There's an old adage that basically says if you cant beat them join them and I think those slaves that were put in charge of others out in the field decided to stop fighting and joined the colonialists. Heavy thoughts, I know but here is the story. Woke up Sunday morning with swollen tonsils, they were so bad I could hardly speak so we decided to get some medication at a well known pharmacy in Half-Way-Tree. Purchased our items and on walking out a picture from the magazine rack grabbed my attention. My curiosity was peaked because I noticed that the magazine was tailored for expectant mothers and new parents and as is our case we have a bright one year old D'Mitri who keeps us on our toes. I picked up the magazine and noticed that on the cover was one of Jamaica's popular female singers who recently had a baby. I decided to flip through just glancing at the pictures and made a few comments about them to my husband. The light over head dimmed as though rain clouds had blown in and hid the sun. I angled the page so that I could see the images, at that point a voice from over my shoulder bellowed, "Miss you cant read the books". So I replied, "Yes I can read the book, I have been reading since I was four years old." The voice again "There is a sign that says you cant read the books." I paused, looked at Shaun, spun around and saw a tall, slender young man. At first glance I thought that he was deprived of cornmeal porridge as a child and therefore he had very little meat on his bones. His timid eyes behind his square framed spectacles darted between Shaun and I as I imagined Shaun was starring him down as well.
"I don't see a sign that says so."
"There's one on the top of the stand here that says so" his arm mildly lifted towards the ceiling and my eyes followed.
"The sign is above eye level, I would not have seen that" I whipped back.
"Well it is there" he said. "Indeed" I said. This frail security had stirred up anger within me "It is 2013" I said "Why am I being told that I should not read something that is in public view?" By this my throat was so inflamed I retreated to the exit but realised that Shaun was not in tote. I spun around to see him fixed by the book stand engaged in a stare-down with the security. The fellow in his discomfort managed to pull off an about turn and slid away. Seeing Shaun in protest I decided I was going to let my voice be heard; swollen tonsils and all. I began to rant about racial inequality, education being accessible to all, reading as a fundamental skill, freedom of speech and a whole bunch of other things that eventually got the attention of others. By the time we left the pharmacy we had issued lessons in history, English grammar, aesthetics and common sense.
The security guard was probably not expecting the conversation to go in that direction but lesson learned. To be honest I don't blame him because he could not beat them so he joined them. He was only a pawn in the game of "store policy" chess; it was his job to watch over the store and he was sent to tell us to put down the magazines. There are many establishments in the city that have various store policies scribbled and hung haphazardly in the stores. These generally give the establishment a cheapened look and personally it turns me off from spending money in the store. What is more menacing is the worker who has to interact with the customer and try to explain why they cant pick up a magazine and flip through the pages. During my rant I asked what do they consider to be reading? Because me flipping the pages and looking at the pictures could be reading but in MANAGEMENT's eyes I had sat down with a warm cup of something, cleaned and adjusted my spectacles and was ready to dive into a best seller. As part of our protest we read all the head lines from the magazines, pointing out that we were now reading. For this there was no response, instead we received questionable stares. Those who know us, know that we could careless what you think of us as we are both dramatists; criticism is our fuel. I must be fair and admit that I understand that the store has to ensure that the merchandise is kept in good condition for those who will purchase it and therefore they want to minimise the handling of the magazines but its down right ridiculous to tell someone DO NOT READ.
Our country already has issues with literacy and numeracy, what message are we sending when put up signs that begin with DO NOT READ? It is no secret that the owners of slaves did not want them to be literate therefore it was illegal for a slave to learn to read or have a book in his possession. The security guard had provided for me a trip to 1713 and I never want to go back. I will read everything I see for as long as I can see and you best believe my son will do the same.
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