There's a great little song, 'woman of the ghetto', released in 1969 by American singer Marlena Shaw and later covered by my late auntie Hortense, that begins with the words, 'I was born and raised in the ghetto ...', well, is me that! Born and raised at 6a upper First Street, Kingston 12. Right pon di border of Trench Town and Rose Town. I am a man of the ghetto.

I know ghetto living. And I'm not talking about the government yard project with concrete walls and running-water kind of ghetto living. I'm talking about the board house, squatter settlement, carry-water-pon-head-from-stand-pipe kind of ghetto living. I believe I can, therefore, claim, without fear of reasonable contradiction, that I know a thing or two about what it means to live in the ghetto. I also know plenty, plenty ghetto people. Many of them are friends I grew up with and whole heap a dem a mi family. So I know that like any other people, ghetto people come in many different shapes and forms, and have many varied characteristics and personalities. There is no one, single, kind of ghetto people.

creativity and 'upfullness'

There are girls in the ghetto who bleach their faces, dress immodestly and, when they go dancing, they will bruck out and wine and gyrate on their head tops at the drop of a hat. If a man want a 'sorting out' and him look good and him money strong, cho, ah nuh nutten, she just deal wid dat. But, there are also girls in the ghetto who are modest virgins, deeply spiritual and not into the ways of the world. Yes, there are youths in the ghetto who spend all day hanging out on the corner living for the next spliff and the next Guinness, and who will turn violent at the slightest provocation. But plenty ghetto youth deh bout, who are into creativity and 'upfullness' and more concerned with getting an education and making a positive contribution to society.

Nobody shouldn't try and tell me that because I don't behave a certain way, I am 'uptown' and not real ghetto people. You can't tell me that because I prefer speaking standard English and because I personally abhor a certain kind of coarseness, then I have 'uptown mentality' and you more 'ghetto' than me. No pappy! The same way how we accept that not every ghetto youth is a gunman, and not every ghetto girl is a skettel, we should realise that not all ghetto people find tracing to be entertainment.

specialised in 'badwud'

I grew up with my Auntie Becca, who, when she spoke, every second or third word was a 'badwud'. Auntie had the most colourful active vocabulary of profanity that ever existed. She manufactured, invented, and specialised in 'badwud'. She could give you a badwud as noun, verb, adjective or adverb, and she could conjugate a badwud. But Auntie lived in the same yard with a lady named Lillian McFarlane, affectionately called Miss Lilly, who was a decent, God-fearing lady who never, ever uttered a single profane word or spoke in wrath. And Aunty and Miss Lilly exchanged words every day.

And hear this, not every ghetto people love kass-kass and 'mix-up'. Personally, I think those who love it should find a way to assert their right to indulge without verbally assassinating those who choose to express an aversion to it. Isn't that how a democracy is supposed to work? People don't have to enjoy the same tastes and behave the same way to co-exist with love and respect.

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