The Chris Gayle Saga: Identifying the deeper Issues

Hot on the social media sites is the whole of issue on Chris Gayle making what was deemed as 'inappropriate' and 'unprofessional' when he made a pass at the interview by asking her on a date. I viewed several media clips and I  too must agree that there is a time and place for everything and Chris Gayle, that was not the time nor the place. When I first visited Jamaica, I was a bit appalled by the forwardness of the men, overtime I understood that it was a part of their culture. There was no need to get offended by the 'babes' and 'honey' because that is how some Jamaican men speak to ladies, but regardless, these men need to understand ALL are not Jamaican and what appears normal for you, can be deemed quite distasteful and rude by others. Still, what got me is the comments following many of the videos on the social media sites and also some of the statuses, which in some cases, I found appalling. Let me briefly highlight and expand on a few:

1. The differing opinions of the men versus the women- When I reviewed some of the comments made by men versus the women, I was a bit shocked that while some men could have said that Chris, you are wrong. You have to learn the definitions of the when and the where, there were some women out there wondering what Chris Gayle did wrong. They did not see anything wrong with it at all. They missed the point completely. People it is not about whether he chose to ask an attractive reporter out, but when/where he chose to do it.

One woman stated that 'they' (I guess referring to the public) are behaving like if he committed a crime. I am hoping that she does not mean that something like this should not be a 'big deal' and should be swept under the carpet. Clearly, it is a big deal because of the international platform where our Jamaican brother, who is quite aware that there are many negatives things out there about Jamaicans and Jamaican men that we really do not want to add. Surely, Chris Gayle knows that his good looks and international record does not give him a free pass to ask out any woman he feels like, whenever he feels like it and where ever he feels like it. Surely he knows that if someone of his status can do something like this, it is going to look bad on all Jamaican men because that is what people do, they brand a country and its people by the acts of one. Sad, but true and instead of saying, who gives a darm, let us gives a darm when it matters.

Other women commented, some with expletives, about it being a joke and also how much of a hero Chris Gayle would have looked like if he was a 'batty' man. Apparently, if he was a homosexual and make a pass at the reporter, he would have been a hero. To this, I say, when you look at a video and read other people's comments and you are about to write one that will simply highlight your stupidity, shut up. Old people say what is joke fi pickney ah death fi crapo. You run jokes with your friends, your brethren, people that you know can take it and smile... if it is a joke that is. You do not run joke on public television with a stranger. And about the homosexual comment...really!

2. My second point has to do with the whole empowering of women that has been used in statuses relating to the Chris Gayle's behaviour and I agree, women need to be empowered, but I think these days  we are so much focus on the women that we forget our males. As I stated in an earlier blog, " A call for Male Empowerment", we are moving from one extreme to the next. We are forgetting our males. Now, I listened to the response of the reporter to the Chris Gayle's situation and she handled it well and seems very empowered. At the end, she stated she just wanted to move on. Yes, she appears somewhat uncomfortable when Chris Gayle made the statement, maybe more so out of shock and also having to maintain her temperament on public television. Who needs empowerment to me were the women who were agreeing with Chris Gayle's behaviour and found absolutely nothing wrong with it. Conversely, I am calling for some focus on our males. Let when gender is mentioned, we do not just simply think about women even though there is a recognition that we still have a long way to go as it relates to gender balance. Our young males lack proper role models and when they grew up to act in certain ways, we deal with it in a closet as if it has to do simply with the individual, in this case Chris Gayle and what he has said. I do think there are wider societal issues that we are missing. The lack of proper male heads in the home, the high crime rate with men leading, the high male prison population, the ratio of males to females at the tertiary levels, the number of males drop out at the secondary level... It seems to me that our young males need some form of empowerment, role models, mentorship etc Someone needs to teach them how to approach women, timing and how to deliver the few love words, the little courtesies that one should consider rendering and so on.

There are many things that have been said and can be said about the Chris Gayle's saga. In fact, the situation has made him quite 'famous' and may remained that way in the next few days, but then it will pass as have other things. Let us not forget, in that passing wave, the underlying societal issues that may give rise to this form of behaviour. Let us remember our males.