Dear Editor,

Funny business, this ‘sleeveless’ thing.

Way back in the 70s when, as a young Jamaican male returning as a visitor to Carifesta in Jamaica, I wanted to ride the train (or diesel) in my shorts. The conductor or train guard told me I could not wear my shorts on the train.

I asked why. He told me that because he was telling me that.

I asked where that rule was written forbidding me from wearing shorts. Again, he insisted, that it was his rule.

I said, “But, Sir, I had just recently arrived on a British Airways plane wearing these same shorts, and they didn’t find it a problem.”

Again, he insisted that I could not to wear shorts on the train, and that he was going to put me off the train at the next station.

So, as I could not change into pants on the train, nor did I want to be put off it, I said: “Okay, in future, I won’t wear shorts on your train.” He accepted my obeisance.

Just about a couple years ago, my sister from the UK went into a tax office there in St Ann to get some paperwork sorted out for an apartment she was buying in Ocho Rios. They refused to serve her because she was wearing a sleeveless blouse. She had to return to her friend’s house in St Mary to change into a dress.

What the hell is happening there in Jamaica? Is this a Sharia society? Does the Taliban or Saudi dress code apply there?

I mean, there are more than enough ‘naked’ people roaming the streets there, so why the prejudice towards a female wearing a sleeveless dress or blouse?

On one hand, it’s those lecherous males who are the problem. And, on the other hand, old-fashion Victorian morality still prevails in Jamaica.

Time for a change, and for common sense in this matter, please.

George Garwood

merleneg@yahoo.com