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Like many Jamaicans, I, until recently, was indifferent towards the monarchy. That Queen Elizabeth II is head of state is immaterial to many of us. After all, she is thousands of kilometers away and her role is merely a titular one. We are only reminded of her on those rare occasions when she or a member of her family visits. This indifference has morphed into rejection or in other instances outright hostility.
When last I checked, 55% of Jamaicans are for removing the queen as head of state. As for me, I am at a loss as to why we did not do this six decades ago. But as we know, there is much that goes on behind closed doors that we ordinary folk will never know about.
Many of us have soured toward the monarchy for a number of reasons. One of them is the Windrush scandal. To think that people who gave the best years of their lives rebuilding a country that was destroyed by the queen’s German cousins could be treated the way they were beggars belief. I can only conclude that the people who deported them are devoid of humanity.
But looking back, I wonder why anyone, knowing Britain’s history, would be surprised. I recall as an undergraduate student, sitting in on a series of talks given by Jamaicans returning from the UK. I forgot what the name of these talks was. I do recall though that they were hosted by a Mr. Cecil Gutzmore, an academic. The returning residents talked about the discrimination they faced in that cold wet country. From landlords putting up signs reading No Irish, No Negroes, No Dogs allowed, to police officers harassing them in the streets, to the things that transpired after that Rivers of Blood speech.
But despite being treated so horribly, they stayed. And when, these ‘Windrushers’, being in the twilight of their years, were cast out and told that they were no longer wanted, more of us started questioning our association with the monarchy.
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Compounding this was the George Floyd incident. It brought to the fore very uncomfortable conversations regarding racial relations. We interrogated the past and assessed the extent to which it continues to weigh on the present. How much has changed really?
We also looked at some of the symbols. What were these symbols saying? What do these symbols say about the people whose knees have been on our necks for centuries?
The crest representing the Order of St. Michael epitomizes the western world’s relationship with people of my hue. This image is one of the Arch Angel Gabriel standing on the neck of a black man. The black man represents the devil. The representative of the queen in Jamaica, the governor-general, wears it.
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It’s the ax that tells the wounded tree to forget
When slavery was abolished, the crown took out a $20,000,000 plus loan to compensate the farmers for ‘losing their property. It was in 2015 that this loan was finally repaid. This means that even members of the Windrush generation who were kicked out of Britain helped to repay the loan. We the descendants of slaves who are demanding reparations are being told to forget. The banks, however, were not.
The counterargument to reparations is that a son should not pay for the crimes of his father. My question is; “should a son benefit from the crimes of his father?”
