As the political temperature heats up – and unfortunately it will be raised for two years, since after disposing of local government elections this year we will then have to face a general one next year – most citizens will no doubt try to keep their heads down and confine themselves to attending to their own business. As for the politicians in power, they no doubt will be putting their ‘largesse’ on display; works which have been languishing for years will suddenly be undertaken, and a shower of outboard engines will descend on hinterland communities like manna from heaven. But there are non-material things which the ruling politicians haven’t bothered with in years – or at best only briefly – that if they did, would improve the quality of the average citizen’s everyday life quite dramatically in some instances.
Near the top of the list has to be confronting the noise nuisance epidemic. Complaints about this from Charity to Crabwood Creek abound, and show no signs of abating. The legislation is there on the statute books to deal with the problem, but as with so many of our laws it is a question of consistent implementation. One cannot help but come to the conclusion that the police themselves do not have a clue what noise nuisance is, and in many cases they themselves are part of the culture which allows it to flourish.
How else can one explain them docilely directing traffic alongside venues which are clearly breaking the law in this regard, such as the seawall on Easter Monday where banks of speakers blast residential areas all day long; or in Robb Street on Christmas Eve, where a store was allowed not only to pollute the area with music not everyone appreciated, but actually set up a video screen across the pavement showing vulgar gyrations. And all of this, it must be said, only a few doors away from the Police Consumers Co-op with Georgetown’s Finest coming and going. While they may have been off duty on that occasion, they should have reported the matter to their colleagues on duty.
It is not that they cannot enforce the law when it suits them. This past Christmas was the most firework free in years, and even New Year was far more restrained in terms of squibs and firecrackers than is normally the case. Of course, fireworks have added dimensions apart from the noise they make; there is the safety issue – someone was indeed injured by squibs this year – and the fact that in many instances the sound of firecrackers cannot be distinguished from that of gunshots. In a nervous society like this one, where so many guns are being used in the commission of crimes, there is great pressure on the government to enforce the law.
That pressure clearly does not exist where other forms of noise nuisance are concerned, and the authorities have never taken it on even with a view to educating the public as to the real physical (and psychological) damage it does. The Minister of Health, who should be taking the lead in this matter, holds forth on smoking and various other health issues, but has never gone on a sustained campaign to alert people to the fact that constant exposure to loud music will in the end permanently damage their hearing, and is particularly harmful where children are concerned. Of course, for those unwittingly exposed to it, it will do no good either if they suffer from heart complaints, high blood pressure, psychological disequilibrium or a whole host of other conditions.
In addition, those in the immediate vicinity of the noise who do not want to be blasted out of their homes, are deprived of the peaceful enjoyment of their immediate surroundings, and may not be able to sleep, read, work, do their homework (if they are schoolchildren), hear their TV sets, hold conversations, or indulge in a host of other activities. In other words, one segment of the population decides that another segment cannot dispose of its time as it sees fit, and must be held hostage to the pastimes of others, in the process being exposed to possible harm.
The noise nuisance problem is, of course, just one symptom of a more general malaise, and that is the total lack of respect shown for others in this society. It reveals itself most obviously on our roads, where common courtesy – let alone adherence to the traffic regulations – is notable by its absence. Rules, it seems, are there to be broken, and all that matters is one’s own self interest and to hell with everyone else.
Does the ordinary citizen at present assailed by three-day, loud-volume weddings, or noisy night- spots, or raucous, open-air shows in residential areas, or neighbours who play music at unconscionable decibel levels, etc, etc, have any hope that at the beginning of this new decade, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the police will suddenly embark on a systematic campaign to deal with noise offenders?
Probably not. After all, when the government holds one of its periodic exhibitions at Sophia it becomes a major offender itself.