THE EDITOR, Sir:
I AM incensed at the story in The Sunday Gleaner of September 28, 2003, where a man who called a judge "sexy" was subsequently arrested by a police officer.
As the story went, the gentleman who worked nearby saw the judge who was in her robe and wig and being escorted by police officers to the courtroom and called out, "Sexy judge, come here nuh."
I am confused about the action of the police officer and the subsequent defence of his action by your newspaper in the editorial of September 30, 2003. I would therefore like to make the following points:
I am not aware of any law on the books in Jamaica that stipulates that a man or woman cannot freely address each other as "sexy".
Are judges gods or goddesses and therefore even outside of the courtroom they cannot be addressed by the common man?
The man in question must be blind or was just patronising the judge because it is impossible to tell whether or not a judge is sexy under that robe and in that wig. Could it be that the police officer arrested him for lying?
The policeman must be mad to arrest somebody and then try to find a charge to validate the arrest. Are the police allowed to fabricate charges as they see fit or are they supposed to enforce laws already on the books? If the man's friend had not solicited the help of a lawyer he would have probably ended up lost in the prison system like so many others.
The word "sexy" is a colloquial expression which is used by men and women in Jamaica to compliment persons who they think are attractive. I must agree that some men are aggressive in its use but the bottom line is that it is a word used to convey positive salutation.
The man in question should sue the police force for unlawful arrest and detention.
I am, etc.,
GEORGE YOUNG
Malu696@yahoo.com
