Corruption in Jamaica is akin to stage 4 metastatic cancer.
It is widespread, consuming and rotting away the body politic. The situation is dire. Transparency International, United States Department of State, and Jamaica’s National Integrity Action (NIA) as well as a plethora of scholarly studies concede that Jamaica may be at a tipping point where the cancer of corruption results in the collapse of government institutions, instability and the rise in internal violence.
In the quest to find the sources of this cancer and how it can be rooted out, a noted civil society activist asked me recently to consider an overlooked feature of this systemic decay – what she calls the entrenched “bly mentality” in Jamaica’s political culture.
What is the “Bly Mentality”?
In general terms, a “bly” means to get a favour or a chance. In Jamaica, a bly is commonly used to refer to favours on the road such as yielding to other motorists, but a bly also extends to offering the absence of judgement or penalty in situations of wrongdoing as well as the opportunity to prove your worth or ability in circumstances where your performance may be subpar. It is often embodied in familiar refrain in Jamaican parlance such as ‘give ‘em a “bly” or ‘beg you a “bly”.
This expectation that one should get a “bly” especially in cases where they have engaged in serious wrongdoing is pervasive in Jamaica, and wildly problematic. A bly not only fosters a lack of adherence to the rule of law, normalises negative behavioral norms, attitudes and values, and disrupts the genuine and collective desire for a more civil society, but also contributes to a culture of non-accountability and poor governance.
