Direct outrage at parents, not Bubbles

THE EDITOR: I feel the need to have my say on the recent Bubbles issue.

A video clip was played and the TV anchor said, “That’s singer Bubbles with a group of primary school pupils singing along to her popular song, which has a name that’s too explicit for us to say on television.”

The popular name of the song is It Bunning but the official name that’s too explicit is... Truth be told, I’m not sure if the newspapers would print it so suffice it to say that it’s the word “Tighter” followed by the feline term used to refer to female genitalia. And trust me, the name is mild compared to most of the lyrics in the song that the little angels were happily singing.

What was the reaction to the video? The Minister of Education said that “some rules were broken ... it was a breach of protocol ... permission to videotape must be obtained from the chief education officer and, if it involved children, permission from the parents.”

Is this how it should go? “Excuse me, ma’am, would you mind if I tape your child singing a song with crude, obscene lyrics?” Rather than, “Excuse me, ma’am, can you tell me who taught your child to sing such a crude song?”

Nothing in what the minister said indicated that he was appalled that such young things could know and sing such lewd lyrics. He was concerned only about “the breach of protocol” and ordered an investigation into that.

I would have summoned the parents of every child in that video, let the children sing again, and ask the parents if they were proud. (All this would be taped, all protocols observed, of course.)

After the investigation, the chief education officer said, “That is not something that we condone in our schools.” Apparently it’s okay if the children sing this outside school? “The video by the soca artiste was a clear case of someone taking pictures without authorisation.” The ministry seemed more peeved about the lack of permission for taking the video rather than the behaviour of the children in said video.

One newspaper reported: The video sparked outrage and utter disgust on social media, with some questioning who allowed the artiste into the school in the first place and one blogger asking who “in their right mind allowed her to perform such a rude song to under-aged children.”

While I take issue with Bubbles singing some of the explicit lyrics with the children, all reports suggest she was there to attend a PTA meeting and the singing was started by the children after they recognised her. Surely, the “outrage and disgust” should be directed, not at Bubbles, but at the parents whose children can sing such obscenities with pride and joy. Parents, do you know what your children are watching?

How times have changed! At that age, all I knew was Mary Had a Little Lamb, Coming ’Round the Mountain and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Now, after playing it several times to decipher the lyrics, It Bunning is stuck in my head. A few days ago, I knew neither Bubbles nor her song. I guess I’m now up with the times.

NOEL KALICHARAN

via email