Basil Jarrett | Social media apathy

I’M A big fan of Sir Hilary Beckles. I think the work that he did to reopen the uncomfortable conversation on the debt owed to the Caribbean by our former slave-owning European colonisers, is admirable and long overdue. I’m also a big fan of my other alma mater, The University of the West Indies (UWI), an institution that played a massive role in my personal and professional growth and development. While I’m admittedly not very familiar with the head of the UWI, Chancellor Robert Bermudez, I was very concerned when I saw this newspaper’s headline last Sunday, outlining the nature of a rift between these two men at my other old school. Now, full disclosure, I really didn’t (and still don’t) have a complete grasp of all the issues at the centre of this impasse. Except to say that there seem to be some deep-seated governance irregularities at hand here, or as a UWI media release later clarified, “a state of deep governance concern and anxiety” within the university community. The release mentioned also that an independent review committee was established to prepare a report on the issue, and so we wait anxiously to read its findings.

In anticipation of that report, I decided to wade over to the commentary and social media section to see what our good friend, John Public, had to say about this battle between both men, and the possible implications for the university.

And true to form, social media did not disappoint. The level of indifference, disinterest and disregard towards the situation and towards the two men was disheartening and morale-sapping, and only served to remind me once more, just how passive, meek and apathetic we remain, to the point where any conversation on good governance or accountability is met with a loud and resounding ‘meh’. Some persons attributed the impasse to the egos of both men. One threw all Bajans under the bus, accusing them of a superiority complex over the rest of us islanders. Others felt it was “much ado about nothing”, and more than a handful criticised the media for even raising and highlighting the story in the first place.

First off, let me apologise to all those Bajans who may have been surprised and left justifiably blind-sided by some of the comments - especially my new favourite national heroine. (Ignore them Ri-Ri. They don’t know you like I do. I’m still waiting on that call, by the way).

Now, I’m not saying that this UWI story is must-read media fodder, but the public response to it points to a prevailing lack of interest that Jamaicans seem to have developed for stories concerning proper governance and accountability issues. And that is a problem. Whether we’ve just been beaten into submission by the sheer volume of these occurrences, or are simply overwhelmed and tired of this assembly line of breaking news about organisational misconduct, we seem to be slowly approaching a state of mental paralysis and general disinterest in good governance, due process, and respect for law and order.

But as my erudite friend Myrtle Weir asked in an editorial last Christmas, “How did we get here? When did our collective silence and seeming acceptance of these low levels of behaviour begin?” While Mrs Weir stopped just short of pointing an accusing finger at the root cause of this apathy, I’m going to venture out a bit further and point two at our current obsession with social media. Never before in the history of human civilisation have we known so much, while at the same time, knowing so little about things that affect our daily lives in incredibly profound ways. Now, depending on who you ask, this may not necessarily be such a bad thing. For some folks, the head-buried-in-the-sand ostrich mentality and wanting to know very little about quite a lot, as opposed to knowing quite a lot about very little, may be a safer, far more acceptable approach than that of the lowly farm hen’s pee-pee, cluck-clucking behind every issue that pops up. After all, I’ve never seen an ostrich on a dinner plate, as opposed to the numerous curious chickens that have ended up being the main course beside a plate full of rice and peas. Regardless of where you sit on this continuum, therefore, either position may very well be fine and acceptable. The problem, though, is that the former seems to create a very low tolerance level for any story that goes beyond 240 Twitter characters. It was 140 before, but even after it was doubled, communications experts advised against using all of this additional bandwidth, since audiences may “lose interest and engagement”. Is this the next phase in the natural evolution of human communications psychology? Or are we simply pandering to the lowest common denominator in a crazy race to the bottom? In any case, what we have unwittingly created is an intolerance for any sort of in-depth knowledge or analysis of anything that makes us uncomfortable or asks us to think beyond the viral headline or the catchy meme. So of course, it’s Hilary Beckles’ and Rihanna’s fault. Heck, let’s throw in Mia Mottley as well. I’m even starting to look at my 50th-anniversary bottle of Mount Gay Rum with a suspicious eye. After all, anything deeper that than is going to affect our carefully curated IG storyline, and who wants anything related to something as pedantic as good governance and accountability popping up on their pages as we swipe left, right, up and down?

ABSOLUTELY VITAL

I hate to break it to you, but sometimes the best way to preserve the integrity, reputation and future of an important organisation is to painfully excise the cancerous issues that have festered and held it back for too long, as uncomfortable as they sometimes make us. Adhering to, recognising and abiding by rules and regulations, standing orders, good governance practice and other governing rules are absolutely vital if we are to have an accountable, just and progressive society. Again, I have very limited knowledge of what is at the heart of this battle at the university, but what the story has prompted is a genuine curiosity, especially now that the matter has reached as far as Parliament. Surely, it must be a little more substantial than a battle between the egos of both men, after all.

One of my ultimate wishes for this country in the new year is for Jamaicans to cease and desist from abdicating their public responsibility and high standards of integrity, and to demand more from our most important institutions and those who we have entrusted with their leadership. After all, the culture of any organisation may very well be ultimately shaped not so much by the actions of its leadership, but more so by the most reprehensible behaviour that its members are willing to tolerate.

Major Basil Jarrett is a communications strategist and CEO of Artemis Consulting. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com or basiljarrett.artemis@gmail.com.