WITH SIZZLA ORDERED jailed for 15 days for language that he used at East Fest 2004, the matter of what limits there are to what can be said in a public place have come into sharp focus.
The matter is on appeal, but whether that is successful or not, the issue still stands.
Sizzla's sentence is a far cry from the much longer sentence that Alozade served after being involved in a fracas with police officers in court after being brought up, along with several other deejays, on charges about language in Montego Bay.
As has been pointed out before, Sizzla was not the only one who was using language, which is termed indecent, at East Fest. In addition, other deejays who have pleaded guilty to such charges have simply been fined or given community service.
It is ironic that in celebrated Jamaican movies such as Harder They Come, Third World Cop and Dancehall Queen one can go to the cinemas, sit in air-conditioned comfort and have Nachos and cheese while the same words that the deejays are being charged for and Sizzla is now ordered jailed for are slung about.
Justice, it seems, is blind, but it would also seem that the lady who balances the scales of mercy and punishment is also selectively deaf.
The implications for the deejays overseas career are enormous and should be taken into consideration.
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