Le's post on Colours got my mind active.
'Sketel' came and went. 'Fassy' lost it's fury. The 'Bogle' dance has come, lived its life and went quietly into the night. But one craze has outlived them all. One concept has stood the test of time. One number has been crushed, squandered, made to feel inferior... That number is, tw..... tw..... tw........ That number is, 1.99999 rounded up to the nearest whole number.
"Wi nuh play numba 2"... a phrase which found its origin back in the early 90s, has taken on new meaning in the last few years. All of a sudden, amidst the tight jeans and diamond rings which are now adorned and adored by the Jamaican male species, the number '2' might as well look like '666'.
Now this homophobia issue has never really gone away, but like the physics of energy, its seems never to be created or destroyed, but simply converted from one form to the next. So nowadays there is little objection to the tight pants which men were 'bunnin' out' only a few years ago; instead we have shifted focus to a figure that's dear to The Count, and all the cast, crew and supporters of Sesame Street.
Like many other imbecilic objections that the Jamaican population has managed to grow and fester, this one does not confine itself to the illiterate population, or the younger folk, or non-Christians. It's everywhere. The number '2' is now represented in a myriad of ways- 1.9999, 1+1, 5-3, square root 4- all in an asinine attempt to avoid saying the 'bottom' word. A friend of mine (UWI postgrad, once a member of the Guild), complained a few weeks ago that he couldn't purchase any 'Jamaica' T-Shirts because they all came with two stripes on the shoulders... "You've got to be kiddin' me," I thought as I laughed AT him. He's such a prisoner, as is every other ignoramus who insists on making this '2' issue run their lives.
I heard a really funny joke on Fame on Friday. Effectively this is how it goes- a man's baby girl was having her birthday. The man's friend asked him, "So how old is you daughter now?" The man answered, "She'll turn 3 next year."
As a mathematician, the number 2 is very important to me and I intend to continue using it as much as is necessary... As a child I used to laugh as people used that 'fisherman talk bout fish' philosophy... But I think I'm ready to ride that wave now. Why can't our men find more productive things to think about?
5 comments:
Oh. You really are back. Ok, will have to read this later. Gotto haul my tail to UWI.
Beats me!!
I don't get it. What is the connection between the number 2 and homophobia?
I was hoping nobody would ask :D
In Jamaica the association is made between the rear end and homosexual activity... the reason's simple- in general, it's believed that gay men have anal intercourse. Going '#2' is also an anal activity. That's your link.
ah! I understand. Thanks for explaining. It's so infantile!
Besides to use that term for defecating is very American IMO so I would never have made that connection.
Now that I know, it's really going to stick. Darn.
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