Doran Dixon: Piggish? Yes, but let him grunt

I am deeply distressed that the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), or more correctly, the Council of Presidents of the Association, has taken steps to bar Mr Doran Dixon from running for the presidency of the association.

The decision was taken by the presidents of the JTA, upon advice from its Credentials Committee, which has oversight for the elections and was released to the media even before Mr Dixon was advised. Whether the Council of Presidents and the Credentials Committee have any such authority will be determined in the coming days.

Mr Dixon's piggish metaphor comparing the minister of education, the Rev Ronald Thwaites, to a "likkle mongrel dog" attacking the JTA lion-heart puss, which the association deems to be an "unfortunate and unprofessional" statement, has led to plentiful and strident calls that he apologise and that he be disciplined.

The JTA action to disbar Mr Dixon, who has previously served in the top capacity from contesting the presidency, follows on the heels of his employing institution, The Mico University College, demanding that he apologise and promising to take the matter to the board. Mico, the oldest teachers' college in Jamaica, has recently joined the fraternity of universities.

I am no more happy with Mr Dixon's nasty speech and piggish metaphor than the many, many people who have expressed their outrage, including now the leadership of his own professional association which had sent him out to speak on its behalf.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH?

Is nobody going to defend the man's right to speak his mind? Despite his offensiveness, which law has he broken? Noticeably, the Rhodes Scholar, lawyer and clergyman minister has demanded no apology and has refused to be drawn into a public discussion of the diss to him.

One would have expected a young university, recently admitted into the centuries-old hallowed tradition of freedom of expression within the academy to have honoured that tradition, despite the discomfort caused by a senior staff member exercising that right.

One would have expected the media, ever jealous of its own right to freedom of expression and to 'speak truth to power', to have graciously granted Mr Dixon's right to also speak his mind, crass and offensive as he was, rather than writing stinging editorials to also demand an apology.

One would have expected a trade union, which is what the JTA really is, tested and experienced in labour battles, to be willing to grant its emissary latitude to speak his mind, unscripted and within the boundaries of every known law of the land, in this latest battle.

It is only in a certain kind of state that dissing leaders is a crime. Jamaica is not that kind of state. We must take no steps towards becoming that kind of state. Our commitment to freedom and rights, any freedom, any right, is most severely tested at the extremes like where Dixon's offensive speech has taken us.

The JTA, The Mico, and elements of the media may owe the churlish Mr Dixon an apology. And members of the JTA, certainly, should be given back their right, misappropriated by the leadership, to reject - or endorse - Doran Dixon's piggish defence of their entitlements.

Martin Henry is a communication specialist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com or medhen@gmail.com