Kristen Gyles | The old, young and confused Jamaican people

It is always very interesting hearing persons complain about how ‘old’ our politicians are. To hide the obvious age discrimination, they say something along the lines of “They are not forward-thinking” or “We need young, fresh minds in politics”.

Not long ago, a video snippet of Opposition senator Dr André Haughton speaking in Parliament was circulated. The video featured Dr Haughton reading from a piece of paper, which could have been some official document containing the 2020-2021 Supplementary Budget. He read a few words, and realising they weren’t quite the words he had been searching for, he scanned through the rest of the document, letting out a very casual “ray ray ray ray ray”, the Jamaican version of the more popular “blah blah blah blah blah”. It was actually a little funny. I laughed, at least. I must admit, it seemed out of character for a parliamentarian.

I never thought too much of it until I realised that a number of persons were seriously concerned and had some not-so-pleasant things to say, not only about his ‘broughtupsy’ but about his literacy or supposed lack thereof.

I wonder why it is that so many persons seem so desperate for a younger cadre of politicians. What is it that people are really looking for in the young politicians they say they want to serve them? Youngsters are in fact very different from their seniors. And no, I’m not referring to the millennial entitlement or laziness they are often accused of. The differences go way further, and what is unclear is whether the people’s admiration of youth and youthfulness in politics is real and reasoned or just superficial and fleeting.

A big part of the reason young people don’t always see eye to eye with their seniors is that they are enveloped by a totally different culture. Yes, we are all living in the same physical Jamaican space but for many young people, life only starts where the Internet connection hits the phone. They are imbibed with global cultures through the alternate universe we call the World Wide Web, much unlike the older folks who live in the right here, right now and who spend less time wading through idle social-media comment threads.

So many schools of thought and social subcultures previously embraced by the older generation have now become ‘toxic’ and ‘backwards’ and ‘regressive’ – keywords that must be used if you truly want to demonstrate some up-to-dateness.

DIFFERENT PRIORITIES

Another key feature of the status quo and quite critical to note is that young people tend to have pretty different priorities and will quickly become impatient with useless formalities. Again, young people are different, not just for their tech-savvy skills and modern, progressive thinking. They are different for so many of the things the older folks keep complaining about – the breaking out into Patois in formal spaces, the creative ‘unprofessional’ hairstyles, the phone over usage and ray ray ray.

Fortunately, the upcoming crop would rather spend their time addressing issues that actually matter and the antiquated focus on nonsense formalities simply doesn’t appeal to many of them. So before jumping on the bandwagon to kick some of our more seasoned and experienced older politicians to the kerb, ensure that you have made peace with that reality. So many Jamaicans want to see a parliament of young people but refuse to accept the young mindset and culture they often bring to the fore.

Beyond all this, it is a little unfortunate that every so often, without giving much credence to the work or achievement of our nation’s leaders, we are very quick to dismiss them on the basis of their age. When it was announced that Mike Henry and Karl Samuda would be taking up new ministerial roles, some couldn’t wait to start lambasting the prime minister for his oh so short-sighted decision in filling the posts with such senior men. In other words, ignore what they have or haven’t done and can or cannot do. That need not be evaluated because their age has already disqualified them.

And then there is the argument of ‘succession planning’. This one starts on the premise that the government must plan for the future of the country, and that, of course, includes planning from now who the 2050 prime minister will be.

The 2050 prime minister, of course, will likely be one of today’s young chaps. So prudent planning would dictate that we get a whole bunch of young chaps, train them in the way they should grow, and in 2050 one of them will likely make a fine prime minister. This mindset explains why, even though the average young person thinks and acts very differently from their seniors, young politicians seem to have inherited the same clannish tribalism displayed by their mentors and defend the same ‘regressive’ ideologies.

Clearly, many Jamaicans love the idea of having leaders who are young and hip. It is why our political parties have been competing with each other for the title of ‘party for the young’. Still, I wonder, what is the point? Because if the point of having a younger party simply means better social-media graphics and a more savvy usage of popular slangs, then what exactly is all the hubbub about?

Kristen Gyles is a mathematics educator and actuarial science graduate. Email feedback to kristengyles@gmail.com