In Indonesia, the state is desperately trying to find ways and means to stimulate its indigenous music's international appeal and make a more globally marketable product. In Jamaica, we are hysterically busy trying to find ways to suppress our music which, phenomenally, already brims with vast international popularity and demand.

There are scores of persons who like 'slack' music and want 'slackness' in their music. An enlightened individual might understand that there is nothing nasty about sex or references to non-perverted sexual acts, and is titillated and thrilled by Vybz Kartel's clever play on lyrics with graphic sexual overtones. Another person might not, and such an individual should try at all costs to avoid exposure to lyrics that offend his or her values.

As much as is possible, children should be policed by parents to avoid exposure to anything deemed unsuitable, including certain music products. And where there is exposure, conversational control can mitigate any negative consequence.

Dirty diatribe of dancehall

As for grown adults, one would assume that grown-ups are intelligent enough or are able to engage common sense to see artistic expression for what it is. Allow the rest of us who like slackness to wallow in the dirty diatribe of dancehall deejays as much as we want.

This recent draconian edict from the Broadcasting Commission and the hue and cry from societal prudes in support of banning all things beeping, bleeping and daggerin' is an unnecessary diversion from the real issues facing us. While the economy is threatened, our minister of finance has recently involved himself in the renewed war on dancehall, declaring that banning 'dirty' songs from the airwaves alone will not suffice. There is need for more strictures.

Joining the fray has been our prime minister, who has threatened to employ archaic legislation dealing with obscenities, which have been lying dormant on our law books, to begin carting off offensive music practitioners to jail.

If such a threat by our prime minister is not a blatant attempt at censorship of free expression, then what is?

Moral decay

A march was recently organised in support of the stance of the Broadcasting Commission. And in a press release, the Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) called for the banning of music on public transportation and even the banning of street dances. It is instructive that the JCC has found lewd music to be the most destructive source of moral decay. The JCC has never issued a press release, nor has a march been organised, calling for the cessation of police abuse or opposing the issuance of guns by politicians, the reduction of poverty, or decrying public homosexual displays.

All this is not to say that vulgar and lewd music - however subjective the descriptive euphemisms - should be broadcast on radio. Music that is pornographic or explicitly violent should not be played on radio. However, when radio disc jocks go to great lengths to delete offensive words and even entire lines of lyrics from songs by methods of beeping (bleeping), these radio announcers should be commended rather than punished.

The Broadcasting Commission should not allow itself to be blinkered by the very pervasive class discrimination that informs much of our decision making.

I am, etc.,

MILTON WRAY

miltonwray@yahoo.com

Kingston