Davis deluded on dancehall and classism
Published:Friday | March 28, 2014 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
George Davis' article 'Give the music a chance' (Gleaner, March 27, 2014) reminds us of both the value and danger of free speech. In one article, he manages to simultaneously describe dancehall as filthy, brilliant, exhilarating, iridescent and gloriously colourful, to the extent that it puts Joseph's coat to shame.
Incredibly, he goes on to make positions on dancehall the outcome of universal social class perspectives. So poor people like myself from Manchester who have no problem with the genre, but are concerned with its lyrics, its edge and its destructive ambassadorship are mighty strange people, since, in Mr Davis' words, "Those who despise (dancehall) are drawn from social classes far removed from the low category that produces exponents of this fine art".
What an unfortunate exercise of wordsmithing! I am not sure that people like myself who came from a less-endowed socio-economic background would readily choose 'low category' from a menu of options for self-description.
While Garnett Roper's article (Gleaner, 'Dancehall dulls the senses, poisons minds') could have fairly given a little credit to the cultural legitimacy of a genre while rightfully condemning its outcome, his was a far more sensible and sensitive read.
MICHAEL JONES
Kingston 6