It is known that “all young men are men but all men are not young men”. Therefore it could be said that “all prophets prophesy but all who prophesy are not prophets”.
There is a rather simple formula to making a prophecy. All you have to do is recognise a particular trend or pattern, and with the employment of basic common sense, mixed with some historical facts, you should be able to deduce the possible outcome. For instance, if I were to see some ominous-looking dark clouds above Ragged Point Lighthouse, would I have to be a prophet to conclude that it is more than likely that it is going to rain?
If I were to see my sister with 12 eggs, some sugar, some flour, and a big wooden spoon, would I have to be a prophet to know that baking will be happening soon? I think not!
Now, everywhere you turn today there is a “Massy” sign. It seems that Massy used the “flooding” method as opposed to the “desensitisation” method. And because it all happened during Crop Over when everybody was partying and having a good time, no one really paid attention until things died down. And now people grumbling. People cruel.
As far as I know, Massy did not do anything illegal. It was merely business. Business ventures entail a great deal of “risk-taking”. Bajans apparently, by nature, do not take risks – at least not the risks that are required for “good business”. Therefore, the door was left wide open and the opportunists walked “businessly” through.
So how can we now complain? The signs were there. And we were warned. There was prophecy – not from a prophet – but prophecy nonetheless. There was a song entitled Barbados Belong To Trinidad, which was released about 15 years ago. This writer wrote and sang the song. It goes like this:
Years now duh say Bajan better, and dem brighter than dem islands,
Years now dem Bajan dem boasting and dem toasting dem education,
All dah time dem Trinidad boys dem en making no noise,
Dem just keeping dem poise and dem working,
All of a sudden look wha gone and happen,
This sweet ole island belonging to them.
NAMES OF PLACES THAT WERE OWNED BY TRINIDAD WERE MENTIONED BEFORE THE CHORUS.
Chorus:
All dah time de Bajan still brighter,
All dah time de Bajan still smarter, than Trinidad, yes Trinidad,
All dah time de Bajan still wiser,
All dah time de Bajan still better, than Trinidad, yes Trinidad,
All dah time de Bajan still wiser, Barbados belonging to Trinidad.
So when yuh see dem fish flying Tobago, leave dem alone,
Man dem only going home.
Vs 2
Every time dem Bajan dem travelling, man dem shopping and dem spending,
When dem feel de power of de dollar, oh man dem laughing,
All dah time dem Trinidad blokes, dem en making no jokes,
Just watching dem Bajan folks and INVESTING,
Now suddenly it is clear to me,
that dis sweet country belonging to them.
NAMES OF PLACES OWNED FOLLOWED BY CHORUS.
The song received enough airplay for it to be properly digested, yet no one seemed to take it seriously. This led me to believe that because I am a comedian, the song was treated as a joke.
George Orwell, the writer of Animal Farm, also wrote a book entitled 1984. This book was published in 1949. The theme of 1984 was “Big Brother Is Watching You”. Orwell, in 1949, because of certain trends of activity, looked into the future and predicted that by 1984, every move we made would be scrutinised. We would have no privacy. We would be watched even while in our bedrooms.
Now 1984 as a year on the calendar has gone but 1984 as in Orwell’s book is now happening. All of what Edward Snowden revealed would be what Orwell had envisioned. And then there are the drones which fly over to watch you from a different angle. And the constant monitoring of cellphones. Even Google Earth and GPS must all be included in Orwell’s prophecies.
Was George Orwell a prophet or did he just make a prophecy? The writer of this article wrote a song entitled 2009. The song was written in the year 1987 – 22 years earlier. The song prophesied that Barbados would be taken over by Indians by the year 2009. The writer does not consider himself to be a prophet. The songwriter merely saw a trend or pattern going along a certain path which could cause the predicted result.
The year 2009 has come and gone and the totality of the predictions has not been realised. But remember that it took 30 years after the year 1984 for the book 1984 to become a reality.
• Mac Fingall is an entertainer and retired secondary schoolteacher.
