I am glad that Bishop Dr Marlon Husbands has publicly stated that Rihanna is not fit to be an ambassador.  Unfortunately, the man Bishop Husbands is embracing in the photo, the acting Prime Minister, Ronald Jones, is quoted as saying the following in the February 27, 2011, issue of the Nation online, “I know language. I know poetry and prose, and I cannot in all consciousness stand in harsh criticisms of her (Rihanna). . . when we should in fact be holding her up.” 

Therein lies the problem.  Members of the DLP government, which is holding up Rihanna as a youth ambassador and promoter of Barbados, either support her or will forever remain silent on the issue. 

It is shocking and mind boggling to me that at a time when gun violence and violence against women appear to be on the rise in Barbados, the government is holding up Rihanna as an ambassador.  Rihanna made a video depicting a man being shot in the head.  She has two gun tattoos, one on each shoulder.  She wears a necklace with a gun on it.  I read in an article that she has gun shaped chandeliers in her home.  She has the words “Thug Life” tattooed on her fingers.  She refers to Black people as the “N” word and women as the “C” word, among other vulgarities, on her Twitter page that is read by millions around the world.  After being beaten by Chris Brown, she has stated she likes bad boys and men who are more aggressive.  She is quoted in “Rolling Stone” magazine as stating she is a masochist and is attracted to the “dark side” because of her dysfunctional upbringing. 

We should not be holding up someone who is attracted to the “dark side” as an ambassador for our youth.  Many Bajans and others have paid the ultimate price in recent months because a growing number of Bajan youth are attracted to the “dark side.”

The good Bishop need to gathering his flock and leave Rihanna alone. I am 100% sure that Rihanna is not responsible for the MORAL AND SOCIAL decay in Barbados. In my very humble opinion Rihanna is doing more for Barbados than most preachers and Politicians. Why the Good Bishop did not tell the Politicians to be just, fair and honest with the wider society?  Why he did not tell the Politicians to stop the victimisation of innocent people, and get rid of the yard fowlism? Why did he not tell the business community to treat their workers better, and share the profits in a more just way with the workers who created the profits for them?  The church is one of the root causes in the social and moral decade in our society. When certain people are doing wrong they sit back and keep quiet. If the church is to bring honor and respect to itself, it must speak out against all that is wrong. I myself might not agree with some of the things that Rihanna does, but I do understand that she is 23 years old, and I understand the industry that she is working in very well. Rihanna and her team has been able to out play most of the people in her industry and we should be proud of her. She is just doing what is done in her business. To be honest the church in Barbados became irrelevant about 25 years ago. Yes there is a great need for the church in any society, but the church in Barbados need to get it’s own house in order before it can point fingers at anyone. Let them become CHRIST like, do as he did, then we will see a more MORAL Barbadian society.

It is being reported all over the internet today, November 21, 2011, that Rihanna’s latest video has been banned in France.  Authorities in France “criticised Rihanna’s “self-destructive” behavior in the video, which features the singer smoking cigarettes, shoplifting and being spanked.” “She is also cited for appearing in scenes of “pronounced suggestive” content.”

Let’s see now.  Her video has been banned in France.  She was recently chased off of a farm in Ireland, and a record number of people in England filed complaints to a standards board about her behavior during a performance there.  She showed up in a church in Brazil wearing a necklace with the “C” word on it.  Those are just a few incidents.

Is this what Bajan tourism officials call “promoting” Barbados around the world?  If it is, they are as misguided as she is.

Rihanna told “Rolling Stone” magazine recently that she is “turned on” by all of the negativity surrounding her media coverage.  This is a joke to her, but not to me.  I grew up seeing past generations of Bajans working hard to build up Barbados’ image, only to see it now being torn down by misguided government officials and people like Rihanna who get turned on by negative media coverage that can affect the country’s image.

Watching Rihanna is like watching a wreck about to happen.  There is nothing you can do to stop the wreck.  All you can do is get out of the way to try to save yourself.  The problem in this case is that I can’t save Barbados from the wreck, because certain government officials are determined to stay the course with Rihanna and keep Barbados in the path of the impending wreck.

I wish Rihanna all the best but I have to agree that she really does over do it sometimes.  I live in England and adding to the event that happened in Ireland apparently she performed on X Factor with the words “F** off* under her shoes.  The year before that she was too extreme with hardly any clothes on and had to cover up this year because of all the complaints. The same way England brings you up they will bring you down so I hope she is careful as she is a good performer on the whole.  As for the Ambassador title - don’t think she should be carrying it.  Just my opinion!

  I know that Bajans are an educated people but sadly it seems at times we suffer from an “intellectual incestuousness”. It is like our own ideas/concepts can only “breed” with our own ideas/concepts.  Sometimes it seems that once we get an idea/concept in our head, we invariably become closed minded to any “foreign” idea/concept rather than rationally and objectively address those said “foreign” ideas/concepts.  Barbados has some serious issues that it has to address.  Scapegoating Rihanna or the youth or the homosexuals isn’t going to solve the problems we are facing.  As far as the Rihanna/Ambassador issue goes, I see it this way, In the music industry, Rihanna is an international music star who happens to be Bajan and not a Bajan who happens to be an international music star.  In her pursuit of a career as a singer, it may be nice that she is Bajan but how necessary is that to her success? Being a Bajan might be important to her from a personal perspective but how important is it to the music industry? Quite frankly, if I were her I would gladly return the ambassadorship, thank all for the honor of serving my country and move on with her life and career.

Bring back GABBY as ambassador, because when he sings EMMERTON. I feel like a real Bajan.

hey carl…i got your back on this one…...but asking her to give up her ambassadorship may be a bit stern….  let’s quote one of our greater leaders"its not what your country can do for you’but what you can do for your country”. Ri ri is in a business of serious competition, when artist’s success was based solely on talent,they operated as a singer/musician.. todays artist is a product and like it or not they must be packaged for the market.. the BLP is making this a political platform.. when ri ri performed in barbados ,she mentioned that she grew up in that neighborhood,so did you and I.. that gives me a sense of belonging each time I think of her.She is a grateful Barbadian and she shares and expresses her gratitude everytime opportunity she gets. She was an ambassador long before she was appointed…I am overwhelmed to think that millions of fans who bought her album is in wonderment.“what she means by “CAWMERE” i know.May your steps be guided by HIM love you ri ri