LAST FRIDAY, when I arrived home, my mother was holding her cell. Without hesitation, she asked if I had seen Sherriann Norris’ video. I hadn’t seen it and since we are not Facebook friends I would not have. My mother handed me her cell and I watched the video with my grandmother – a former primary school principal.
Two days later, one of my best friends asked me if I had seen the video and what were my thoughts. Over the course of one week, the video gained so much virality, that everybody was uploading a status about it. THE NATION even wrote an article about the issues surrounding the video.
My family watched the video and, truth be told, there are many parents like those Norris outlined. Are all parents like that? No. However, there are many parents who expect that the teacher must be a miracle worker and in many cases take up the slack for them. Also, there are many children who have no behaviour (go to any ice cream parlour on a Sunday). Some even show their parents an angel and their teachers, a devil. That is a reality.
On the other hand, teachers, while not miracle workers, have a responsibility to the children they teach and should play a vital role in children’s lives. I have had experiences with teachers who treated their job like a pay cheque and possibly did not even like children. Generalisations are tricky things because while in every situation, there are bad apples, Peter pays for Paul and the good apples get overlooked in many instances.
The outcry against the video (from what I saw) was not for the message but the manner in which it was done. Needless to say, had cursing been a talent, Norris would be smiling broadly next to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart at the NIFCA Gala Awards. The curse words rolled off her tongue like the letter ‘r’ in a Spanish conversation. Perhaps, the video would never have gone viral if it wasn’t controversial.
The sad reasoning came from those persons who said the curse words were needed to reach a certain demographic. I beg to differ. People understand the pastor when they go to church. They also understand the teachers in school. None of them curse and their points are brought across. One does not need to curse to put forward a point.
Am I against Norris cursing? No. Norris’ cursing has no effect on me. Would I have done a video like that? No.
Norris has been doing videos like this for ages. It is her style. It is the reason, the secretaries in my office suggested her for an appearance on my TV show (no cursing) which I entirely welcomed. If anyone who knew Norris implied that this video surprised them, they are being strangers to the truth. Her style is brash but honest; great points but more cursing than the money soon to be printed in Barbados.
I would not have done a video like that because that is not my brand and I am neither in the habit nor interested in doing profanity-laced videos for broadcast. It is not for me but we are two different people. If I swear, I do it with those closest to me and it is not something of which I am proud.
What I do know is two things: (1) Bajans can be hypocritical (2) for every action, there is a reaction.
“Common”, “tacky”, “classless”,”crude” have all been used to describe the video. I take no issue with people’s descriptions. I, however, was amused at how many people behaved as though they have never heard a curse word in their life. I had to look around and ask if Mother Theresa rose from the dead and then cloned herself. It was not a video for children so the comments about the fact that it was not child-friendly are moot. The reason Norris is no longer a teacher is also most. The point is that, she is no longer a teacher so the “woulda, shoulda, coulda’ claims and exclamations about her being a role model are pointless. We have to stop forcing people to be role models. Parents, be your children’s role models! She knew who she was targeting in the video and I don’t believe it was children.
That said, as outlined previously, every action has a reaction. When Norris sat on her toilet and called every curse word in the history of Bajan vernacular whilst making the video, she made a choice. Her demeanour tells me that in making that choice, the repercussions of not having her contract with the television show renewed or being a topic of national discussion have not bothered her much. Anyone who saw her responses to Admiral Nelson’s Facebook post would know this. Might I also suggest, that had she been given the opportunity again, she would have done the same thing. Happy Sunday!
Toni Thorne is a young entrepreneur and World Economic Forum Global Shaper who loves global youth culture, a great debate and living in paradise. Email: [email protected]
