Saint Lucia will see a ‘moral responsibility’ campaign for this year’s carnival amid concerns that the annual event has become heavily sexualised.
The campaign announcement came from Dr. Ernest Hilaire, the Minister for Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture, and Information.
Hilaire told reporters on Monday that the Saint Lucia Christian Council met him after last year’s festival.
“We had a frank dialogue,” the Minister recalled.
Hilaire said the result was an agreement to work with the church.
“Hopefully, we will be seeing that reflected in this year’s carnival where we will have a moral responsibility campaign to say to persons because it is carnival, it doesn’t mean you have to be lewd and behave in appropriate ways,” he stated.
“You can enjoy yourself without crossing the boundaries, and we will work with the church and they (will) provide spiritual guidance to reinforce that message,” the Minister said.
Archbishop Gabriel Malzaire had penned a review of last year’s carnival expressing shock at the ‘absolute vulgarity’ on display in many street bands and a feature dubbed the ‘bam bam wall’.
Citing the scriptures, he declared that anything demeaning to the dignity of the human person is unworthy of public display.
According to the clergyman, carnival, or any human celebration should not be an excuse for any form of licentiousness.
“As a people, therefore, we need to be concerned about what we present to the present generation of youth to prepare for the next. Whatever is accepted as moral norms, or the lack thereof in this generation, will spill over to the next with its increasing decadence,” the Archbishop wrote.
The christian council worried about a once a year event? Meanwhile every day we have bars and vehicles blasting hyper sexualised, vulgar, obscene violent music in public for everyone to be indoctrinated into. Then we have bars and trays selling alcohol across the street from churches. Perhaps you should go after the daily rot first and stop being hypocrites if you really want to solve the problem.
Must be a joke since carnival has grown to become as lewd as possible year after year. Listen to some of the songs that dropped last year and even this year so far. And the costumes. By all means have yoll carnival. Each to their own. But know that carnival itself stands completely opposite to the Bible that some revelers say they follow. The archbishop should know that.
Such an oxymoron. Moral responsibility for something which is of the flesh. Well I will wait to see. To me the costumes are skimpier this year.
Vulgarity and stink behavior does not belong on the streets where young adults are watching and VISUALLY taking in all in – they see this NASTY behavior as normal in their minds {nothing wrong with it) and that in itself is a problem for the next generation and society as a whole. In some parts of the world – your social media profiles are examined prior to obtaining jobs, housing etc… with such pics on display you will only be hired to be ???? fill in the blanks.
Some of the actions of some folk are SERIOUSLY DISGUSTING ON EVERY LEVEL. To walk around the town 1/2, 1/8, 1/4 naked shows SERIOUS lack of respect for self and others….. to some LUCIAN MEN I ask this question – would you encourage your daughter, sister or mother to be on such DISPLAY?????. To those of you who think this is cute please rest assured that —- your self respect is DEFINITELY out the WINDOW and no one will respect you after the entire UNIVERSE has seen your body parts on display ????????? — in person as well as social media. Remember the band leaders are all in for the money and that’s reality – so they don’t care what you wear and how you display yourself. To the institutions who are providing carnival loans – shame on you. How about educational loans instead ????
You can enjoy yourself and be modest/decent in your apparel – SOME OF YOU LOOK VERY NASTY, STINK AND DISGUSTING ON EVERY LEVEL and then you also have the PEDOPHILES and CHILD MOLESTERS lurking in the shadows and then you wonder ?????????–Godspeed
HYPOCRITES…..You may as well ban the carnival event…who are these hypocrites trying to dictate how people enjoy themselves..? If people are gyrating and twerking and moving their bodies…what is wrong with that? The church has for centuries made us feel ashamed of our bodies yet they have committed the most haineous of crimes against the flesh….they should stick to their beliefs and let people live their lives….it not like people are openly having coitus on the streets…the archbishop should look amongst his institution to find the people who are committing offences against the flesh…it’s utter reprehensible that the church wants to dictate how we live…a relic of ancient times, seeking validation…. they should get lost…..I await to hear what the carnival revellers have to say about that….holy bunch of hypocrits…
How can the loudest public figure who endorse the infamous “BUM BUM WAll” less than 10 months ago, do a 180 and suddenly become the spokesperson for Moral responsibility … you took ashes for lent ,,,please tell us Dr Hilaire…hehe???
Awww boy these children of The Himalayas I can’t anymore. Carnival is bacchanal and bacchanal is carnival plain and simple, Carnival Sunday Monday and Tuesday is ours the rest of the year is yours to walk around in your kaki and hush puppies. It’s Mind bottling those who don’t partake in bacchanal and avoid it has the most to say about it. If it’s not your ting it’s not your ting…… what do you want revealers to do dress like old time carnival . Those Christian Councils members are involved in biggest salopty, specially those men in robes we all know they walk around with no underwear always air conditioning their balls.
Tell them stop diddling little boys and girls and their own affairs and leave people alone. Always have an issue with something but their own house not clean.
Pierre say we losing de visas so free up de bum bum wall..
LUCIAN HIGHGRADE, I’m sure you meant “mind boggling ” and not “mind bottling.” I’m sure.
It wouldn’t bother me one iota, if they were to ban it all together. We see more and more exposure year after year and at this rate we will end up with butt naked bands one day. Some make money off it. It’s public adult entertainment for some men in the presence of kids, and the women who engage in it lose their dignity without even realizing it. Do you recall Sodom and Gomora ?
c–wiz always deh with a paragraph…smh…people let us all clean our houses one by one…we always here fighting each other criticizing every topic and individuals we read about while one young man killing another young man in this country, an employee trying his or her hardest to get rid of a hardworking employee by kissing boss grASS, a man being unfaithful to his wife and vice versa, another man not feeding his child and worst of all politicians see we are foolish people in the country taking every advantage of us…..let us stand up TO ALL the wrong going on in our once sweet st. lucia…..there are things that will happen as predicted long ago that if we dont tie our waist things are gonna get worse people…..he that can understand let him understand…
@ let us open our eyes to see clearly…
Clearly you are not opening you eyes to see clearly…you should practice what you preach ….you criticise people for voicing their opinions on this forum yet you turn to your own vomit and criticise people for doing the very same thing you are doing…talk about lack of understanding and unadulterated ignorance…
c-wiz not working…..pay jel ou
@…chpz
At least Learn to write kwéyol properly. It will rid you of your backwardness. Try it. It’s very liberating.