Letter of the Day | Tone of language has serious implications, should be used responsibly

THE EDITOR, Madam:

As we grow louder in our collective condemnation of violence, is it pretence? Hypocrisy? How can we champion peace while we continue to herald the use of homophobic violence? Or will we continue to shut our eyes, pretending it is not homophobia, or even violence at all?

Many have insisted that the recent remarks were not violent, but, when Member of Parliament, Mr Daryl Vaz, told his constituents “Yuh know wah fi do”, what did he mean? What was the crowd to construe by his words, with a song that chants “bun dem” repeatedly, if not the endorsement of violent acts?

Since the late 1990s, both major political parties have used homophobic music in their political campaigns. Often, these songs have been paired with oscillating slurs, cheered on by ecstatic crowds. Now, we might argue that this was a different time. However, decades later, in an age where the eradication of ignorance is a few taps away, what is the excuse? When even the artistes have distanced themselves from these songs, why do our leaders still embrace them?

Many dismiss this as “not that serious”, but let us remember that the language we use becomes the actions we take, both in politics and in our communities. We must ask ourselves, is this what we want to see from our leaders? In a country where violence dominates our news headlines, can we afford to allow this behaviour? Must we continue to point guns at the unarmed?

If we cannot confront the harm in the words we cheer for, how will we ever protect our most vulnerable?

PASSEANAE SAUNDERS