Dear Editor,

According to the 2018 Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey more men than women across the island are using chemicals to lighten their skin. This phenomenon, known as bleaching, adequately highlights the problem of low self-worth.

If black men and women believe that they are people of value, then they will not seek to alter their blackness to appease romantic partners. Furthermore, the truthfulness of the argument that possessing a lighter tone is an asset for job seekers does not excuse bleaching. Since Jamaica is a predominantly black country, the black majority can exercise its power by refusing to do business with such establishments.

The crux of the problem is that too many black Jamaicans have no confidence in their abilities. As a result, they thrive on external validation. Low self-worth also results in problems more pervasive than bleaching, for example mendicancy. Like ‘bleachers’, beggars are also ubiquitous and not afraid to solicit handouts with impunity. Yet the irony is that, locally, beggars are not ashamed of begging, with some believing that they are entitled to the resources of others.

It is not evident to such beggars that they may become wealthy and drive a luxury vehicle like their patrons. Low self-worth is clearly diminishing the intellectual and productive capacities of Jamaica’s black majority. There is nothing other than a lack of confidence that is stopping black Jamaicans from achieving. We frequently hear that foreigners are taking over Jamaica, but never ask what is preventing ordinary Jamaicans from starting businesses like their foreign counterparts? The answer is that too many locals lack will and initiative. Chinese immigrants, for example, usually migrate to Jamaica as poor individuals, hence their reason for going into businesses that require little start-up capital. These immigrants tend not to remain indigent and often purchase homes in the country’s most upscale communities. Unlike the black majority, migrants do not see Government as their saviour. Such people are wise enough to acknowledge that only the individual can change his fortunes.

So the inability to exude confidence is a contributory factor to the pauperisation of the black masses. But, instead of believing in themselves and demanding better governance from their political leaders, the masses argue that they are being held down by “the system”.

The sloth of the black masses is most evident in downtown Kingston. Jamaica is a predominantly black country, but ethnic minorities legally operate most of the stores situated downtown. On the other hand, blacks are usually vending illegally in front of some of these establishments. The law does not prevent black vendors from pooling their funds to rent or buy property to house a store. Chinese and Indians can exist peacefully as business partners without infighting and blacks have the capacity to do the same. Today, the Norman Manley International Airport is being operated by a Mexican company to the chagrin of many. However, the reality is that by not stepping up to the plate black Jamaicans have no one to blame for the continued sale of the country’s assets to foreigners, but themselves.

Lipton Matthews

lo_matthews@yahoo.com