THE 16th century British acted legally and biblically (Ephesians 6 v 5) but cruelly in slavery; just as we oppress gays with law and the Bible today. I love Danny Glover. He speaks with power on American racism, but he may sit at my feet on Jamaican racism to minorities and how black power oppresses black poor. Why did his foreign pals not go to Barbados or America to wind them up and get reparation from Obama? Duppy know who to frighten.

Sir, slavery was no Holocaust. This Jewish death machine was one man’s criminal dementia escalated to engulf a nation in mass murder for three years. African slavery was subjugation, both family and commercial for millennia. They exported to Arabia by 600 CE, and from the 16th century all nations went to Africa to buy cheap labour, aka slaves. Why Africa? White, brown, red, yellow people did not sell their own; but selling people was legal in Africa and though not illegal they still do it — demons! Danny and his friends have their work cut out for them. Selah!

Marcus Garvey exhorts us to “emancipate ourselves from mental slavery”. There was no mental slavery (MS) in 1838 as our ancestors celebrated with dance, drink, worship; took to the hills, planted, built houses, raised families — a free peasantry. They transitioned from slave to landed, yet were uninfected by mental slavery.

MS is a modern virus incubated by the venal, validated by politics and, in the early 20th century, Garvey diagnosed it as fatal. Today it is endemic. The afflicted do nothing, want everything; symptoms are entitlement, envy, and a passion to auction our ancestors again.

Emancipation was a gift of the British Parliament pressured by hundreds of thousands of petitions. MPs had to “pass the Act or lose your seat!” Slave owners, black people did nothing and benefited. The English voter never saw slaves but fought for them and paid the ransom money to planters. We did a bit for apartheid, so we know.

What is mental slavery? Self-hate, laziness, entitlement? Failure to perform and produce? Garvey formed uniformed groups and embraced drill and order for a reason — our indiscipline! Our culture is a paean of negative aphorisms at best risqué, at worst criminal, and Anancy the trickster is hero for many.

Is mental slavery what prevents us from being our better selves and prospering our nation? He knew the English freed our bodies but only we can free our minds — social engineering, an about- face, a 180º-turn! At Independence we joined groups (Federation, Carifta, Caricom, now CSME). We did not prosper. The masses work, but our minorities take risks, start firms, create jobs, and grow. Garvey wanted negroes to start firms, own ships, invent, invest, innovate, but the virus of MS is motile; so we don’t, and blame everybody but ourselves. Is it congenital, contagious? Garvey said eradicating mental slavery was Job 1. It still is. Danny and friends can’t help us with this. Listen up!

Mental slavery must be defeated here, not in London, just as Garvey said, “None but ourselves can free our minds!” No ancestor, no mother, politician, reparation, or ganja can help us beat MS. We must eschew things which enslave us — negative attitudes to work, success, bright people, to women; envy which lead many to steal, rob, rape, murder; ganja which affects mental and physical acuity and stanches “desire” — so important to winning in business, sport and life.

Blimey! Don’t you see our politicians are quarrelling over freeness; headline “a weh dis Dave gi wi?” All mental slaves. A plague on both your houses!

We need revolution (180 degrees). Let’s think the unthinkable. First we need 20 per cent new migrants here in Tainoland. We need the best people from Asia, Europe; just as the USA and Canada. Let’s offer asylum to Syrians — they did well here as workers and wealth creators — Chinese for work ethic; Korean innovation, so emancipate your mind and issue investor and work permits. In London the Gujarati community is small, but produces seven per cent of GDP.

Second, we need good values — a culture of hard work, enterprise, respect, and we need leaders who are not afraid to use law to effect behaviour change. We need a leader. Is it Holness? Montague? Portia? Peter? A man outside the political beltway as Earl Jarrett? Selah!

If we judge a nation by prisons, then Cameron is a saint and Simpson Miller brutal. Holness disappoints. He starts a fight in an empty room. He should lead due diligence, but he starts war between school and prison — both wards of the State. An Opposition leader is paid to defend, not abuse the weak. Sir, prisoners are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters; in for debt, traffic, taxes — some innocent. To be as detritus, being a former prime minister, is unacceptable. Compassion? Sir, a school cannot fulfil the functions of a prison and vice versa; we need both. Repent!

Prisoner transfer between nations is normal, and Cabinet must be blamed for poor handling of this issue. Many Jamaican inmates want to come home, but to our shame they cannot, as prisons are s********s. Cameron is a politician, like Portia, and each has an agenda — surprise! Let’s negotiate a good deal. I spent years in prisons by Her Majesty’s fiat to assure justice for all. The care, food is good; computers, TV, sports, skills training even a DJ school — we want this.

Many ethnicities live in a town like Brixton — 300 languages spoken and the prison is like a UN. Julian Assange (WikiLeaks) was a prisoner on my watch — “There go I but for the grace of God!” Our prisons — Fort Augusta, Tower Street, St Catherine — were gifts from the British. State-of-the-art when built, and we turned them into pig pens. What’s the fuss about a new one? The UK inmates are Jamaicans to be deported at end of sentence. They now drip-feed them in one-one at random times into the airport with the clothes on their backs — cruel! In the new scheme we get them before their tariff ends, orient them; some have five months or five years left. Which is better? My one principle — UK inmates must cost us nothing up to time of release or death in custody, however long it takes. Do due diligence; build a prison with space for ours plus theirs; set charges for keep and care (including training, recreation); special needs, medics and meds for their sentence and prep them for burial or release.

We often cut off nose to spite face, but politicians do not go to prison. We need the prison, so a mother, wife or child of a prisoner may call Peter Bunting blessed. Stay conscious!

Dr Franklin Johnston is a strategist, project manager and advisor to the minister of education. Send comments to the Observer or franklin johnstontoo@gmail.com.