That outrageous cartoon : Prime Minister of Jamaica, Portia Simpson-Miller.
I have a copy of the much talked about cartoon that was subsequently even removed from the Jamaica Gleaner Company's website. Actually I am prepared to buy a copy of it.
In my personal capacity, my first impressions was that the Gleaner might have gone too far but on second reflection, I think not. It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case I will try to present a few words on a few events that inspired the cartoon and what it is saying.
The first event is a speech the Prime Minister made while she was Minister of Tourism in reply to accusations made by Mr. Audley Shaw. In that speech she made the a comment something to the effect 'mine you draw my tongue'.
The other incident it captures is the idea of the Prime Minister having to walk(not sure if it was barefoot) to the Half Moon hotel after being caught up in the height of the Jazz Festival induced traffic nightmare on the Rose Hall Main Road in Montego Bay Jamaica.
The other thing captured are statements made by the Prime Minister in response to the Gleaner article about the her $10 million dollar trips after 7 months in office. She responded to that story by saying that she always travels in style and that her husband had given her credit cards to spend as she likes.
The point here is that the Prime Minister of country is responding to every little criticisms like a little misbehaving girl in a tracing match. If we are truthful, is a common site on many corners of the Jamaica, women snarling at each other, skirt raised, breast popping out of their confines and shoes tossed off.
It is time the Prime Minister shed that image and pick which battles she fights, leave the others and focus on the important issues she has to tackle. It is time she starts behaving in away befitting the office of the Prime Minister.
The interesting thing is that when Seaga was in active politics,he was betrayed in every way by the cartoonist. After all he was displayed as a criminal don, pony big ear rings and all. P.J. Patterson was displayed a country boy/man with sandals and staff and it all manner of ways. In both cases there was never such an outcry.
The joke about it is come April of this year many of the critics will jumping carnival just as bare, if not more, with no problem.
n.b. The image will return once I have gotten rights to publish it here.
In my personal capacity, my first impressions was that the Gleaner might have gone too far but on second reflection, I think not. It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case I will try to present a few words on a few events that inspired the cartoon and what it is saying.
The first event is a speech the Prime Minister made while she was Minister of Tourism in reply to accusations made by Mr. Audley Shaw. In that speech she made the a comment something to the effect 'mine you draw my tongue'.
The other incident it captures is the idea of the Prime Minister having to walk(not sure if it was barefoot) to the Half Moon hotel after being caught up in the height of the Jazz Festival induced traffic nightmare on the Rose Hall Main Road in Montego Bay Jamaica.
The other thing captured are statements made by the Prime Minister in response to the Gleaner article about the her $10 million dollar trips after 7 months in office. She responded to that story by saying that she always travels in style and that her husband had given her credit cards to spend as she likes.
The point here is that the Prime Minister of country is responding to every little criticisms like a little misbehaving girl in a tracing match. If we are truthful, is a common site on many corners of the Jamaica, women snarling at each other, skirt raised, breast popping out of their confines and shoes tossed off.
It is time the Prime Minister shed that image and pick which battles she fights, leave the others and focus on the important issues she has to tackle. It is time she starts behaving in away befitting the office of the Prime Minister.
The interesting thing is that when Seaga was in active politics,he was betrayed in every way by the cartoonist. After all he was displayed as a criminal don, pony big ear rings and all. P.J. Patterson was displayed a country boy/man with sandals and staff and it all manner of ways. In both cases there was never such an outcry.
The joke about it is come April of this year many of the critics will jumping carnival just as bare, if not more, with no problem.
n.b. The image will return once I have gotten rights to publish it here.
Comments
"If we are truthful, is a common site in my corners of the Jamaica, women snarling at each other, skirt raised, breast popping out of their confines and shoes tossed off."
That statement is way too generalised and would only be relevant if the PM came from "your corners".
The behaviour I speak of happens at markets, when some women are fighting over men and other cases.
The PM needs to know when to keep quiet and stop responding to every little criticism thrown her way
That will be all the commendation coming from my direction.
The cartoon still resides on your servers...
[http://www.go-jamaica.com/cartoon/images/20070201b.jpg], not sure if that was intentional.
Secondly, the same tracing and market woman mentality you have attributed to the actions of Portia on occasion, can be also said of the press, and in particular The Gleaner Company, in the same breath. Whatever happened to prudent journalism? Wanna know? Nothing, it never existed. At least not within the confines of the 7 North Street building. Observer not much better either, so it's not an attack on the Gleaner.
This is just a reflection of the sad state of our mass media, IMHO. Whatever standards may have existed have long since been degraded to mere entertainment value. It's nothing new, so I don't get the hoopla, and the Gleaner's actions in removing (or at least trying to remove) the captioned cartoon is only an indication of it's spineless character and "market woman" status.
Although, granted, it was funny.
And Observer would have probably done the same LOL.
I wonder if it appeared in the Star, if the same uproar would have followed?
But in your statement:
"The interesting thing is that when Seaga was in active politics,he was betrayed in every way by the cartoonist. After all he was displayed as a criminal don, pony big ear rings and all. P.J. Patterson was displayed a country boy/man with sandals and staff and it all manner of ways. In both cases there was never such an outcry."
you'll have to admit that in no way were these representations as derogatory.
Your comments and views more than welcome. Post all you want.
What is your definition of prudent Journalism?