Columns :
The New Bahamian - Joseph Gaskins
Porn-posterous: The Bahamas Christian Council, in the Nude - Jan 13, 2012 - 1:43:25 PM
 Imagine my surprise upon reading the
first line of the Tribune article entitled, “Call for Ban on Porn,”
which appeared in last Friday’s paper. I was especially taken aback
by the report that members of the Bahamas Christian Council (BCC) sat
through 12 X-rated films. Comforted by the fact that they were doing
this for a purpose, to confirm that pornography was un-Christian and
should be banned, I was still left with a few questions which I hope
to work through publicly in the piece.
Why is it that at this moment pornography
should be banned? What purpose does banning pornography serve? Did I
miss something; was Bishop Randy out on bail? And, why did
it take 12 X-rated movies to come to this conclusion
Columns :
The New Bahamian - Joseph Gaskins
Making the case for a national political debate - Jan 4, 2012 - 11:33:44 PM
Explicitly, my intention is to present an argument for why I believe
this election season requires a debate between the leaders of the three
most visible political parties.
There are, I would argue, questions that remain concerning the lack of
any pronounced or marked ideological difference between these three
parties, and in these difficult times the Bahamas needs thoughtful and
critical leadership.
Public debate should enrich the political process and supply Bahamians
with varying and alternative imaginings of our possibilities as nation...
Columns :
The New Bahamian - Joseph Gaskins
Exuma Bears Strange Fruit (Dispatches from Exuma Part 3) - Dec 28, 2011 - 10:18:20 PM
[This is the final piece in a series entitled "Dispatches from Exuma." The series, which had its start in Exuma, is an attempt to more clearly set out a "new politics” to which this column is dedicated. This new politics is characterized by critical thought, inclusion and a particular concern for the value of life. What a critical politics and a politics of inclusion entail are elaborated in the previous articles in this series, and this final piece will articulate what I call a "politics of life."]
On December 10th, 2011 the Nassau Guardian reported the discovery of a partially decomposed body hanging from a tree outside of Moss Town, Exuma. We would later learn that the body was that of Garrison Pyfrom...
Columns :
The New Bahamian - Joseph Gaskins
Doublespeak and Sacred Errors: HIV/AIDS and the Bishop - Nov 25, 2011 - 8:11:29 AM
Bishop Hall,
I’m going to make
this quick because I hadn’t planned writing about you or HIV/AIDS
this week. I had a pretty good piece coming up on Prime Minister Ingraham’s
call for a “culture of peace”. So here’s what I’ll do. I’m
going to summarize what you’ve said over the last week, explain to
you why you’re wrong, and show you why being wrong is dangerous. I
have no intention of challenging the infallibility of the Bible, or your
faith, but I have every intention of pointing out your fallibility.
And, while I have in the past questioned the rationale of “the Church”
in the Bahamas, its place in governance and its right to dictate morals,
there are larger questions at stake here.
For me, this is about the
preservation of human life not the general enjoyment I get out of highlighting
how boisterous piousness is usually attended by blatant hypocrisies...
Columns :
The New Bahamian - Joseph Gaskins
All of We is One Family ... Except for Dem (Dispatches from Exuma Part 2) - Oct 28, 2011 - 10:36:27 AM
In the previous article I wrote about the need for a new critical politics, a politics that can provide “forward movement fostered by radical policies that get to the heart of our real issues beyond the superficiality of party politics”. This is something I attempted to advocate for while PLP delegates spoke to students here in London. In this second installment of the series I would like to address yet another dimension that might define a new Bahamian politics: a politics of inclusion.
What do I mean by a “politics of inclusion”? If the Bahamas is in need of a “politics of inclusion,” what kind of politics do we have now? Without this so called “politics of inclusion” what is at stake? These are big questions and so instead of attempting to...
Columns :
The New Bahamian - Joseph Gaskins
In the Absence of Critical Thought (Dispatches from Exuma Part 1) - Oct 6, 2011 - 11:00:17 PM
For the last month I’ve not written
anything aside from a questionable Master’s dissertation. With a little
less that 10,000 words on the page, I quickly left London for a much
need trip home. Today, I’m writing from Exuma, my first trip to an
“out island”. My mother has moved here from Freeport and I’ve
been looking forward to this trip forever. So there it is, I’m writing
from beneath a clear, star-speckled cosmic canopy and I don’t think
I’ve ever seen the skies so vivid at night. That’s the thing about
living in big cities; the stars are almost always obscured by the city's
lights.
I’m sure most of you are aware that
this summer London has been plagued by riots. Young and old, black,
white and brown, took to the streets to show their “anti-social”
colors. Molotov cocktails and shattered windows were the lighting and
soundtrack that set the backdrop of August in parts London. Truthfully,
I’ve been doing a bit of rioting myself, haven’t I?
Columns :
The New Bahamian - Joseph Gaskins
Just Hang ‘Em! Right? - Jul 22, 2011 - 8:21:07 AM
Over the last few days I’ve been
both metaphorically and virtually (for lack of a better word) surrounded
by death. Sunday night I found out through Facebook (hence virtually)
that someone I’d been acquainted with was killed in Nassau and that
another person was gunned down shortly after, raising the murder count
in the Bahamas to seventy-four. Apparently, almost simultaneously a
friend of mine was involved in a carjacking in which his life was threatened
and property was stolen. This too happened in Nassau. It seemed that
all around me an ominous, billowing dark fog had descended and along
with it the cries for justice to be served. In short, “It’s time
to start hangin’ again!”
This is my first attempt at articulating
a position on capital punishment in writing…well, aside from a brief
foray into the issue in my piece...
Columns :
The New Bahamian - Joseph Gaskins
Bahamas Backs Gay Rights, Does this Spell the End For Us? - Jun 24, 2011 - 8:33:53 AM
This past week
The Nassau Guardian
published statements by Deputy Prime Minister, Brent Symonette, confirming
that
the
Bahamian government had signed on to a United Nations resolution highlighting
and calling for action to be taken concerning the discrimination faced
by members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community
across the globe. For many
of you this may have come as a complete surprise. Indeed, I’m sure
some of you are at this very moment wondering how God will dispense
his awesome justice in the face of such bold disobedience. Will he go
old school and give us the seven plagues of Egypt? Will he exhibit continuity
and stick with the fire and brimstone, subjecting us to the same furious
end Sodom and Gomorrah suffered? Perhaps we’ll have an extra busy
hurricane season this year? Or worse, will this prove to be the final
nail in the coffin of Bahamian heathens everywhere on that righteous
conveyor belt to the ever-burning crematorium…also known as Hell?
Certainly, even the Bahamian sandstones will cry out because of the
significance of this offence. In all honesty I doubt it...
Columns :
The New Bahamian - Joseph Gaskins
A Critical Reading of the WikiLeaks - May 27, 2011 - 8:40:51 AM
Last week, in my introductory article
for this column, I attempted to answer the “who’s” and the “what’s”
of our impending adventure together. Specifically, I tried to be clear
about who I am and what I intended to do with the new platform that
has been afforded to me. I think now I want to focus on the how, and
for me (with all my shiny, new sociological training) this is a question
of methodology. How do I intend to advance the “New Bahamian” perspective
that I spent considerable space in my last article discussing? How do
I hope to push my country toward the new politics I argued were so essential
for our continued growth and survival? And lastly, how will I endeavor
to “challenge—as radically as possible—Bahamian business as usual”?
Tough questions for a little column like mine; but I think the answer
is obvious...
Columns
(New Columnist) Some Things Just Have to Be Said… - May 20, 2011 - 1:45:26 PM
The Bahamas Weekly is pleased to welcome our newest columnist,
Joseph Gaskins:
"It may be best
to start with a little about me. My name is Joseph Gaskins Jr., but
just about everyone calls me Joey. I was born in Freeport, Grand Bahama
on February 6th, 1986. I am the progeny of Wilchcombe and
Charlton lineage, and that coupled with my nationality as a Bahamian
makes me very proud. As a measure of my parents’ hard work and dedication,
I was schooled at Mary Star of the Sea and (the institution once known
as) Freeport Anglican High School. I left for college in 2003 at 17
years old and I haven’t lived at home since, for reasons which I’m
sure will make their way into my writing. I studied Politics at Ithaca
College and I am close to finishing a Masters in Race, Ethnicity and Post-colonial studies at the London School of..."
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