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You got to know when to walk away....
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Re: You got to know when to walk away....
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dine1
How hath the dons fallen
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Jan 15 04 7:25 AM
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How hath the dons fallen
published: Thursday | January 15, 2004
Melville Cooke
Yu know don
Talking bout artical don
Artical Don, Ninja Man.
THERE IS no formal application process, no structured system of promotion, no institution which grants accreditation in the methods and ideology, no moment when he is conferred with his title. In Jamaica, a don is simply a don.
And there are two figures, who have so named themselves and have come to epitomise donship in the political and entertainment spheres in this country. They are Edward Seaga and Ninja Man. They have ruled supreme in their ultra competitive, even cut-throat, pursuits for what seems forever, so it is a remarkable coincidence that they should face their greatest challenges at roughly the same time.
Although there are no minimum requirements that one can see published in the careers section of your favourite newspaper, the attributes of a don are a given.
First of all, there is a penis. Enough said. Then there is strength. And there is more than a hint of good old fashioned 'badness'. So, Mr. Seaga's reputed badness lies - or lay - in his supporters, notably the famed 'state within a state', while Ninja Man stakes claim to his 'original front teet, gold teet, gun pon teet'. Included in the strength is a reliance on one's own personal means to enforce one's wishes, defend oneself or bring the wayward back in line.
Also a part of the don's strength is a lack of pity and mercy. The don just 'do it an done'. Hence, Pearnel Charles felt the wrath of the don when he attempted to challenge Edward Seaga for leadership of the party and Shabba Ranks was put to the sword at Sting 1990. Is it not a strange coincidence that Shabba's slaying was at the National Stadium, while Pearnel got his lashing at the National Arena?
There was no mercy in either case, at least, not publicly.
The don must be strong below the belt as well, so here we have the 'breeder' embodied in Seaga and the... shall we say prolific output of Ninja Man. Again, it is more than curious that they are both the fathers of 'young baby'.
Coupled with the penile strength is the abhorrence of homosexuality. Therefore, in Artical Don Ninja goes on to say 'wha kin' a don/don whe don' mix wid homosexual', while Seaga's party's reliance on a homosexual implication of a political opponent is well known. The don did not protest.
That leads us to the don's ability to express himself, even if not often then certainly in a memorable manner. Not that Ninja Man or Edward Seaga are short on quantity or quality. Hence we have Seaga's famous quips "light a candle, sing a sankey and find their way back home", while Ninja Man has reigned supreme in lyrical battle after lyrical battle.
So, in rounding out one of the don's attributes is longevity. To be a true don, one has to last in a field where people come and go very quickly. That means he has to beat back challengers. In this case there is a set battleground. For Seaga it is the annual JLP conference, for Ninja it is Sting. Seaga has reigned in that forum for close to 30 years, while Sting has been the Ninja's for close to a decade. In politics and entertainment respectively, those are multiple lifetimes.
All in all, these attributes and track records culminate in one word that is as elusive in definition as it is in acquisition respect.
With all their similarities and sometimes even parallel lives, it should not come as a surprise that the two dons teeter precariously at the edge of being unseated at the same time. Seaga has not faced the real direct challenge, but he has never faced as successful a defiance as that mounted by James Robertson and Daryl Vaz last year. The Ninja may not have been unseated lyrically at Sting, but he was whipped soundly on stage by Vybz Kartel and crew.
Then there is the matter of finances. Seaga's current financial woes are not in keeping with donship and one only has to watch Bounty Killer's interview with Hype TV on the Sting 'Passa Passa' to get an indication that Ninja man is not perceived to be exactly rolling in the dough.
Just as there are no set qualifications for donship, there is no retirement plan either. And dons never know when to let go; it is just a part of the ego. And old age does not sit well on a Jamaican don either. Going out in dignity is a rare privilege for dons, and so, despite their past deeds, there is always a tinge of sadness to see the great bull of the pack fall to a young, fresh, hungry challenger.
So now Ninja and Seaga stand with their backs to the proverbial wall, a significant portion of the public howling for their heads, their challengers from another generation that did not quite learn the lesson of the ultimate leader's invincibility emboldened by cracks in the armour. Will it be the last stand?
Maybe. But the true don has one overriding quality. When you think he is done, he rises once more. As a somewhat traditional Seaga campaign song says, he is a Hard Man Fe Dead and Ninja has declared time.
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