Like
I said from the outset of this debate on this Carnival, or Junkanoo
Carnival idea, was that I will not support it as long as it is a
Trinidadian
soca-styled event. I protested, argued and was chastised for it and
after all the battling, the Government has finally decided that they
will ‘Bahamianize’ the event going forward and into the future. That’s
what I’ve always wanted and that’s what I was fighting
for all along and now that I’ve succeeded, I chalk that up as a victory
for me and my fellow cultural colleagues. The Government went on record
in the past few weeks committing that this event will be a
‘Bahamianized’ event.
So
why all the uproar? Because some in the media are hired out to be
attack dogs for others and their agenda once the price is right. Those
in the media
have the sound drops of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Tourism,
and the Minister of Youth, Sports & Culture speaking on the matter.
Recently Minister Johnson did a radio tour promoting the change but why
should the truth matter to them? Why not question
me face to face on their program live or recorded so I could respond to
their questions? Instead they edit sound bites and throw out innuendoes
misleading the public. I know why, because it’s the dishonest ones’
part time job. They are paid to besmirch your
good name, yet the Teflon criminals in our society trod along because
he who has the money buys the so called journalists, not all of them but
the perpetrators know who they are. If they are doing it to me, my
Bahamian people, they can do it to you to silence
any decent thought you may have but I will not back down from what I
believe in. Culture comes first and my choices are mine.
By
my saying I am endorsing the Government’s change in ‘Bahamianizing’ the
Junkanoo Carnival is in no way to persuade anyone to attend or to take
part
in the event. That’s ya business. I only gave my endorsement to the
Government for recognizing the need to change the direction of the
Junkanoo Carnival from its Trini-Carnival style to include more
Bahamians and less foreign things as possible, that is all.
No!
I have not received any money, not one red cent from anyone. What I
have, I worked for. Ask countless Bahamians who see me running up and
down traveling
here and there. Believe it or not, there are some of us out here with
integrity and care about themselves and their family’s name. I would
never compromise myself. If anyone out there has proof please present
it. If you have none, please retract it. I am a
musician so I have no problem being front and center. In fact, I love
the attention but I would never lie on anyone to further myself.
Changing
my position is about culture first. One side of this argument wants
this to be a Trini soca-styled event; the other side says they will make
sure that this is a Bahamian Cultural event going forward. Which side
do you think that someone, who has been in this business from the age of
eighteen, has never had a Government job, a self-made man -- his own
boss, would choose? I will always go with our
Bahamian Culture. I step to the fore for my fellow brothers and sisters
in the cultural community and ask for them to be treated fairly.
What
about the drummers, the bellers, the horn players, the dancers? What
are they getting out of this Carnival? This was my question at the press
conference.
Did the press mention that in their story? NO!
I
spoke up for all of them, maybe that’s my problem, our family problem,
we speak up to much. I hate to see injustice. Anyone who truly knows me
knows
of my convictions so they try to persecute you. I hope those who
collected their Judas payment for me standing up for the voiceless are
satisfied with themselves. You know what happened to Judas ay?
I
am no one’s poster boy, PLP, FNM, or the DNA so whose feelings are hurt
because I choose culture, again, das ya business. Our culture comes
first. I
am a Bahamian nationalist so whatever happens with this Junkanoo
Carnival event, please don’t allow the foreign element to win in the
end. Keep your eyes on the Bahamas Festival Committee and make sure they
are doing the right thing because when Bahamian Culture
dies, Bahamians die. Think about it. #BahamianCultureforever.
Kirkland H. Bodie