You don't look Jamaican is something I have heard in Africa, London, just this week Haiti. I mean European people straight outta Ukraine say you look American. Bwoy and from me start travel them no ramp fe welcome me back home to the US. I find it unbelievably hilarious, because I look No-thing like an American. To me. I was at the Haitian airport and one of the gentlemen dealing with security and passport checks told me I smelled nice and that I should have been learning french and creole while I was here (Haiti). This admonition was delivered when he reeled off some french and I said tentatively, "l'anglais?".
He was cool, smiling and real polite and helpful as I found all the Haitians I have met to be. And they say no problem a lot in Haiti. Okay so back to not looking Jamaican...so I get to my turn in the passport check line and both men there do a visible double take when they catch the Jamaica stamped on the front of my documents.
"You don't look Jamaica, we thought you were American". It started me wondering what do we Jamaican's look like. With the proliferation of media delivering images of Jamaica at the speed of net, by now everybody I thought should know that we come in all shapes and sizes. There's the Sean Paul look, the Junior Gong look, the Usain look, the Shelly Ann Fraser, the Yendi and Lisa Hanna look. Our music videos among our biggest export also contain Jamaicans in all shapes and sizes so why don't I look Jamaican?
My sons don't look Jamaican to me, I mean I can see someone thinking they were not from our homeland. But am I not then saying the same thing as those who look at me and pre-judge. I am a hypocrite ...I kno right!!!! As people often say to them where are you from? Or they ask me what nationality and race is their dad. I recall more than one occasion here and in other countries when people come up to me and just start off in another language, and when I say Je ne comprende or whatever applies they say "OH you are from America!".
Get this I was wearing my Jamaica dress in a US airport and handed my passport to the Caucasian immigration officer, who asked me where I was going, I says Haiti. He says "why?". Then I says, I am on assignment. I work for a TV station in Jamaica, then he looks at me again while holding my Jamaican passport and says "you're from Jamaica?!"
I point to the JAMAICA on my dress, diplomatically ignoring the Jamaican passport in his hands (which says you guessed JAMAICA) and say yes.
Ironically, when people see me in Jamaican gear outside of the homeland, they think I just visited and bought myself a tee shirt or a dress or a hat or whatever.
So I don't even know what to feel, insulted? Complimented?
I think it feels sorta lame, I am proud to be Jamaican even if I am not easily identifiable by looking and want to do my part even just by going to some other places, to dispel the myth that we are all gun toting weed smoking degenerates, which is a lot more rumoured about us than I would like. When I say I am, and I get the "you don't look like you are from Jamaica" thing; I never fail to wonder, what is it that look, that I need to have?
Seventeen years ago in Africa, some African guys says I don't have locks and I am not smoking a spliff. And when they did the math on that that equals non-Jamaican. But that isn't novel, to any Jamaican who gp places and who doesn't smoke weed and have a glock. DWL.
Do they still call it spliff? But like I said since the explosion of Jamaican culture throughout world media, I thought that this assessment would have changed over the years.I think I look very Jamaican, I have the whole "out of many thing happening". In my humble opinion.
I guess there are worse things that could occur when a Jamaican travels, in fact we all know there are but it sorta feel a way, when I get that whole you don't look Jamaican vibe! I'm like Mom! Who am I?! (Insert psycho attack theme here).
So I am now wondering are people being nice to me because I don't look Jamaican? That sucks.Or would suck if that is actually the case. I hope not. And if they are, being nice because I don't look Jamaican - I hope that once discovering that Jamaicans look like everything and that not only am I Jamaican, but me nice - they will revise that stereotype about the Jamaican nation.
Our motto is: Out of Many One People! So we tend to look very cross-ethnicised people in travel land who are reading this!
And even while... Jamaicans look like many things and not all of us look cross-ethnicised - I hope that once they pick up the rake that there are all types of us (which I thought people had ages ago, goes to show what happens when you to self absorbed) - and that we are nice to boot; we all as a people- will be recognized for that.
I have been traveling a lot for a while and I guess one of the proudest times is when I rep for the yaad! And I want them to see that we are fabulous and full of great things each and every time I rep for the Jam- Rock!
It would be cool if the view of the world about wasn't the same decade after decade especially when it seems so negative. I want this instead of any other stereotypes that may exist about us. Ahem! So I look forward to hearing one day, "oh you must be Jamaican, I could tell coz you're so nice and fabulous!". Screw what I look like! Yay!
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