Duttyism

Turn around

Dutty Bookman — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:01:04 +0000

Imagine a network of tunnels, deep and dark. We are lost in it for a long time, confused and disoriented and feeling our way around. Soon, we begin to see a bit of light at the end of a particularly long tunnel. We know from experience that there must be unimaginable obstacles and threats along the way toward the light. We don’t even try to imagine them because anything is possible. Regardless, we determine that we will go towards the light, come what may, and we will finally escape the maddening darkness that we have been enduring.

Suddenly, from the opposite direction, we see another light. This light is moving towards us. When it reaches to where we are, we recognize that it is a member of our group who previously went on a solo quest in search of a way out. Now, this person has returned with this mobile light, a torch. We rejoice at our good fortune! Not only have we found the way out, we also have somebody who can go in front and lead us out! With the close range clarity provided by that person and the unity of purpose of the entire group, we can now march confidently out of the abyss.

Just then, the bearer of the torch says no, we cannot go that way. Having had the light for some time now, this person is saying that we must go in the opposite direction. A debate stirs up when some, maybe a majority, assert that we absolutely must go toward the distant light. I am there too and I agree with them. Another set listens keenly to the torch bearer who is an eloquent speaker and has managed to convince them that something they cannot see for themselves, something in the direction of darkness, actually exists. That it is a better way out is what the torch bearer insists and so the group splits up.

The first group decides to go in the direction of the natural light. They are so confident that they decide to tread that way without the mobile torch. While they cannot see what is directly before them as they walk, they have a clear view of the direction to go. The have a great overstanding of what will be at the destination when they finally arrive: abundant and everlasting light. They say that it is better to go slowly in the right direction than quickly in the wrong one. I watch them go; I watch them sadly and I turn around to strategize with the second group.

The second group is larger. It includes the torch bearer as well as the staunch believers in the torch bearer’s plan. Surprisingly, it also includes a majority of the people who originally opposed that plan. I am there too. We are cynical but we love the song that is sung by this eloquent leader, the one who lets us see what is right before our noses. So we follow the torch bearer for the sake of an immediate sense of security and peace of mind. Along the way though, things begin to change. Another individual in our group feels like the torch bearer is holding the flame too high as he walks ahead of us. This person begins to covet the torch and promises that she will hold the flame lower to the ground so that we can all see the ground better and therefore know where we are stepping. She tells us that she has our best interest in mind and that she is better prepared to be our torch bearer. The original torch bearer counters that the reason he holds the torch high is to ensure that people do not hit their heads on any sharp protruding rocks. Arguments abound, there is constantly this back and forth bickering. We see the merit in each of their arguments and we become schizophrenic. One minute we feel like we should see the ground, the next we feel like we should see the tunnel ceiling. So the torch switches between their hands as we vote every 5 hours or so to make it clear to them who we would like to hold the torch. Of course, the problem is that the one thing they both agree on wholeheartedly is that we all should be led further into the abyss. Little do we realize that 50 hours have flown by during this confusion.

We then begin to hear faint echos coming from the direction of the natural light. We can’t see that light anymore but we know that it exists. We all saw that light for ourselves and when we listen carefully in the direction of that light that we know, we can hear some familiar voices of reason shouting at us, telling us that they have made it to the promised land. The first group has been free of the tunnels for many hours now and some of them are trying to tell us to turn around and join them. They are waiting for us. Still, not everyone in our second group is willing. Those not still caught in the trance of the argumentative torch bearers decide to turn around. I turn around too and we head in the direction of the voices, the direction of the natural light.

We have now created a third group. There is more division now than ever before but I feel that it is this third group that has the greatest potential to reunite the one original, whole society. We are more adamant than ever about saving ourselves but we are shouting back because we care about people in the second group. We know they can hear us a lot clearer than they can hear those who have already made it to the destination. We keep calling back as we walk away but we feel it is just as important for us to keep moving forward. We are still not completely certain about the next steps but we have renewed confidence in our direction because we have heeded the calls of those who went before us.

Now we are beginning to see the light again. To the rest of you, we strongly insist that you turn around. Please turn around. Soon the torch will burn out. And we love you.

LOVEwise.

Jamaican Revival

Dutty Bookman — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 05:52:41 +0000

I have said this before but I feel it is important for me to elaborate at this time. Art is illumination in dark times. At least two separate occasions in history have shown us the one undeniable fact: the flourishing of the arts is a critical ingredient in any society’s effort to evolve into a higher consciousness.

Take a gander, if you will, at Europe between the 1300′s and the 1600′s. During that time period, the continent transitioned from an era called the Middle Ages to a new era known as the Modern Era. How did it happen? Well, there was an explosion of thought in the fields of science, politics and religion among other things. It is widely agreed though that the most significant innovations of this period were those made in the field of art. That period is now referred to as the Renaissance.

Flash forward to the 1920′s, a decade that many of our parents have heard about through firsthand accounts from their own elders. It was a time of intense, blatant racism in the United States. Even though emancipation had been declared, Africans and many mixed persons who appeared to have non-Caucasian features were discriminated. The unfriendly conditions led to the civil rights movements of the 1960′s of course, but I have been learning that the confidence that grew in the Black consciousness of that time, epitomized by people like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, stemmed from the seeds planted just prior to the 1920′s. In New York, there was a thriving community of Africans who migrated from all over the USA, especially the segregated states of the south. In that community, which was (and continues to be) called Harlem, Black culture exploded. It was a conscious effort by musicians, writers and intellectuals, among others, to assert their rights through self-expression. Furthermore, it lifted the USA into a higher human awareness and brought the nation closer to the ideals its political leaders often boast about still. That era is now referred to as the Harlem Renaissance.

There is something happening in the Caribbean Sea right now. What appears on various maps to be an oddly shaped dot below and between Cuba and Haiti is actually the scene of another arts revolution. I am a romantic at heart so forgive me for the drama but do not take what I am telling you lightly. Jamaica, that incredibly blessed land where I am proud to be born, is on the rise again. I say “again” because there was already a renaissance here. Bob Marley has come to symbolize it today but it was so much more than one man. It was a culture built on human rights, positivity and the knowledge that Africa and Africans must collectively ascend to their proper place in global society before peace on Earth could be possible. It is widely overstood knowledge that the movement was deliberately derailed somewhere between the 1970′s and the 1980′s. How? By whom? And why? Ask around…

I am happy to share the unmistakable truth that the Zion train is, again, on track and heading in the right direction. The renaissance period is past, yes, but something greater has emerged. It is the Jamaican Revival. A thing was thought to be all but completely dead and some were preparing to pull the plug on it; but now signs of vitality are singing and dancing and painting and writing and cooking up a lively meal! Sniff around… look around… ask around. There is a loving energy and no one is unwelcome. If you are alive in this second decade of the 21st century, you are already an inescapable part of it. It is the Jamaican Revival.

LOVEwise.

Poor UNESCO

Dutty Bookman — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 04:19:37 +0000

It is no secret that the United States of America is a nation well practiced in political (imperialist?) passive aggression, and that is when its leaders feel like they have something to lose. On the other hand, when they perceive no potential loss, we might as well say our parting words to “passive.” It’s all out strong-arming via the gun or via the money. The latter is doubtlessly the case in the latest funding cut to UNESCO. This one is easy to follow.

The USA and Israel are like “bench and batty” although I am uncertain which one is which at this time.

Israel is the geographical epicenter for Jewish people. The USA might be considered the financial epicenter for Jewish people.

Present day Palestine is apparently the subject of blatant mistreatment from Israel, some of whose citizens are basically settling on Palestinian land. Military force is involved.

The Palestinians are determined to assert their human rights and are making an aggressive push for freedom. This includes requesting official recognition of their statehood from the various arms of the United Nations. Israel doesn’t like this. The USA doesn’t like this.

The USA can easily block Palestinian access to the UN Security Council among others. For those more difficult to prevent, the USA threatens to stop providing money for their programs. This was the case with UNESCO, the agency that is responsible for promoting international collaboration through cultural education, among other things.

UNESCO decided to have a backbone and Palestine was admitted to its body. This happened about one week ago.

The very same day, the USA promptly announced that it would pay no further monies to UNESCO after this year, knowing well that its contribution accounts for something like one-fifth of that agency’s budget.

All of this interests me, not because I particularly care for the political squabbles that are abundant on the planet, not because I have any problem with any people, whether Jewish, US-American or otherwise. The reason why it interests me so much, and also evokes laughter, is because it is abundantly clear that this hasty move by the USA shows the disregard its leaders have for the field of culture. Culture is a sacrificial lamb, a card to be played in their game. It is something very easy to underestimate when focused on a war machine such as the one based largely in the USA.

To their dismay, they will eventually identify and recognize the mentality that led to this horrendous decision as their ultimate downfall; and it might be too late to redeem their political dominance (empire?) when they finally come to this realization.

That is all I have to say. LOVEwise.

Dusk in the heart of Babylon

Dutty Bookman — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:30:20 +0000

It was once my utmost duty to self to escape this place, to feel secure in the hills of Jamaica. I was well on my way to the security of the Cockpit Country. From there, my words would have swooped down like one thousand bees upon the eyelids and nostrils of the new invaders, the neocolonialists. All of their arms are still elbow-deep in the honey of my birth land. I was there with my eye on them.

I did, indeed, escape this place. I escaped it and I felt sorry for those who did not or could not. I laughed at those who wished not and wanted not. Then, in a blink of Time’s eye, I was summoned back to observe it.

I can say that things are not looking too great over here. Excessive oil has its known effects on the heart. There is something afoot. There is something looming. Palpitations are frequent. Cardiac arrest is probable, even likely.

We have to become the light because the sun is setting in the West. The sun is setting in the Wild West and the misled people of the planet are going to find it difficult to cope. It will be harder to see when the darkness descends.

Suddenly, there is an African president here now. He still lives in a White House. Suddenly, there is a memorial on the National Mall for an African leader. He did what he came to do in the appropriate era. Give thanks for those who are trying and those who have tried. We must now continue to build. Build our minds, then build the bridges between our minds and our souls. This is what we are called upon to do in this era. Anything else is a hobby.

Shine until the next sunrise. LOVEwise.

[ITG] Caribbean American Youth Leadership Forum

Dutty Bookman — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 02:37:27 +0000

A part of my rationale for relocating from Jamaica to the USA was to investigate how useful I could be networking and doing outreach on behalf of Manifesto|Jamaica. Much more of the reason was personal but I was happy when I heard about this event and when my theme suggestion (‘Strengthening Youth Contributions’) was used for the event. I sat on a great panel of like-minded individuals, especially one young lady (not captured in this footage) who represented a great organization working with the youth in Haiti.

The first video is my presentation. The other two videos capture parts of the Q&A discussion afterwards.

What: Caribbean American Youth Leadership Forum

Where: Inter-American Development Back (Washington, DC, USA)

When: June 24, 2011

[ITG] ART’ical Exposure

Dutty Bookman — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 02:17:45 +0000

On this occasion, I felt compelled to read an excerpt from a great book by Atua Dub called IR9: Indigenous and Black Wisdubs. I recently watched this video for the first in a long time and laughed when I saw myself just walk off the stage after an abrupt end to the recital. The audience took a few seconds to realize that this man had nothing else to say. Seriously, I remember that I had absorbed the words so much that I thought I might have begun a long-winded, emotional monologue right there on the stage. To avoid that, I just left.

Note that there is about one second of footage missing due to technical difficulties while recording. The missing phrase at about 2 minutes and 56 seconds is, “go out and speak the truth.” (The “go” and the “truth” can be heard in this video but not the four words in between.)

What: ART’ical Exposure

Where: Bookophilia (Kingston, Jamaica)

When: August 27, 2010

[ITG] Africa Unite Youth Symposium

Dutty Bookman — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 01:53:48 +0000

This was my first speech in a public setting. I titled it The Way Forward for Pan-African Youth. Prior to this, the only public speaking I did was on national radio as a talk show host but I didn’t have to face my audience to do that. I did well in my university speech course but it’s a different scenario when I am passionate about what I have to say and I have to overcome anxiety to deliver my message. I usually cringe whenever I start to watch this speech because it shows how much of a novice I was at the time. Nevertheless, I am proud of what I had to say then and it makes me appreciate my present growth. Showing this speech to other people helps to keep me humble.

What: Africa Unite Youth Symposium

Where: Liberty Hall (Kingston, Jamaica)

When: February 6, 2008

Revolution 2.Oh!

Dutty Bookman — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:13:53 +0000

Greetings and welcome to the second version of Duttyism. It is not only just a new visual manifestation but, as will become clearer over time, my writing is evolving as well. There are a few things that I want my readers to be aware of while they peer through this window into my reality.

I consider myself a revolutionary. I don’t need a deadly weapon in my hand to validate this assertion.
I morally support various causes because there is no single cause that addresses all the woes in Babylon. Even so, I do not consider myself particularly knowledgeable in most issues that I support. I only know what feels right within myself.
There are a handful of issues that mean more to me than others. Expect to see video entries of me expressing my views about those select issues.
My past is no authority on my present. Even so, my book provides an avenue to a greater knowledge about me, and it also describes certain aspects of neocolonial Jamaica as seen through my mind’s eye.
The first version of Duttyism was tied to an extraordinary spiritual transformation. Now I am existing with a stronger connection to my purpose.

With all that said, let my Revolution resume. LOVEwise.