Of Broughtupsy And Indiscipline...

One time and you did forget to say excuse me, or thank you or good morning or anything so, somebody liable to ask you if you ain't got no training or no broughtupsy. Because unless you was brought up by wolves, them was certain things you was expected to say or do.

One time and you in a store or 'bout in a office conducting business and you did want to use the phone, you would ask somebody who look official, "Excuse me, could I use the telephone please?" before you pick it up. And the more aged ones would even go a l'il further and hit you with, "Beg yuh pardon please, allow muh to make a phone message please?" If you notice, in that short request they put in two pleases.

Nowadays and a fellow in your office and the phone to hand and he want to make a call, while he asking you to use the phone, he got it in he hand and he dialling the same time. And he don't ask with no please or excuse me, he does hit you with, "Buddy, I getting a call here."

But we don't use the word broughtupsy no more, 'cause that in it self sound like you ain't got no broughtupsy that you still using the word broughtupsy. You don't hear that a fellow bad behave no more. The word that the fellows using which mean lack of broughtupsy and bad behave is indiscipline.

And you hearing it a lot every time somebody got to open their mouth 'bout we cricketers. Everytime a coach or manager of a West Indies cricket team come back from a tour, they come back home with six more grey hairs, and talking 'bout indiscipline.

Like that fellow Runako Morton from the islands that we invest money in sending to the Shell Academy for him to polish up what l'il skills he had. When you hear the shout he was being expelled for being indiscipline.

We pick he up now and carry him to Sri Lanka for the ICC Tournament. When you hear the shout, he had to leave in a hurry, reason being that his grandmother dead, which turned out to be news to his family, because them say he lie. Them say one grandmother pass way a good few years ago and the other one still living.

It is alleged that the boy wasn't happy with the limited playing opportunities he was getting so he concocted the story about his grandmother deading, so that he could left. Now I hope that if this is really true (whichin nobody ain't seem to doubt) that I don't ever hear that he back in a West Indies team, not even a netball one.

But then here the other day we send a West Indies 'A' team to England and then on to Canada, where we lost to Canada in a one- day tournament. When the coach and manager come back the first thing out their mouths was "indiscipline".

You was hearing stories 'bout how bad the fellows get on, how disrespectful them was and all kinda things. We even hear that by the time the team get to Canada, the fellows minds wasn't on no cricket at all, 'cause it was the West Indian carnival time there, so the boys was more interested in feting.

But I ain't done there. We just send a whole set of fellows with three cents in promise to the Shell Academy to get a l'il training. When the fellows graduate, we get to hear Rudy Webster, who is in charge of the Academy, use the word again ? "indiscipline".

With the exception of the Bajan boy Fidel Edwards who he single out as being exceptional, he say that the Bajans - and he call another set of people too ? was very indiscipline.

Now it is one thing to be unmannerly, it is another thing to be ugly, but you shouldn't be ugly and unmannerly at the same time. I said that to mean this: We cricket is lower right now than a pregnant ant navel to the ground. It is one thing to be getting beat because of a lack of talent, but don't tell me you getting beat and don't seem to care and getting on like you is somebody. It is them things that got me worried.

Some of these fellows that giving so much trouble can't even spell cricket muchless play it. But we cricket so poor that when we let them get a l'il pick they feel they doing the region a favour, so they could get on as they like. They could verbally abuse coaches and managers, drop nasty remarks 'bout their fellow team members homeland or ethnic background, then score two half dead runs and get pick for the next tour.

Then you would hear the coach on his return talking 'bout how some fellows was very indisciplined. In future, we want them call the names and stop using the word indiscipline. Tell we by name who unmannerly, who bad behave and who ain?t got no broughtupsy. See ya.

* This column was first published in the Barbados Advocate.