As I walked the streets of Montego Bay along North Street and Fish Lane, early Sunday morning, September 20, I came across a group of people standing on street corners and listening to very loud dancehall music. I went investigate the scene only to find that 'passa passa' was in session. A gyrating young man spinning a turntable, and almost eating a microphone was 'emitting' raucous sounds from oversized loudspeakers. His mouth was spitting out the most foul and lewd lyrics about parts of the female anatomy.

As he gyrated to his hypnotic rhythms, young girls scantily dressed, and young boys were wining against each another. The girls jumped up like acrobats on the mid-section of the boys, and along with the rest of the highly sexually charged revellers simulated the sex act as if they were in a gymnastic competition. To make matters even more bizarre, there was a huge banner of Marcus Garvey draped over one of the buildings.

While this explicit sexual ritual was taking place, with the kids splashing about in a big rubber or plastic swimming pool placed in the middle of the road, a police car came by with two men in it. They stopped momentarily, looked, saw and heard the expletives and vulgarity that were going on, and then calmly drove away. That's it! They looked and maybe figured that there was no trouble going on - just a bunch of teenagers having fun - so there was no need to get themselves involved. But who could blame them for not interfering with this group of 'dysfunctional' people who, along with the spectators, in a moment of rage, could turn on the cops if they tried to put a stop to this vulgar display on the streets of Montego Bay.

So this is modern Jamaica, I thought to myself! Here you have these impressionable youngsters hearing and imitating all that sex talk and act, and you wonder how could they not react to such a public endorsement of sex, and then not proceed to produce all those unwanted kids? How could there not be the spread of sexual transmitted infections with that public encouragement of illicit teenage sex? Jamaicans, it's time for us to look at ourselves seriously, and ask what we want to be as an intelligent people.

I am, etc.,

GEORGE GARWOOD

merleneg@yahoo.com