More perspective on the SJPP hair issue

I am glad to have the mother that I do. She has taught me to have an open mind and to be curious and to apply empathy and reason to my decisions. After reading my previosu blog post about the brouhaha surrounding the young Senator Damien Griffith and the students at SJPP, she sent me this email, which I thought was so spot-on and succint that I decided to share it.

Take it away, Mum...

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1. Why according to the deputy principal of the SJPP are dreadlocks unhealthy?

2. Is all long hair unhealthy? Or just the long hair of black people? and specifically the long hair of young black men? Is the long hair of white women unhealthy? Is the young hair of women of ('Indian') asian descent unhealthy?

3. Would the students have been asked to leave if they were 42 and 44 instead of being 22 and 24? And does this mean that the SJPP is discriminating against them because of their age? Does the Barbados constitution prohibit age discrimination? Should it?

3. Carlos Alleyne and Damien Weekes are men, they are NOT boys. Since these men are 22 and 24 can we fairly assume that they have been tax payers at some point of their lives between school leaving at 16 and being at SJPP at 22 and 24? Is the SJPP still a tax funded institution? Is the deputy principal's salary paid partly out of the tax money of these young men? Are the bricks and mortar of the SJPP maintained out of these young men's tax money? Is is right to take the tax money of these young men and then to refuse them a tax payer funded educaton?

4. Does the Barbados government exempt citizens from paying taxes based on hair length? on hair style? or hair clenliness? Does not the government take tax money from long haired people? Dirty haired people? People with unusual hair styles? Do we have a moral right to refuse tax funded services to others based on hair length, or style? Should we have this moral right? Should we have the legal right to refuse tax funded services based on hair length, hair style, hair cleanliness? How about hair color? Should we for example refuse tax funded services to all red haired people? Blond haired people? Black haired people?

5. I think that we have to be real real careful. 2 years ago the QEH ambulance service or some of its employees refused service to my father because he was too far?(in St. Peter) How far is too far? Who decides what is too far? And if the decider himself one day happens to be too far what happens to him? Should we have refused ambulance service to the people in the accident at Joe's River? And if not why not? Joes River is farther away than Heywoods? What happens to those citizens who live too far?

6. I think that we have to be very careful making decisions based on unreason and emotion. And lastly if there is room in the heart, then there is room in the house. When there is no room in the heart then there is no room in the house.