Patria-Kaye Aarons | I’m in Vegas’ corner

It's not unusual for Mr Vegas and I to have a difference of opinion. I think he's an attention junkie, always injecting himself into the next big story - unnecessarily.

All Sunday, the hot topic was the showdown that ensued at YMCA between Vegas and the infamous self-proclaimed American apostle, Pastor Gino Jennings. From the short clip I saw, at first, I thought, "Here goes typical Vegas - hijacking the people's good-good convention to be the centre of attention. Hungry for a headline."

That two and half minute video was of Vegas being bodily removed from the stage by about 650 men. You could clearly hear in the background the scratched soundtrack of Jennings saying over and over, "Take his microphone and usher him out." I found it hilarious.

Insomnia is a beast, and as if I never had anything better to do, I dug deeper into the bowels of social media to find more footage. I watched Vegas' selfie rant against the police and white Jesus that ensued. I probed even further and found an almost hourlong video that started midway a presentation being given by Vegas that ended with the unceremonious dismount.

Turns out Vegas did not invite himself. He was used as a drawing card, advertised to debate Jennings on the controversial topic of church-appropriate attire for women.

Church ho (whore)

Jennings has several videos online viewed thousands of times on the topic. Now, this column will not be about what I do, or don't, think about Jennings as a church stylist. Suffice to say, Massa, Jamaica is too hot for the burqa and water boots you have exhibited as appropriate. But I digress.

Long and short, Vegas did not take kindly to the minister's position that anyone wearing anything fake and exposing any flesh was nothing but a church ho (whore). The debate was to have settled the matter.

I've seen all the videos from Sunday's event. I have now come to the conclusion that I side with Vegas on this one. Having seen the exchange in full, what it comes down to was that Jennings wanted to play 'Sword in Hand', and Vegas didn't. And Jennings vex. Yu know when you watch a debating competition and the opponent says "point of Information" when they want to refute a claim made by the other side midspeak. That's essentially what it appears to me that Vegas was trying to do, and Jennings blocked it every time like a condom on a mission.

He wouldn't allow Vegas to get a word in edgewise and was also only concerned with quoting scripture, which he was well aware he knew better than Vegas did. He wouldn't allow the man to make a point, insisting that anything he said must be a Bible quote. It was the kind of close-minded discussion that often keeps fanatic Christians in and everybody else out. An inability to reason, which accepts that logic, life, and the Bible are allowed to be mutually exclusive; without question.

In addition, Jennings kept insisting that he never called women who wear makeup and wigs whores, and Vegas wanted to play the tape to prove otherwise. Jennings wouldn't allow him. According to Jennings, Vegas misrepresented him.

"We were not saying at any time that a woman is a whore BECAUSE she wear makeup, or because she wear fake hair, or because she wear jewellery." According to Jennings, those things don't MAKE you a whore. They only make you LOOK like a whore. Some of his videos say otherwise, but that was the version he came prepared to stick to in the debate.

"Usher him out"

As an aside, I think both men have a touch of OCD. Jennings said "I want Bible" 26 times in a row, "take his microphone and usher him out" 17 times in a row, and poor Vegas deh pon "can I speak? Can I speak? Can I speak? Can I speak?" till him throat dry. They both also had an unnatural fondness for "answer the question".

I found the whole thing thoroughly entertaining and would pay good money to see it all play out again in Netflix.

Vegas, you won this round in my books. On another note, between Jennings and Aaron Dumas' reprehensible answer to the raped young girl, it has not been a good week for pastors. As my grandmother would say, "Shake up oonu folly ground."

By the way, does this mean that Vegas is no longer a gospel artiste?

- Patria-Kaye Aarons is a television presenter and confectioner. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and findpatria@yahoo.com, or tweet @findpatria.