GRAFFITI AIN’T NUTTEN new to Bim. Tour many secondary schools in Buhbadus and you wuh see dat scrawlin up walls is part uh we culture. And de messages on de walls certainly doan be ’bout promoting love and peace.
More likely Gaza vs Gully. But even de schoolchildren know dat yuh doan leh nuhbody know dat it is you dat scrawl-up de wall. Once the writing is on the wall in permanent marker, you will have hell to get it off and hell finding out who did it.
As entitled and self-absorbed as some commentators accuse Bajans of being, it ain’t dat bad. At least, dat was one time. Nowadays it might be li’l different. People rob banks in the day and de same night dey pun Facebook posting pictures of themselves in a bathtub full of cash. Attention is a serious drug.
An attention addict is like a crack addict. She is liable to do all kinda foolishness to get a fix. Come to think of it, I have seen many scrawls on public school walls declaring that: “So-and-So wuz hare.” So-and-So wuz not too concerned about spelling or getting caught. He was concerned with making his mark and getting his attention.
So grafitti would hardly make news in Barbados, except when the artist is exceptionally boldfaced wid it.
If you just want to send a message with your graffiti, you make your mark and disappear into the night. Like the world’s most famous graffiti artist, Banksy. After nearly 20 years of scrawling up high-profile walls, Banksy’s identity is unknown.
Up to now we don’t know who painted the lion at Gun Hill red, gold and green. The messengers did not feel inclined, entitled or privileged enough to make themselves known. They were content with sending the message. Revealing their identity may have entitled them to an all expenses paid trip to court. That would have been igrunt.
In the age of social media though, openness is prized. On the internet, the currency is attention and you get paid by letting it all hang out. The reward of notoriety increasingly trends in favour of those willing to risk exposing themselves, do igrunce and be boldfaced wid it.
Terrorists also thrive on the attention. Terrorists do igrunce and run to claim responsibility and let everybody know that it is them. There is more than one type of terrorist. Dey ain’t only ISIL and the KKK. A terrorist could be a school-yard bully or a politician. There is the terrorist whose intention is to wreak havoc and then there is another type who believes that they are benevolent benefactors.
This second type is usually from a privileged class or group, empowered by money or status and carrying a sense of entitlement to act with little or no consultation. Perched on a self-engrossing pedestal they have a poor view of what is going on below and feel too entitled to know that they do not know and should therefore consult. They often end up doing igrunce with a bold face and maybe the best of intentions. Their deep seated goal is to leave their mark and gain attention.
Privilege can allow them to get away with a lot. Or it can backfire and make them a target if they can’t manage perceptions and come across as too boldfaced and entitled. We are a very tolerant society. We wuh accept just about anything as long as it is discreetly managed. It is when people start to talk and remark: “And he boldface wid it too,” that you know we have a problem.
Bajans of a certain age wuh tell yuh it is a serious sin to be ignorant. But to be igrunt and boldfaced wid it takes it to another level. We prefer people hide and do foolishness. At school I heard: “A breach of common sense is a breach of school rules.” You would get in trouble for doing the wrong thing as well as for being ignorant enough to not know that it was the wrong thing. That was almost just as bad as purposefully doing the wrong thing.
The people who do well are often the people who have the sense to know what the right thing is and the discipline to hide and do wrong. For many people discipline is the ability to present the appearance of benevolence and doing the right thing while doing whatever it is they feel like. Terrorists, I say.
Our history shows the damage that can be done by all kinds of terrorists who are tellers of boldfaced alternative truths, who will boldly go where others have gone before as though dem get dey first and will scrawl-up the place as they like without due care, attention and consultation.
Adrian Green is a creative communications specialist. Email Adriangreen14@gmail.com.