“He’s just a
Joey Man” my mother once said to me as if to offer protection from verbal
assault by one much older.
The lecture to
which I was subjected was a vigorous oration delivered by a particular ‘worthy’
in defense of the Only Living Father, as J.R. Smallwood liked to be called. Evidently,
I had the temerity to speak ill of the great helmsman.
A “Joey Man”
I enquired of her? What’s that? “Oh”, she replied, “you’ll see lots of them.
Their minds are taken over by Smallwood; a single criticism and they’ll tear you
apart as if you were a traitor. My”, she
declared, “they get so emotional, if you say anything against their man. Don’t
expect them to use any reason”, she added gently; “facts are not their strength...any
criticism is disloyal; best to ignore them until they go away” was her final
word on the subject.”
In later
years, I discovered that such people come from all strata and are not limited
by education, social or financial advantage. Even some members of the media have earned such
a reputation.
