by Colin Hyde

Tuesday morning on the WuB, Brother Nuri explained the government’s new law that expunges the records of people who served time for minor crimes. Brother Nuri said the new law means that such persons can get clean police records when they apply for one. This will be a great help for people who are job hunting or planning to travel. Brother Nuri stopped short of explaining that a clean record on paper doesn’t mean a clean record on people’s minds. Glory is never forgotten; failure neither.

Brother Marco Lopez, in the Amandala, noted that weed smokers are yet to receive the long-prayed-for reprieve. There can be only one explanation for that. A certain group of people are in for more than having their records expunged; they will be receiving reparations. My, putting a man in jail for smoking weed, how trivial and personal that is. Weed smokers are harmless people. You ever heard of anyone smoking “fighting” weed? I say, if those reefer seekers don’t get head tek and think they are equal, the alcohol drinkers association — rum, beer, wine, whiskey, cheecha, and spuddy—will endorse their good luck and will be there en masse when Minister Kareem hands out the monetary awards.

Father Kai

I must acknowledge the passing of Father Kai (Callistus Cayetano) and offer my condolences to Brother Sebastian. In every picture I’ve seen of Father Kai since his passing, he is smiling, bubbling from deep within his soul, just like he was when officiating mass. Some people can’t hold down the love they have within. The memory of Father Kai evokes the song, “And they’ll know we are Christians”. Bye, Father Kai.

Facing, embracing change

I didn’t expect I’d have to do much searching for the line, exchange, I wanted from the movie Shane, but none of the sites with the famous quotes from the movie gave me what I was looking for. I pretty much knew the line, the exchange, because I’ve watched Shane as many times as I’ve watched Shawshank Redemption and Mary Poppins, and wish I’d watched, got the chance to watch The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. I wanted the precise quote, so I didn’t have to say, lean on, mas o menos.

I found the quote at script-o-rama.com. You can find the entire dialogue there, from beginning to end. Now, the last time Shane was on, my eyes were tired, Olympics and all that, and I decided to save my eyes for the moment when he completed his mission. So, from the time when he set out to the time he arrived for the showdown, my eyes were closed. But my ears weren’t. All sound, the dramatic musical score touched me in ways it never had before.

With the haunting music having ended, I open my eyes as Shane enters the bar for the final gunfight. Ryker, the unrelenting capitalist rancher, makes a final bid to get Shane to step away from his defense of his friend Starrett and his group of farmers who are planting things on vast ranch land to feed their families. Shane has no financial stake in the fight, but he has made the cause his because he has a good core, believes in justice.

Ryker says, “I’m not dealing with you. Where’s Starrett?” And Shane says, “You’re dealing with me, Ryker.” “I got no quarrel with you, Shane,” Ryker says, “you can walk out now and no hard feelings.” Shane says: “What’s your offer, Ryker?” And Ryker says, “To you, not a thing.” Shane says, “That’s too bad. You’ve lived too long. Your kind of days are over.” Ryker looks at Shane and says, “My days? And yours, gunfighter?” And Shane says, “The difference is, I know it.” (my emphasis)

From time to time, the status quo will be challenged, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. When the church and the casino were fighting over big time gambling, Wilfred Elrington told us that the one who was stronger would win. What jumps out at us there is that right and wrong wasn’t an issue; it was strictly a matter of power. I’m not about bashing the messenger who brought us such a harsh truth.

There are powerful entities in Belize—the political parties, the churches, the unions, the lawyers, the LGBT, and others—groups with agendas to bend our country to their respective wills. These big, powerful organizations tugging at Belize—is the good of our nation at the fore of the minds of the leaders when they go into battle? When they act to change things, when they act to preserve the status quo, who cares about the rest of us?

Mr. Elrington explained how the world works. How does little Belize prosper in this world where right and wrong don’t matter, where power trumps conscience? Starrett and his group were right. Ryker couldn’t, shouldn’t have owned ALL the good land. If Shane did not step in against Ryker’s gunfighter, wrong would win. And wrong shouldn’t ever win.

It’s important for us to “know the difference”. We can’t expect people to throw away their agendas, but we must demand that people recognize when change is better for the country. In little Belize, there can be no bulls on the loose in the China shop. We must dialogue sincerely, be open to see the interests of others, always put our beloved Belize first.

Pehreh all alone with love for Kartel

Pehreh deserves praise for cherishing buddyhood with Vybz Kartel, but nobody deh wid ahn with this generosity of love where he wishes that the brother was here. I know the heart of Pehreh because of an interview he did with Channel 7, and I know the minds of Belizeans because of 7’s interviews on the streets. No one wants Kartel to come here, and a number said he should still be in jail. Yes, the people said if Pehreh wants camaraderie, he needs to go to JA, noh bring hihn ya.

I’ve listened to very little of Kartel’s music because, well, let me just say his talk is for after midnight. Judging from the little I’ve heard, when it comes to stringing words together he might be the best; but whoa, the content. My, the man’s so good with lyrics he didn’t need to go low. I’ve told you that poor cooks have to put pepper on the table, and gutter is the domain of people who are boring. He didn’t have to go there.

Somebody else against women runners racing in panty

I have never looked under the dress of a girl or a woman on a step or floor above me, so they never had to worry when I was around. I noh even luk pahn panty when ih deh pahn line. Da soh di women in my family raised me. Now, I want to watch races at the Olympics. I feel so awkward watching these racers in panties, like I’m looking under their dress. Well, thank you, thank you, Jacqui Palumbo of CNN for your story about women and their “running brief.”

Speaking on the “dress” on display, Jacqui said the “women’s leotard seemed to rise to dangerous heights, with a narrow crotch and the mannequin’s plastic pubic bones visible.” Jacqui said Lauren Fleshman, a former US track and field athlete, said on Instagram that “professional athletes should be able to compete without dedicating brain space to constant pube vigilance or the mental gymnastics of having every vulnerable piece of your body on display.” And, “other athletes chimed in, from American long-jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall, who said her ‘hoo ha was going to be out’ at the Paris games …” I must thank the girls who wore nice shorts, even though it cost them microseconds in races where the panties featured. Girls in the sexy shorts, you looked so chic, while those others looked so, so ehm, slek.

I’m not with some things changing. When I was a boy, I had a job to walk around my mom ‘nuff times to check if her slip was showing when she was going out with my dad. Now dehn gyal di run rong eena panti. If you want to read the full, ehm, exposé it’s titled, “Dress Codes: How high is too high? The evolution of the women’s running brief”, and I got my feed from the Yahoo.