Educator Esther Tyson and gender consultant Glenda Simms stood up and waved red flags vigorously and members of the Broadcasting Commission came charging in like bulls in a, well ...rampin' shop. 'Tek dis, tek dat; don't dagger here, don't dagger there!'

OK ... breathe in; breathe out.

Clearly, the Broadcasting Commission had to step in to address matters about which several media managers had either become indifferent or were unaware.

Sustained vigilance

But, in the current controversy over Rampin' Shop and other 'daggerin' songs, concerned members of the public must move beyond another of our periodic collective convulsions of indignation over breaches of standards in the public (especially broadcasting) space.

For, unless there is sustained vigilance, this controversy will resurface with a vengeance. Indeed, we have travelled this road many times before.

The movie, Nashville Girl, broadcast on the then JBC TV, circa 1981, was perhaps the first film shown on local television that had a liberal flow of unedited expletives, frontal nudity and graphic rape scenes.

Dennis Hall, as continuity announcer, was made to apologise after the film's showing, apparently in response to viewers' complaints. Subsequently, JBC acquired a satellite dish as it moved to modernise its offerings.

In those early days of colour TV, its technical people would patch into overseas cable television channels and movies would be aired - with expletives and soft porn 'in live and living colour'.

They then started taping them, and apparently did some editing before broadcast, but even then, things would slip through. And yet, more than 20 years after Nashville Girl's airing, a youngster had reason to ask his mother one night during the airing of an Eddie Murphy movie, whether the TV set was malfunctioning. There were so many bleeps.

With today's technological advances, parents and teachers who want to filter what their children are exposed to, will find that official bans as per the Broadcasting Commission's recent actions and the media screening processes, will not address in the deep and meaningful way, their fears about undesirable influences on young people.

Children tech-savvy

Many have already stated the obvious - that children can and do obtain material from sources other than free-to-air television or radio, and youngsters know how to work their way around the internet to find what appeals to them.

And, of course, we have had several reports of youngsters making their own phone and digital camera-captured sex sessions, filmed in classrooms, and circulated via the internet.

So, quite apart from the fact that people appointed as media supervisors and gatekeepers might not be the least bit as offended by some of the music and movies as others are, there is a clear disconnect between what many adults desire and hope to achieve, and the lived reality of many youngsters, whatever their social backgrounds.

In this recurring debate over values, who is going to be able to police Jamaica's 'public space' sufficiently to prevent the moral declension that worry so many?

As I have pointed out before (Sunday Gleaner, February 26, 2006), after some Christian leaders demonstrated against Palace Amusement company's showing of the movie Brokeback Mountain, there is a long list of things to be concerned about and a rising tide of activities that go against the grain of traditional Christian values, that will not be easily dammed.

Among them:

Prostitution, barely disguised as sensual massage services being advertised in our major newspapers.

Locally-produced pornographic magazines being sold in pharmacies right beside the peanut brittle and coconut drops, and on newspaper stands alongside The Gleaner, Observer, STAR and Sunday Herald.

Young men and women being recruited from inner-city and rural communities to pose for pictures and movies to be later posted on Internet sites.

Developments in mobile phone technology with facilities for sending pictures and the availability of DVDs and videotapes, all providing a smorgasbord of 'smut' from which people who are tempted can have a feast.

Play more effective role

So, can concerned parents and guardians, like the legendary King Canute, simply order the tide not to come ashore and expect it to obey? I don't think so - but the hope must be that, having done their part, their children will make wise and responsible choices about the direction of their lives.

Feedback may be sent to colin.steer@gleanerjm.com or columns@gleanerjm.com.