While Saturday's story about the community service sentence Ivor Robinson received in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court does have its funny side, it is a serious commentary on some people's priorities.

It was reported that the man was ordered to do work in his community after stealing a bar of soap, which costs $120. The soap is used for skin bleaching.

The fact that someone (and a man at that) went as far as to shoplift, to steal in order to lighten his complexion, demonstrates how much a lighter shade means to him.

Treasures 'lightness'

And, it is not only Robinson, who treasures 'lightness'. A glance at many people will show that they have dipped heavily into the figurative bucket of bleach. So, while we can chuckle at or condemn Robinson's indiscretion, we cannot ignore the fact that something must be amiss in our society for there to be such a bleaching craze.

We need to evaluate the emphasis put on light-coloured skin in the media, on the advertising billboard, from the podium, in the classroom and other powerful areas of socialisation. Because, while we may scoff at those who bleach, there must be a reason why the practise is so widespread.

It did not start with someone attempting to steal a $120 bar of soap.