Social Impact with Emma » family : A Jamaica Gleaner Blog

Fathers Are Humans, Too

June 17th, 2018

In Jamaica, there is a tendency towards idealizing specific family roles. On Mother’s Day, we are smothered with roses and pious texts, and reggae singers croon their undying love for their “Mama.” On Father’s Day, it is much less intense. For our own cultural reasons, there is less emphasis on the father, who is often […]

The Millennial Obsession: Thoughts from a Baby Boomer

October 28th, 2017

“Millennials” seem to be much in the news these days – and they don’t seem to be getting very good press. According to media reports (including social media), Millennials are self-absorbed, “entitled,” obsessed with money and material things, and they complain a lot. I am the mother of a Millennial, born in the 1980s. Millennials […]

The Word “Discipline” Means Teaching and Learning, Not Violence and Sadism

October 7th, 2017

Yet another furore has occurred over a “viral” social media post of a woman beating her daughter in her yard. This is most likely an everyday occurrence around the island; but this time, a Jamaican with a smartphone was nearby to record the child abuse. So, Jamaicans were shocked, as if they did not know […]

A Question of Ego – or Love?

December 21st, 2015

Rev. Father Sean Major-Campbell is, in my view, an extraordinary “church man.” He certainly is in the modern Jamaican context, in a society fraught with divisions (real or imagined). The priest at the Anglican Christ Church in Vineyard Town, Kingston not only advocates for human rights, that is human rights for all, but demonstrates these core […]

When Is a Joke Serious? A Long Bench Discussion on Comedy and Society

April 14th, 2015

“Tek serious ting mek laugh.” Making light of a serious matter – turning it into a joke – is a tendency among Jamaicans. We explored the how and the why of this with two terrific Jamaican exponents of the art of laughter, Owen “Blakka” Ellis and Dr. Michael Abrahams, at a Sunday morning session headlined […]