Just reward

If you have read Lynne Truss' book, "Eats, shoots and leaves" you will understand that the title of this post has several interpretations, depending on where you lay the stress. Like English, what you emphasize is what people tend to focus on as important.

I think that what the government of Barbados did this week in honoring (20 year old--birthday on February 20) Robyn Rihanna Fenty with a "national day" (February 21) and giving her a piece of the rock (at prestigious Apes Hill, no less) to always call home is a tremendous sign of recognition. However, I have reservations about this kind of gesture for people who have become "celebrities", and these are often popular music artistes, simply because I do not see the same desire to honour other and all great national or international achievements. Also does Rihanna need handouts? Her networth is soaring and she has just warranted the "Rihanna stock index" to cover the public companies with which she has dealings, which is reported by Stockpickr. What did the government do for Shane Brathwaite after the 17 year old produced a new personal best record in the decathlon at the World Youth Games in 2007, and became not only Barbados’ first World Youth champion but his country’s first ever athletics gold medal winner in a global competition at any level (see previous post)? What will be done for the Barbados national cricket team if they win the Stanford 20-20 cricket tournament (they will play archrivals Trinidad in the semifinals)? People who have done well in the eyes of the nation deserve recognition, but let's do it for all the worthy.

The gesture for Rihanna sets up an expectation that I do not believe will be met, and then it can and will be followed by resentment, or cries of "special treatment". "How dey can gi' somhin to she and we ge' nuttin?" It also sends a perverse message to those who are not in the limelight but do things that are important to the lives of many: nurses and doctors are always in this category, yet they often struggle to even get good salaries. It does not meet my sense of fairness

I begrudge Rihanna nothing. I wont make any assertion that there is political capital to be made from close association with her international successes. If I were a Barbadian national and recognized to be the best in my field what would I be thinking

If criticisms come showering down on me today because of this post, I will be taking shelter under my umbrella, 'ella, 'ella, eh, eh.