Lorna M. George. Photo: VINO/File

One day I had a meeting with the hospital administrator and some other employees. As I entered the room the hospital administrator made reference to my father by saying to me, “You trying to be like your father” In Long Look where I grew up no one could mess with my father! They called him a “Bad Man". I took offense to her silly statement.

This was so unprofessional. Many people in this society like to look down their nose on a person by referring negatively to one’s parents. Her stupid remark was in much distaste. I became infuriated, flew down her throat like nobody’s business and gave it to her full throttle. I refused to listen to anything she said and walked out the meeting. This unintelligent woman knew nothing about my father, only the garbage and negative things she heard on the street. Sad to say a person like her in such an important position with such a low mentality and no training could only destroy and abuse others with her hurtful words. The administrator did not know that one brings virtues to his/her office, the office does not bring virtues to you as many think.

I insulted the administrator because she was out of line. We must know what to say to each other. Looking down one’s nose on another person because of his/her parents is wrong. It results from deep seated ignorance. In this society it is a way of trying to keep you down. We should not be ashamed of what is not in our control. It is God in His infinite love chose our parents. The Good Book said in Exodus 20:12 that we should love our parents that our day may be long upon the land. Children should love, appreciate and respect their parents. 

Many people try to make one believe that they are more superior based on who their parents are. This is nonsense. Our worth does not come from who are parents are. Our worth comes from the Lord Jesus Christ who loves us and has made us all special.

The [British] Virgin Islands is a small society where the borders are not yet open. The people are still very close minded. Ignorance is sinking us through the earth and we like the negative. I pray that my people will seek God for knowledge. We must remember that ignorance cannot beat education. It is education that will lift up from the ignorance that is dragging us down. My brothers and sisters who were fortunate to travel out and got an education must not curse the darkness but shine a light in the darkness. [British] Virgin Islanders are the saddest people in the world; do you know why? My people do not know that you do not let others spit on you how they want. Many people do not know that this is rude and dis-respectful behavior. To accept this is like having the mentality of a slave. God has delivered us from slavery many years ago, but we cannot get rid of the slave mentality. As Bob Marley said Black people are suffering from mental slavery. We are shackled in our minds. In today’s world we must be appropriate in our behaviour. We do not let others control us and treat us inhumanely.

At Peebles Hospital I adamantly refused to let my colleagues push me around. I fought back. It would be a cold day in Hell before I let another person bulldoze me. Such behavior is wrong. We must learn to be polite to each other. Human beings do not fight each other like animals in the jungle. God gave us a mouth to communicate with each other. God even said, “Come let us reason together. As I worked at the hospital I found it strange that they thought that I would accept ill treatment from them. No way! Why should I be afraid of someone who has one head like me? I stood my ground. Since my colleagues could not understand my behaviour, they said I was crazy. What a joke! The Good Book said in James 4:7, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” When people cannot understand one’s behaviour, they call that person names like stupid, crazy and insane. This is the mark of a coward- calling people names. When people cannot beat you, they resent you and call you names.

Many people do not understand the behaviour of President Donald J. Trump so they call him crazy and stupid. When Dr Martin Luther King, Jr began to speak out against segregation in America, they said he was crazy. Today he is an American icon.

Calling someone stink does not make him/her stink; by the same token calling someone crazy does not make him/her crazy. Lord, how asinine can we be! Everything is in one’s mind; consequently, we should ask God for a powerful mind.