Jamaican blogger, Girl with a Purpose notes that while she does think the ban will be effective in reducing the lewd music that is heard “for probably 50% of the time…via radio and television”, a large part of the responsibility lies with the adults of our society, especially parents, who need to censor themselves and realize that:

To expose their young children to lewd and explicit music, thus making them prematurely ready and aware of sex and violent acts, is wrong.

Another trend in these discussions is the issue of other musical genres besides dancehall (i.e. soca and calypso, hip hop, rap etc.), especially as Jamaica enters its Carnival season - a time when imported soca music takes centre stage across the island. Amidst cries of hypocrisy by several Jamaican artistes who feel that dancehall is being unfairly singled out, MadBull, a Jamaican blogger in Cayman, writes that he fully supports the ban and thinks it should be extended to any genre of music being considered for public airplay. He exclaims on his blog:

What about soca and hip hop and so on? I don’t care what the genre is! If the lyrics dutty, drop dem too! That's what I think! 

Outspoken Jamaican blogger, Agostinho, published on his blog a letter he submitted to the editors of various local media in which he discusses the need for dancehall to revamp its image. While he acknowledges the place of dancehall music in Jamaican society and its importance as the centre of popular culture, he feels that dancehall has a responsibility to the society from which it springs to reform its image…

not just in the interests of practicality given its increased powers of importance in the society, but also as a means of demonstrating its inherent versatility/creativity. The latter, as we are aware, goes beyond a focus on only themes of sex and violence. Excuses regarding a chronic lack of education on the part of many of its producers and artistes are an insult to the diversity of intelligence and depth of talent within the industry/culture. These must yield to the more urgent demands of true national development, cultural pride and meaningful progress. 

Stunner's Afflictions also explains his thoughts on the ban. He fully supports the move by the Broadcasting Commission, noting that it was long overdue:

It is their job to police what is good for public broadcast as prescribed by Television and Sound Broadcasting Regulations. So why did they have to wait on public outcry and pressure for them to take a step to ban such material? What have they been doing and what are they doing, for my hard earned taxpayer dollars? The Broadcasting Commission need to pull up their socks and this incident really shows them up.

His followup post on Valentine's Day sought to remind readers of a crucial point: 

Not all of our Dancehall/Reggae music is less than desirable. There are still very good songs being played on our airwaves.

He goes on to share a video example of one such song, “Love Reigns” by Tarrus Riley and Bugle, two of Jamaica's newer artistes.

Since this public ban on explicit music, support has begun for more positive products to come out of the Jamaican entertainment industry. YardFlex, tagging itself as the Ultimate Jamaican Entertainment Magazine, reported recently on Tychicus, a self-described healer and prophet who staged a one-man protest last year against “daggering”, and who has since come out with some clean dances that he says are inspired by the Almighty. 

This discussion is ongoing as the ban is only 10 days old and the full implementation and its effects are yet to be seen. Jamaican bloggers have all come out in full support of the ban, and see this as a time for Jamaican artistes to step up and prove their creativity to the world.

You are a sexual deviant, a pariah. When you decided that you wanted to harm an innocent person. A person who did not even know you were attempting to violate them then you doomed yourself to your own demons.

Compounding the situation, young women have also been targeted recently, with an upswing in the number of rapes and abductions in certain areas of Kingston, leading some to suggest the possibility of gang initiation being the underlying cause. Trinifem2 of Transition Sunshine examines her feelings about living in Jamaica, and how her behaviour has had to change in recent times: 

I have often repeated that I refuse to feel caged up or threatened by the crime in Kingston. I face each day with joy and enthusiasm using the same precautions I would utilize in any major city. However, of late I have been coordinating with pals to run, walk and cycle in groups which I must admit has been a first for me as I have always enjoyed the freedom of bolting out solo.

Early morning walks alone and saying, “Howdy!” to people on the streets has been restricted […] I have attempted to stop watching the 7pm local nightly news […] 

[…] I have resorted to reading the newspapers and listening to radio talk shows only. 

Searching for solutions and ways to cope, inspiring herself and her readers with the legendary John Lennon's “Imagine“, she finds herself filled with questions daily:

Will an illiterate, angry, uncaring and unforgiving individual who may have never experienced gentleness or kindness, get up one day and recognize that his daily acts of fighting, stabbing, shooting and raping are wrong?

Whose responsibility is it to teach a man or woman right or wrong? Good or bad?

Email calls for a peaceful protest have begun circulating, with the complete text being shared by several bloggers asking Jamaicans to come out to support. Jamaican blog Long Bench asks their readers to “spread the word widely“, posting the entire email text. Expat trinifem2 of Transition Sunshine also posted the email within minutes of receiving it, expressing optimism through a YouTube video of the Loius Armstrong classic “What a Wonderful World“.

The message, purporting to be from Aloun Ndombet-Assamba, former Minister of Tourism, Entertainment & Culture for Jamaica, invites Jamaicans to join a march on Wednesday November 19th, 2008, which is the International Day for Prevention of Child Abuse. 

So much of us have been talking on the phones, on verandas about what’s been happening in Jamaica these last three weeks. Here is an opportunity to do something more. Each of us need to stop being crippled by fear and do what we can to make a change.

Wear white for peace. Pass it on. Participate. Jamaica can be so incredibly beautiful, but it's currently in crisis.

Jamaican blog Long Bench reserves comment on the event but invites readers to: 

[…] show up at the vigil and then come back and tell me how it was for you.  

Although the impact of this event and its message will not be known until after it takes place, most Jamaicans, like trinifem2 of Transition Sunshine, remain ever “hopeful that things will soon change.”
 

Despite earlier rumours of his death, Jamaica awoke this morning to the news of the passing of the legendary Byron Lee. Lee, bandleader of the Dragonaires, died at the University Hospital of the West Indies yesterday, November 4, 2008, after a two year battle with cancer.

Although the news was received in the shadow of the historic US elections, the tributes began pouring forth for a man whose career spanned more than 50 years and is credited with being one of the leading musicians to bring Jamaican music to the world. 

Lee was recently awarded with the Order of Jamaica during a special ceremony at the hospital. He was given the award by Governor General Sir Kenneth Hall and the Prime Minister for his contribution to Jamaican music. The Order of Jamaica is the nation's fourth-highest honour. Lee was awarded the Order of Distinction (Officer class) in 1982. That honour was upgraded to Commander class in 2007.

On hearing of Lee's death, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, was quoted as saying:

Jamaica, and indeed the world, have lost another great music pioneer with the passing this morning of Byron Lee, one of the greatest bandleaders ever to grace the entertainment stages of the world.

For those less familiar with the work of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, Iriegyal of A Fe Me Page Dis Iyah, shared two videos from YouTube. 

At the Caribbean Beat blog, writer Caroline Neisha reflected on an article written by Garry Steckles in a 2003 issue of the Caribbean Beat magazine, in which Steckles described a performance he witnessed in England:

…Lee, bandleader and musical opportunist extraordinary, had chalked up another in a long line of successes at doing what he does best — getting a crowd, any crowd, anywhere, any time, on its collective feet and dancing.

YardFlex.com extended condolences “to the entire family and all who loved this great man who has made his country Jamaica extremely proud”:

Old folk say the time eventually comes when many memorial services become the order of the day. Well for Jamaican music veterans, it appears to be that appointed time these days.

And this is how the Honourable Byron Lee Sr., OJ will be remembered - not just as a musician, bandleader, promoter, label owner, studio owner, icon, legend, musical pioneer, but as a man who, as his daughter said, “was always working to use music to unite persons of all ages, races and people from all walks of life.”

Byron's Lee's music did indeed touch people from all walks of life - and from all parts of the Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago-based Caribbean Free Radio posted a photo of Lee in his element - on stage - along with a simple but heartfelt headline:

Farewell, Byron Lee…

The community anguish that arose at last week's discovery of the body of a missing eleven year old, Ananda Dean, echoed throughout the country as parents were reminded of the level of vigilance needed to keep their children safe. However, as Jamaican blogger Stunner points out, it will require the contribution of all sectors of society to protect the children. He says,

But parents can't be with their children all the time and all the preparation an teaching a parent does is not a guarantee that the child will be safe. The police have to play a part, the school has to play a part, the government has to make the necessary legislative changes and enforce through the law, and society has to also look out for our children.

Kadene Porter of Caribbean news site, Abeng News, remarked that it would be a matter of days before Jamaica returned to normal until, as she put it, the nation's

[…]next collective gasp in the wake of yet another unspeakable atrocity.

Unfortunately, that gasp came sooner than expected when news broke of the kind of crime no society dreams could be committed by one of their own. Jamaicans awoke on Wednesday morning, jarred out of their perrenial slumber by the story of a nine-month old infant perishing after being molested and sodomized by a family member while it's mother was in jail. 

The shame and outrage at the savagery and heartlessness now rampant in Jamaican society is being decried at all levels. Ordinary citizens, politicians and organizations dealing with children's rights are calling out for something to be done. 

The biggest concern, besides the actual victims of these horrendous crimes, is the effect of this environment on those children who have to stand by and watch as their safety and peace of mind is eroded before they even reach puberty. As another Abeng News article put it,

 When children witness adults engaging in vigilante justice where thieves are hanged in the streets, hacked to pieces and torched, what innocence is expected to remain with them? When reprisal killings become the norm, how are the young expected to resolve differences, as adults in the community commend each other when murder settles a conflict, and threats are issued for the next round to ensure the cycle of violence never ends? And where should these juveniles — who oftentimes become parents in their early teens – learn parenting skills when at least one parent, the father in most cases, is missing from their lives?

Jamaica is searching for solutions to stem the bloodletting before it corrupts their society irreparably. With it's shame brought to light, Jamaicans may have found a common goal even as they prepare to celebrate some of their athletes' recent accomplishments in the Beijing Olympics.