Conformity: Influencing Behavior

Wilmot Max Ramsay
Prof. Robin Gomolin
Sociology 281
Fall 2005.
[UMass Boston]

                    Conformity: Influencing Behavior 

     Those of us who occupy leadership positions, especially in government, learn instinctively or otherwise, the rules of the game and by convention, we conform to the rules of our party.  In general, we legislate, en bloc or en masse and vote as a collective group.  This action, in the broad sense, demonstrates conformity and exhibits behavior by influence.  Influence here, clearly external, due to the fact that it comes from without the individual, can also be of an internal nature.  Such a social norm of conforming can be implicit (understood by the members) or explicit (clearly defined) as enacting an article of law.

     When the Jamaican government, in 1985, to celebrate International Youth Year (IYY) Declaration as defined by the United Nations and honored me with WILMOT MAX RAMSAY SQUARE in my hometown of Cambridge, Saint James, Jamaica, the naming was explicit as it carried with it a written caveat in the form of an adopted petition from fellow Cantabrigians.  Such action showed social conformity and though I abstained from the [Saint James Parish] Council vote, the motion was carried, 16 to 0, of all other Councillors present.  For the record, there was one absence.  The Ministry of Local Government accepted the Council's [, the now Saint James Municipal Corporation,] wishes and my honorary Square made law.

     From a personal point of view, I would want to believe that normative social influence played a central part to this high honor.  Also, when I was asked to become Deputy Mayor of Montego Bay, Saint James, Jamaica, and I declined the idea, I acted on a matter of what is termed minority influence.  I was in the minority based on the survey conducted among my peers in caucus.  It was due to my informational social influence upon Mayor Shalman Scott which prevailed and I was able to shun the Number Two post of the City of Montego Bay.  The limelight and the rave publicity I enjoyed were just enough and, I did not believe I needed any more, at that time.  

     I was already laden with responsibilities and the bottom line was, not that I did not have ambition, but I was greatly indebted to my fellow Cantabrigians and other constituents, so much so, that I did not want to break the bond that existed between us.  I, also, believed that my acceptance of the Deputy Mayor's chair would have been a way to curtail my almost immediate access to the populace.  Probably, I should mention here, that to some extent, and as best as politics go, I was a maverick, and the idiosyncrasy credits here, in reference to my being the youngest ever elected governmental official, in my native Jamaica, allowed me, at times, and with the support from the media, ensured and assured my constant presence on the public stage.  

     Yes, this young writer could have been Vice Mayor.  Of course, at times, I do reflect on that chapter of my colorful life, and using counterfactual thinking, ask myself why I did not bow to the wishes of the majority of my peers.  However, quite likely, I might not have attended the University of Massachusetts as a student.  Like Eva Perón, former First Lady of Argentina, I declined the honor of being Vice.  At the time, therefore, the refrain could have been: Don't cry for me Montego.  Had the opportunity presented itself later in life, probably, I would then have accepted, being older and wiser.  I will live, however, with the thought that much older, and should be wiser, countrymen of mine really held me in high esteem to the point of shyness, on my part.

     It was, also, my idea not to succumb to the social impact theory of wanting me to serve as Deputy Mayor.  I did not conform to high social influence although I was very much aware of the Council's power and "importance, its immediacy, and the number of people in the group." (1)  This adulation and confidence placed in me by my fellow city fathers (and a mother), according to William James' The Self and Its Selves (1890) under the rubric Split Lives in the Modern World, do border, in my case, on my Social Self.  It could be that I enjoyed the subsequent overtures after I declined the offer.  However, I was in demand and on prime time within the halls of power.  

     Knowing very well that I was accountable to the group, I added that I thanked them for their confidence and loyalty but I was saying "No" due to personal reasons.  By so doing I acknowledged the importance of accountability while, at the same time, giving the chance of opportunity to another member of my ilk.  To this gesture, I later heard that I acted unselfishly.  Here, again, I do not believe that I bowed to public compliance.  Viewing the situation, some twenty-three years later, I can, like Robert Bolt in his A Man for All Seasons, say: "It isn't difficult to keep alive, friends -- just don't make trouble -- or if you must make trouble, make the sort of trouble that's expected."(2)  

     The request for me to become Deputy Mayor came at a time when my international, at that time, engagements were underway.  I was much on center stage, as I was to pay my first visit to the United States of America, in 1982, to the cities of Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts where I visited my father, Charles Adolphus Ramsay, the Ramsay-Turner family, my cousins; and to pick up an award from the Boston City Council, which, on a resolution from Councillor Bruce C. Bolling, conferred me with the inauguration of WILMOT MAX RAMSAY WEEK, in my honor, from September 27th through October 3rd.  I, therefore, had a full plate, so to speak.  I conformed as a man of my stature should by accepting Councillor Bruce Bolling's cordial invitation and formally attended ceremonies at City Hall.  This contagion was most evident when the resolution, "in meeting assembled," read, in part, "FOR ALL THE COUNCILLORS."(3)  I blended in with my American counterparts and I was indeed pleased, in the presence of a proud father, that, Councillor Bruce C. Bolling saw fit to include one of my most noteworthy lines: FROM A TENDER AGE, ONCE YOU MEAN TO SERVE YOUR COUNTRY, YOU CAN DO IT.

     It was out of private acceptance that I accepted the invitation from Councillor Bruce Bolling.  I want to believe that I had the smarts of knowing when my star was on the rise, internationally.  Today, in 2005, my international status has undergone much transformation and metamorphosis of which I am proud to be a Jamaican American.  I am, also, pleased to report that the bond of friendship that germinated back in 1982 still exists today between Councillor Bolling and me.  My elevation, therefore, by the Boston City Council does encompass the social norms reserved for dignitaries of my class.  I want to believe that I represented my native Jamaica well and like an ambassador in good grace, I have continued to maintain "the good relations that exist between (my new country,) the United States of America and the West Indies...."(4)   I, further, note with care that Boston, which was founded in 1630, is numbered among the oldest of American cities.  Tradition, therefore, is an honored hallmark of Boston.  Knowing fully well what such a social custom can be, I am perpetually honored to be so chosen by a reputable Council.  I do believe that my actions regarding forming alliances were indeed correct.  Thanks also to the Cambridge City Council and Mayor Walter J. Sullivan whom awarded me, in 1987, The-Key-To-The-City; and Cambridge, Massachusetts, being my American hometown.  To me, therefore, the framework of this autobiographical essay relishes and celebrates conformity and its influence on my behavior.

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(1)  Aronson, Elliot, et al.  Social Psychology, Fifth Edition, p. 264, Pearson, Prentice Hall, 2005.
(2)  Ibid, p. 253.
(3)  Bolling, Bruce C.  Boston City Council Resolution honoring Councillor Wilmot "Max" Ramsay of Jamaica, West Indies, September 29, 1982.
(4)  Ibid.

Wilmot Max Ramsay

Prof. Fiora Bassanese

April 2, 1990.

[UMass Boston]

                                      A LOOK AT DANTE AND PETRARCA'S STYLES:

     IN THEIR writings both Dante and Petrarca mourn the loss of their beloved departed with continued desire and longing to 'see' their fair One.  Due to death -- the physical removal of the persona -- the chase is over and both writers are filled with sorrow knowing very well that the power which enriched their literary genius is now passe and all that lingers of  their prima causa is but share memory.

     For Dante, Beatrice "denied me her most sweet salutation, in which alone was my blessedness" is proof of his thought of that which could have been had he been able to fully win her hand.  For the young Dante, also, at the time of her death, at about 25, Beatrice, in a purely physical sense, was at the peak of her charm, grace and beauty.  Though the purpose of his poetry was "to serve, to fear [and] to conceal" Dante could not resist, like Petrarca with Laura, "cry[ing] out in silence" of the beauty he once knew.  Dante's conduit to perfection here below was now no more and still yearning to meet with Beatrice again, he contemplates of a higher life beyond.  Dante treats Beatrice with utmost reverence.

     Laura's death plays in opposition to Petrarca's 'crowning moments.'  Left only with the wonderful memories of Laura's "sweet" being as his solace; and viewing his femme adorée reduced to "dust", Petrarca appears disarmed; sees death as his only answer of seeing Laura again.  Petrarca feels himself being left to the perils of life, void of his laurel, and thus no longer relevant in executing his craft as "the ink" no longer seems to flow on his pages ending in profound lamentation.  Petrarca loses his fame and glory with the death of his Laura.  With Laura's passing, Petrarca returns to matters more religious.

      Petrarca's Laura seems more like a "real" person compared to Dante's Beatrice especially with the former's more human and mortal image.  Dante, however, treats his Beatrice as immortal.  Both Dante and Petrarca imagine being finally re-united with their dearly beloved departed.

     [The following bibliography was constructed after a literary confrontation on the aforesaid Paper on which I was questioned as the source of said material.  This, with all honesty, thanks be to God, I am able to supply.  Though my integrity was questioned, and I did supply words taken from elsewhere in quotation marks, that was, apparently, NOT good enough for Fiora A. Bassanese, an Eve-like creature.  A temptress indeed she is!  The good sense, however, prevailed!]

*BIBLIOGRAPHY

A LOOK AT DANTE AND PETRARCA'S STYLES:

TREATMENT OF THE DEAD

"denied me her most sweet salutation, in which alone was my blessedness" -- The Portable Dante, p. xviii, ll. 2-4.

"to serve, to fear [and] to conceal" -- Ibid, p. xi, l. 4

"cry[ing] out in silence" -- Nancy J. Vickers (Class Hand-out), p. 270, l. 8

"sweet" -- Poem # CCLXVII, l. 1 -- Petrarca

"dust" -- Poem # CCXCII, l. 8 -- Petrarca

"the ink" [no longer seems to flow on his pages] -- Vickers, 270,, l. 9

"real" -- Class Notes of 3/12/90 (March 12, 1990)

*supplied upon request, following a literary mêlée

[HONORS 238: IMAGES OF WOMEN IN ITALIAN CULTURE, UMASS/BOSTON]

*****

PROFILES IN POLITICS

     THIRD IN AN INFORMATIVE AND PENETRATIVE SERIES ON SOME OF WESTERN JAMAICA'S PERSONALITIES BY HOWARD G. WRIGHT

     THE 'PREFECT' OF CAMBRIDGE  [photo not included]

     Most people seem to associate a Friday, especially dated the 13th, with bad luck, or at least superstitious persons would think it a day on which to exercise due caution in their affairs of business or pleasure.  Such a day and date, however, in July of 1962 has special significance in the lives of Mr. & Mrs. Charles Ramsay, as it included the birth of their fourth son, Wilmot "Max" Ramsay, now Councillor of the Cambridge Division.

         

     The product of parents who have been intimately associated with education - his mother a teacher and father who holds his Master's Degree (M.A.Ed) in Education, Max began his schooling at the Cambridge Basic School, when Mrs. Iris Allen was its Principal.  He moved on to the Cambridge All-Age, (now Primary) during the era of Teacher Sweeney, where he successfully sat the 'Common Entrance Exams' that placed him in the renowned Cornwall College.  His interests grew in time and eventually reflected a natural gift for languages, French and Spanish in particular.  His seasons at Cornwall College saw active involvement in school activities - President of the 'French and Spanish' Society; executive member of the U.N.E.S.C.O. Club, the Students' Council; the Photographic Society; member of the JBC sponsored Schools' Challenge Quiz team for Cornwall; representative for Cornwall as 'Alliance Francaise' participant in Drama, a combined effort between Cornwall and Mt. Alvernia High School; a fan of football [soccer], and naturally, the Debating Society, "where it all started".  

     This active involvement carried attendant responsibilities, when he became one of the youngest prefects on the hill, while in Fifth Form.  Supposedly, responsibility begets more responsibility as in 1979, having graduated from school, he began working life in the Accounts Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, fiddling around figures.  He became associated with Young Jamaica, (the Youth Arm of the Jamaica Labour Party) and was soon elected administrator of the Southern St. James Chapter.  That progression took him into the arms of the J.L.P. and the elections of 1980 as a party functionary, assisting to mobilize the constituency.  Resulting from these activities, the present Member of Parliament, [Hon.] Dr. H.A. 'Marco' Brown, suggested that he represents the Cambridge Division in the Local Government Elections of March 2nd, 1981.  This presented him, in his own words with "more than a challenge", that seat having been a P.N.P. enclave - where he un-seated the incumbent Councillor Rudolph Scarlett.  He then became the youngest ever member of the St. James Parish Council [, now the St. James Municipal Corporation,] and in fact the youngest elected representative of Local Government in Jamaica, at the age of 18 years old.

     The 'Prefect of Cambridge', whose division include places like: Bickersteth, Retrieve, Fern, Plumb, Mt. Horeb & Cambridge, to mention some areas, has a right to be proud of what has been achieved.  These include: a Type-Three Health Centre for Cambridge; construction of the new [proposed Marco Brown Public] Library, also in Cambridge; the extension of electricity services to Bullman, Retrieve, what is now the Max Ramsay Drive, the provision of improved street lighting, the introduction of the annual 'Miss  Town of Cambridge' contest - which produced Miss St. James  in 1984 - Angela Green, and Miss City of Montego Bay, 1985 - Jeneita Sparkes.

     Committed to cultural development, Max has organised numerous activities which have offered needed exposure to local talent.  He has recently donated a scholarship to attend Cornwall College, for one child from the Cambridge Primary School who has passed the Common Entrance Exams, and is also Chairman of that Primary School's Board.

                                                  SPECIAL MENTION

     An admirer of the late Rt. Excellent Sir Alexander Bustamante, whose life, Max feels, should be "an example to all Jamaica", he is most impressed by the simplicity of that National Hero.  Though his international champions include the late Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, the local scene is lead off by the late - John Wesley Kentish whom Max speaks of as "the late Reverend J.W. Kentish, J.P., headmaster, farmer, humanitarian, church leader, educator to the nation, etc., who had a major impact on my life, in terms of his dedication and service to the Cambridge and adjoining communities.  His wife - Mrs. Inez Kentish, also came in for special mention, having prepared Max for the Common Entrance Exams years ago, and with whom he maintains close personal relations.  They are described by Max, as "Stalwarts who gave invaluable, selfless service to the community."  Many years ago while attending Primary School, he recalls an occasion of prophetic dimensions.  Mrs. Kentish said, "You, little Ramsay, are going to get involved with politics!"  Though the reasons for the statement are not clear, they have indeed proved true.

     Today, Max still sees the need for much improvement within his division, but is aware of the fiscal constraints.  He would love to begin major road improvements, an expansion of the water supply, (which he  finds ridiculous - water being pumped all the way to Westmoreland from 'Bucknor' through [B]ottom [Lower] Cambridge and Ducketts, while surrounding areas are without proper service); more involvement of the youth in the Solidarity & HEART programmes, and he dreams of the eventual  establishment of a "sports complex".

     At present Max has plans for the upgrading of rural squares and has secured the use of the old primary school buildings to be used for community purposes.  He would love to see greater involvement of youth in politics, but says that the atmosphere must first be created.  Who is to create the desired atmosphere was not immediately made clear, but, if the "Prefect of Cambridge" has his way, then the youth of both major political persuasions may just take him up on that issue, which could prove to be his on-doing.  However, for the present, - "you rule Max", - his concern and consistent involvement in the community may yet carry the day.

(Page 2, THE WESTERN MIRROR, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1986)