The Pomposity Of Nepotism Within The Public Service Of This Little Rock - (Or The Fact That Bajans Appearing More and More Sheeplike When Faced With Blatant Bullshit)

Pretty little buses all in a row.

A few years ago I chanced to get on a St. Patrick's bus, and we got all the way to Sheraton Centre, going towards St. Patrick's. A little old lady got on, flashed her ID card, and stood beside the driver as the bus was full to capacity, I remember it being rush hour, and the bus was hot, and crowded, I was a few steps away from the driver, standing with my headphones in as usual, just bobbing my head along as I usually do to make it through the ordeal of being on board a bus with so many bodies pressing here and there.

It took two songs about 3 minutes in length before I realized the driver had turned his engine off, and was casually picking his fingernails, I mean in the most nonchalant manner at the height of the evening rush hour when the working public, parents, students, everybody hustling to get home.

Then the cussing began, "BUS MAN WHA IS DE PROBLEM? WE WAHN GET HOME, TRY AND MOVE DE BUS!" I pulled out my headphones and stretched this way and that until I could see the driver, who was still just there casually seated, drumming his finger tips on the steering wheel, seemingly lost in thought.

The little old lady was trying to push herself down in the bus through the sheer mass of us in the front, and as she reached my side, I blurted out exactly what I thought the issue was.

"So, NONE of you here in the front of the bus are gonna get up and give mums a seat??? Those seats are for her not you!!!"

If you could have heard the sucking of teeth, the under breath cursing, the genuine disgust from the most of us standing, you would have been proud.

Not one of the persons occupying the 7 or 8 side on seats at the front of the bus were elderly, pregnant, or disabled, nor carrying a child. Other passengers echoed my sentiments and the driver took his defiance even further.

Mr Driver got up, pulled out the keys, and disembarked from the Government Of Barbados' Transport Board Bus, with the most serene facial expression I had seen up to that point.

To be honest, I was very frustrated, but not at him, in fact, I was quite impressed with him. People began cussing him and carrying on, the way you know they will, eventually he answered.

" If Gran doesn't get a seat, I am not moving this bus, I don't care if they bring Ghandi himself! "

I was in stitches because I had never heard anyone use that term.

Eventually the little old lady got a seat, even though she fussed that she was strong enough to stand, one of the kind, thoughtful individuals in the front of the bus actually did get up and stand so she could sit.

Which brings me to August 12th 2014, and my friend Terrance Holder's encounter with a driver highlighted by a video of him and a driver going at it.

Of course that video has gained more than 1200 comments, 4200 shares in and around the region, in fact, the world.

Now, I have been active in my natural personality on that post, cussing here, there and everywhere because I am incensed to the blatant truths being shoved in my face on this thread.

see for yourselves
Some of those truths being as follows:

Much of the social media viewing public in this region are either illiterate, or just plain lazy, they are also cowards.
Too many people rather just roll over and get cursed out, than take a stand, for fear of being targeted, by boisterous persons IN REALITY, because, well, that's what we do, and finally,
There is no sense of ethics in many members of our work force, not just the public servants, the ENTIRE workforce, there is a reason why I say this, since the beginning of the thread we have seen Terrance's character been attacked, he has been told he's trying to provoke the driver into a confrontation in an attempt to defame his - the driver's - otherwise pristine reputation, he's been told he's breaking the law by recording the driver's outbursts and communicating with him, and finally he's been told he should have been put off the bus.

What appears particularly distressing about this situation is the fact that aside from a very apologetic member of staff from Transport Board, the humble and soft-toned Sherphene Waithe, who has apologized -she did so BEFORE the matter was addressed by the relevant authorities- for his behavior (the driver), and one other who publicly chided the driver for his behavior, which for all to view, is raucous and obscene, and directly contravenes with the mission statement of the fifty eight year old establishment of the Barbados Transport Board, the amount of people who support this driver's actions and words, is one too many.

From fellow drivers at the Barbados Transport Board, to senior members of the journalism family, have displayed the essence of poor countryman-ship and judgment, actually, if you follow the thread through its nearly two week lifespan, Mr. Holder has been cursed, poisonously, by members of staff, proud to announce that they have been employed by the transport board for quite a few years, in the case of Derek Goodridge and his scathing display of pomposity, with absolutely NO regard for the image of the Barbados Transport Board, in fact, his piece of horse fodder is written with the opening sentence of  "I joined transport board in 2007..." and ends in " ..call the minister of transport and works, you pussy."

Just to be certain I did not misread his comments, I captured the screens, this man and the driver share a common factor. I don't personally know if it's fueled by our society's blatant and significant nepotism, OR, if its just how ignorant some people are.


The pressing question remains, is The Transport Board going to discipline its subordinates in any way?
As it seems, to us the public, they have no control over the staff they chose not to make redundant, in fact, these subordinates seem to be the ones running the state owned company, not the managers, and definitely not the minister.

Meanwhile, those of us in the public who choose to speak out, and represent ourselves, demanding better of them, might just have to sit here, with our rear ends biting, for just a little while longer.