By Colin Hyde
We suspected as much, that the PUP’s were against weed, when the lead host of their Vibes television morning show questioned the sense behind a referendum on the herb on Caye Caulker, and after watching how the party’s leaders, other than Kareem Musa, were behaving; and now dehn gone and declared it in BOLD in the Belize Times, in the editorial. Uy, the Mister or Miss editorialist dropped the hammer. He/she wrote: “Cannabis brings its own perceptions deeply ingrained in a society that wants peace and stability. So, when given the chance, Caye Caulker became a microcosm of a peace-loving Belize; they shouted ‘No’ to cannabis and all the instability it can bring.” Uy!
No interest from here about that party’s innards; keep the focus on the lee weed. What a blow to a puff! Signed, sealed, and delivered; lock, stock, and barrel too; the PUP does not want weed as a new growth industry. I wonder how many of them are smoking it.
Evangelicals took wrong fork in the road
Re: Plus TV hero Louis Wade’s hard-to-believe advertised presentation on why the “YES to regulated weed for responsible use” lost on Cay Caulker, I can tell you of at least ONE Belizean who had no eye or ear time for him. I expect there are more, many more, but I am certain of one who chose not to entertain the giddiness. There are things in this world that I don’t want to hear. I’ve got enough issues to chew on, so why would I choose to intafayr, or to spend a half hour listening to a synopsis of folly? I might have oanli skrayp daag math and biology GCE, but I’m no sucker when it comes to my time.
When the Evangelicals said their groups would not be returning to Caye Caulker if legal weed won the day, they came to the fork in the road and took the wrong one. Please, when Jesus told His disciples to shake the dust off their feet, He wasn’t talking about smoking weed, He was talking about people who rejected His message. Ahm, ehm, aha, Christianly the Evangelicals should have said: If unu vote YES, there will not be enough space on Caye Caulker to hold the plane loads of Christians who will be coming to fight sin.
The Good Book says Jesus calls us to the harvest not to save the saved. Go rap on closet doors, go into the weed hideouts, bring your bright lights into red light districts; there are so many intoxicated with wine they are falling off the stools in the bar rooms; my, there are so many lost sheep out there.
Our anthem says, by the might of truth; well, the Evangelicals weren’t reading from that song sheet when they pulled out their strategy. For them it’s all about winning. Sirs, the end-justifies-the-means tactic you employed — that page was not taken from Jesus’s playbook. Braa, so many cards that they played were not fair.
The people of Caye Caulker, I think they needed more time to sift the wheat from the chaff. Brother Ilya’s fellow councilors reversing their position really took the wind from weed’s sails. They were on board, and then they were off.
Brother Ilya stayed the course. He laid his truth on the table, and the other side played dirty. My, they said regulated weed played into the Cartel’s hands. Please, wherefrom do they think small dealers get their weed? For sure, it’s not from a legal source.
Belizeans share BelAms’ excitement over Shyne album
Aha, so Brother Shyne collects another honorable doctorate, and now we hear he is throwing down some new music. The brother was born for that arena. He has absolutely terrific resonance. We’ve had a number of talented songsters. My all-time favorite singer remains Nelson Diamond. If she wasn’t so “political,” Sandra Coye could have parlayed her voice into millions doing audio books, providing the voice of characters in animated movies, and maybe even in one of the many music genres.
While I join other Belizeans in being excited for Shyne, in that, ehm, arena, I can’t say that I am excited about the genre he is in. It just isn’t my kettle of fish. I’ve told you that there’s only one song from the rock genre, by the Fine Young Cannibals, “She drives me crazy”, that catches my ear, and one from hip hop: Tupac’s song about his love for momma. I hear the names Kanye West, Jay Z, and Taylor Swift, all mega millionaires for their sound, and I can’t name you one song from their collection. Of course, I know I’m missing out. Limited me, just about the only music that makes me want to sip from a bottle are brokdong, paranda, reggae, calypso, and the borachos.
It’s interesting what kind of songs/lyrics Shyne is going to put out there now. Even racist America acknowledges that the violent hip hop they sponsored/promoted did great harm to the brown and black in the American fabric. In fact, it was raw exploitation. But Shyne was just a kid then. Ehm, contrary to what our church says, innocence doesn’t end at the age of seven.
Tracy looking for Budna while two seats vacant beside her
If Miss Tracy had paid attention in House meetings, I wouldn’t be calling her out for a Friday folly. I’m pretty sure she was in the House when Said looked Barrow in the eye, pointed a finger in his face, and scolded him for his farce. I don’t know where Tracy’s mind was when Said said to Barrow, “noh watch me, watch yuself”. Bah, Barrow was famous for playing up how saintly he and his crowd were, but the day came when, because of the terrible rot in his party, he threw up his arms and cried for help from above.
On Friday, Miss Tracy appeared in the House in a red tee-shoht that screamed, “Who thief Budna”, and all the while there were two gaping empty seats beside her, missing people. The last UDP set of reps had one, ehm, missing person. Tracy’s UDP has doubled that! Before Tracy looks for Mr. Budna, she has to make her missing two get the sense. I say, she shouldn’t wait for the PUP to table a recall motion.
Seriously, it’s possible that Mister Guerra from Cayo West doesn’t feel capable of making entertaining bombast in English. Braa, there’s no need to fear. Yes, there are some people about who are looking for theater, but pay no attention to them; the majority of Belizeans are about substance. The division that elected you saw your potential; that’s why they sent you to the highest office. As for Mister Patt, Brother, if you feel guilty about some failure, say the mea culpa. The people who put the X beside your name must feel you da di man, so step up for them.
If it’s internal politics that’s keeping those two away from being honorable, doing their duty, I say they shouldn’t be partners to the despicable mischief of Shyne and August. Sirs, you have the people’s business to do. The next time the Speaker says — batter up, and looks to the Opposition side of the aisle, mek sure you’re there, and ready to deliver some constructive discourse!
Rum bottle would fly
I told you I couldn’t be paid to listen to Wade and his crowd gloat over their conquering weed on la Isla Cariñosa, and the deepest wound would have been to hear him boast how they won over the rum crowd. I don’t have the facts, but all week long prior to the voting, I heard whispers that rum hounds would throw a hypocritical vote. The only reason I’m not vanquished is because I suspect they came to that decision when they were sober. They would not have been confused if they had had some strong drink on it.
You know Brother Ilya was way too clean for this. What a civilized, classy brother he! Man, he just put his cards on the table — no sophistry, no distortions, no cherry picking facts, and no tricks; just, “Here I am, Lord”. My, it was the worst way to fight this new type of Christian. These new ones, they would cut a deal with the Devil to get over.
Six councilors, including the Chairlady, backed off the weed ticket. Ilya knew his glorious cause had been defeated, wasted; yet he, like a Shadrach, a Mechach, and an Abednego, walked into the flames as they burned up the futures in the holy bush.
Now, I can’t get over this talk that it didn’t make sense for Caye Caulker to hold a weed referendum all by itself. What’s the problem in a democracy with allowing an island or a village to decide that on certain issues they want to live differently from the rest of us? Isn’t that largely what communal land rights is about? Suppose UNIBAM and PETA want to found a village? A nudist camp anybody? Damit, yes, if going without clothes like Adam and Eve, a reenactment, tickles you, why should you be denied that space? I think certain people should get a red-light district all their own. A mi, those are no-brainer things.
I will blame the absolutely wrong rum-hounds vote on the brevity of the discussion. Dehn neva think this thing out. Of course, what is done is done, and then come the repercussions. We can bet that in their church hideaways, the philistines are emboldened by that 4-to-1 anti-weed vote. We must pray that the weed crowd doesn’t harbor malice for what was done to them, because that’s 20% of the vote for the other side.
Aw, I’m just teasing; we know those anti-rum bohgaz wouldn’t dare try for the whole hog. Why? Because they know that rum drinkers are not as passive, as civilized as people who smoke weed. You can bet that if they go after rum, the champion leading the defense won’t have the breeding, the civility of an Ilya. In the middle of the conversation on the Morning Stew, rum bottle wud fly.
