend of mine who happens to be a Comrade and who has green as one of his favourite colours once remarked that the only time he would dare to wear a green shirt is at a costume party! And only recently I was upbraided, albeit in a jocular manner, for arriving at a PNP function in a brown shirt. I apologised profusely and promised to be more careful in my choice of shirt next time round.

Then again, the green and the orange can be so intimidating, depending where you are. If, for example, you are passing through an area that is known to be predominantly JLP, then appearing in an orange shirt could prove to be very detrimental to one’s health and vice versa. Of course, on the odd occasion we have seen both orange- and green-clad party supporters dancing and prancing together. And that’s the way it should be. After all, what’s in a colour?

Seriously though, some party supporters have an intense affectation for their respective party colours. I am told of a certain PNP diehard who says that he even has trouble obeying the traffic light when it turns green. And I have no doubt that certain JLP supporters may well have such bizarre reactions to this colour phobia. It is against this background that many well-thinking Jamaicans have been arguing that party symbols and other paraphernalia should be downplayed and some have even suggested that the colours should be permanently banned.

But given the current political culture, will the thousands of Jamaicans who are directly affiliated with either the JLP or the PNP adhere to such a principle? Colours are very emotive and help to identify the followers and their leaders. Colours play an integral role in Afrocentric cultures as can be seen in the dancehall world where “bling” reigns supreme. Jamaicans, on a whole, like to dress up and “show off their colours” so it is going to be very difficult to change such a mindset. On the other hand, a certain level of political maturity needs to emerge whereby a person’s colour preference should not jeopardise his existence in any way. In this vein, it means that political tribalism must be expunged from the Jamaican body politic, but is this possible?

It is my considered viewpoint that many Jamaicans have been moving away from the divisive approach to our politics. Many voters want issues to supersede personalities; they wish to see both Comrades and Labourites living, working and playing in harmony. Indeed, I have seen several situations in which a husband is a Comrade and his wife is a Labourite, also close friends who support different parties, yet there is no animosity. I have even come across a set of twin brothers – one Labourite, one Comrade – and it is no big thing.

In the final analysis, it is our political leaders at all levels of the society who must lead by example and not just by word of mouth. That paradigm shift that we all want to take place in the political arena must begin by the parties and their leadership turning their backs on petty partisan practices that can only tear down, not build Jamaica land we love. This rabid tribal war that continues unabated will see no winners at the end of the day, just losers. That is why I am so mad about seeing a Jamaica that is united and where we put the people and country first, not the party. Yes, colour me mad!

lloydbsmith@hotmail.com