‘Tek serious thing serious’
Dear Editor,
As Jamaicans, the notion of “tek serious thing mek joke” is one many of us identify with, so much so it has seemingly become one of the hallmarks of our culture — probably even ethnicity when we look through broader lenses. But at what point does our moments of levity cross the demarcations of disrespect, ignorance, and being blatantly dunce?
The global pandemic that the world is currently grappling with, and the precautionary measures being imposed to primarily, I surmise, flatten the curve and save lives have been and continue to be met with too much nonchalance by many Jamaicans — and other nationalities around the world as well in all fairness.
From people believing they are invincible, to blatantly lacking regard for law and order, countries continue to be forced to tend to punitive measures to safeguard their population owing to some levels of insubordination.
In some countries fines have been imposed with possible imprisonment. Jamaica has had to turn to these punitive measures as well, seeing some of our citizens cannot be disciplined unless being supervised.
It was surprising to see, however, the number of filmed instances of insubordination circulating on social media platforms on Wednesday evening following the commencement of the eight days curfew between 8:00 pm and 6:00 am in an effort to fight the contagion of the novel coronavirus locally.
Apart from seeking to attract social media attention and clout, I am unable to ascertain to what end citizens believe that their rebellion against the measures put in place for their own safety will benefit anyone.
I was pleased to see the swift action taken by the Jamaica Constabulary Force to apprehend the fabricator of one of the repulsive videos that has been doing the rounds on social media.
Ironically, it is usually the same individuals who rebel against the measures who complain when they are in turn affected by what the enforced measures were supposed to be curtailing; be it crime or in this instance the novel coronavirus.
The coronavirus toll is on the rise, and hopefully as a people we will become more committed to the cause, and similarly to how we ‘postponed’ April Fool’s Day to avoid mayhem, disinformation, and misinformation, that we put aside the notion and ‘tek’ serious things seriously!
Richard Palmer
richardpalmerjm@gmail.com
