Orville Taylor | A gentle Gayle as the Christmas breeze

We should have been preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ and all of the other seasonal fandangles. Even if one is not religious; it is a period for us to spend time with family and friends and be festive. There is no Santa Claus, and while I am no Grinch, Christmas is going to be sad this year.

Not least of all, everyone else, with a conscience, whether they knew her or not, should be reeking and mourning the savage murder of our colleague, Barbara Gayle. Beloved by many, including the entire court system, the constabulary, the legal profession and judiciary, she was a mentor to many of the current and past generation of journalists. Just last month, the Press Association of Jamaica honoured her.

In fact, in my first incarnation as a columnist in the late 1980s, her detailed stories, and those of McPherse Thompson, set a standard still to be emulated. For the general public, she was able to bring the knowledge regarding court and other proceedings, into the plates of the normal consumer, presented in digestible chunks, with still the quality of analysis, that would not make seasoned lawyers baulk.

Saying that she will be missed is an understatement. Barbara was a decent soul, who never placed herself above the story and was dedicated to being truthful and honest in her work.

Unlike many others in our fraternity, this self-effacing approach leeched seamlessly into her personal life. Kind, soft spoken, but firm; gentle but upright, and most importantly, infused by a ‘Christ’- ian presence in her day to day dealings with people. Not a ‘Lord, Lord’ sycophant, she simply walked the talk.

There is not one single person, whom I have met in my more than 20 years of being employed within the Jamaican media environment, who can even say, “Barbara yeye red!” because, she never even had conjunctivitis.

Striding through the justice system, she would have seen the dynamics of crime and punishment. This includes persons being inexplicably exonerated by a jury, convicted against all logic, being given a tap on the back of the fist for serious offences, or harshly penalised for relatively minor infractions.

UNDERSTOOD

Nevertheless, she also understood that one of the greatest murderers of innocents, Saul eventually eclipsed Peter as the main purveyor of the eternal Christmas message.

Thus, doubtlessly, she believed in second chances and mercy. After all, that is the essential foundation upon which her active Christianity was built.

Christianity is actually a verb.

Details are still emerging regarding her murder. Still, it appears that her Christianity and willingness to see the good in others, may have contributed to her sad demise.

Someone, walked effortlessly across her threshold of security and snuffed out her life.

No! Inasmuch as the severity of the punishment, must match the crime and all of the primordial instincts are crying for Sharia or Mosaic law; killing the murderer will not bring her back and is very unlikely to deter others with the mens rea to draw blood. In any event, the death penalty is not Jesus’ way, and it is unlikely that she would have supported state or personal revenge for her death.

Yet in all of this, there is a message that is missed, as the entire nation, in deep shock, is celebrating the dauntless efforts of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, in apprehending the suspect. Indeed, some of what was said by the powers that be regarding the increased attention and resources, point to the perceived importance in solving this heinous crime.

Nevertheless, in this concerted knee jerk reaction, there is an implicit disrespect to the boots on the ground. First of all, let me make it clear that every single life in this country is important, and inasmuch as Barbara meant so much to us; every single life has the same value in this country.

Therefore, for us to even suggest that because, she was a lovely person and a public figure, the investigators would be putting out extra effort is also saying that in cases where individuals are not ‘smaddy’ important their murder is not treated with the same kind of urgency. That absolutely is not the message that we want to give.

CHRISTMAS PRESENT

A Christmas present to the criminals or those who would want to be, is that whatever you may think of the significance of the victim, the same efforts are going to be put in place for it to be treated with the same kind of urgency and the same kind of resources.

Yes, some crimes attract far more attention than others but a life, is a life, is a life.

The speed with which the police from St Catherine South and the detectives from the Major Investigation Division acted is not an anomaly. Far from that, it represents the norm even in cases where the murder victim is a person of ill repute, wanted dead or alive by the police.

Equality of treatment and submission to the processes of justice are paramount. And even criminals must be handled properly and fairly.

The important message to embrace as a Christmas present must be the supremacy of the law and Constitution, the transparency of the justice system and simply theoretical and practical application of the norm of equality of treatment.

My universal Christmas wish is that more and more, we move in this direction. Corruption, victimisation, nepotism, bias and all of the negatives associated with poor governance are simply anti-Christian.

Far more difficult to do than to practise, the central teaching of Jesus, is to make church noises, go to Christmas service and sing carols. Yet, Jesus taught us to create a world where we treat neighbours as ourselves. This message common to Islam and Hinduism, is a fitting way of honouring our fallen sister.

However, there is a difference between being peaceful and being weak. Only strong people can be peaceful.

Protect your three points this season.

Jah liveth.

Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer at the Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of ‘Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com.