How serious is it, anyway?

 As the Joker (played by the late Heath Ledger) asked in the Batman movie, "why so serious?".

Jamaicans have been known to take things seriously, and our governments are lucky the people don't take their grouses to the streets in big numbers like in other countries. The problem with 'being serious' is some of us don't know how to gauge the seriousness of certain things. Take the case of poor Clifton Brown. All the guy really wanted to do was highlight the plight of the road situation where he calls home. We can all certainly identify with that. Whether it's bad roads, blocked drains or no air conditioning in our complex, we all know what it's like to not have access to certain amenities.

But instead of any work (at least none that I've heard about) being done to ease the residents' watery problems, Brown has had to put up with a lot of publicity (and at times mockery) about how he expressed himself. Recently, he was at pains to remind everyone that this whole thing stemmed from a serious matter. But it's almost as if no one is taking him seriously. So his efforts to help his people are now doubly hampered. Talk about many rivers to cross. Hush yah mi fren! Joy cometh in the morning.

Then, of course, there are some people who take things a little too seriously. Like the fans of popular Argentine football club River Plate. 'Los Millonarios' (the team nickname) was recently relegated (demoted to a lower division) for the first time in the club's 110-year history. To say fans were disappointed would be like saying a Ferrari is a really fast car. But what took place shortly before and then in abundance after the final whistle, was just plain bush league. Fans started destroying the stadium and riot police had to get to work. Because of a game? Really?

Sure it's a bad thing when a team is relegated. Nobody wants to see their proud franchise playing football in the lower leagues. And, yes, there is the fear that there will be loss of revenue because of TV rights and sponsorship, and all that stuff you don't really get unless you're in the top flight of your nation's football programme. But what did the stadium ever do to them? As for the players? Some were actually crying on the pitch. They don't want to be in a relegated team either since that means the national team coach might not want them either. What the fans need to do is support the team now more than ever.

Serious matters require serious attention and serious response, but not everything is life or death.

Tell me what gets you 'serious' at daviot.kelly@gleanerjm.com