WHILE GROWING UP, Bajans were often advised by grandparents “it’s better to be born lucky than rich”. But how about those who are both rich and lucky?
Dr Sean Jackson, a musicologist, is one such Bajan. He is rich, not in monetary terms but in talent at the organ and piano and he has academic degrees from two highly respected institutions, the Royal College of Music in London and New York’s Juilliard School, to prove it.
He is also lucky.
Fortunately for him and the rest of us, Dr Jackson wasn’t sent to prison for committing a felony when he risked “injury” to and could have impaired “the morals of a child”. He was also lucky to have a wife who stands by him as he gets professional psychological help. There’s more. He lost his well-paying job as an organist at a Congregational church in Greenwich, an affluent town in Connecticut; must serve three years of probation; and must find employment in New York City.
The serious offence he committed was asking a young girl during a private musical tutorial in Connecticut to remove her “undergarments”, not her panties.
“It was a terrible lapse in judgement, no questions asked,” he told the Nation. “There was no touching, looking or no sexual molestation or abuse.”
Why did he do it? As he explained it, the goal of the exercise was to create an atmosphere in which the child would feel comfortable enough to continue with a public performance in the face of stiff distractions. Still, he acknowledged: “It should never have gone that far and I regret it and will do so for the rest of my life.”
While Dr Jackson is rebuilding life and career, he will need all the help he can get. We should help provide much of it. From him we have gotten contrition, a sincere apology and recognition that he had crossed the line of what is acceptable behaviour. That’s a first step but he must prove his sincerity over the long haul.
Dr Martin Luther King Jr, a great 20th century’s trombone for compassion said decades ago that “forgiveness is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning”.
Mark Twain, a great American writer, was equally eloquent: “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”
Of course, none of this means we are to ignore missteps. But what it demands is that we remove any barriers to a productive relationship with those who sincerely express regret and accept punishment with grace.
Barbados in its 50th year of sovereignty should see itself as a place of second chances and not simply for Dr Jackson. Hundreds of inmates are released annually from Dodds after paying their debt to society for doing some very bad things. Many deserve a second chance until they have proven otherwise.
Understandably, we can say we “forgive but not forget”. That’s stating the obvious. No one expects staffers at Codrington College to forget the stealing of their ducks but they can certainly forgive them. Taking the birds doesn’t render the crooks incapable of behaving well in the future.
So be it with Dr Jackson. He has much to contribute to society and his inappropriate conduct shouldn’t prevent him from making that contribution in the years ahead, a point made by Canon Llewellyn Armstrong, a Bajan priest in Brooklyn, who invited Dr Jackson to be an organist for his Anglican congregation in the city.
We shouldn’t allow a lapse in judgement that didn’t rise to the level of child abuse to prevent us from enjoying Dr Jackson’s talents.
Forgiveness isn’t a sign of weakness but of strength.
