Friday, March 29, 2024

‘RH’ posters pulled

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The Stop RH Littering bus stop shelter messages that went viral last month have been removed on the instruction of the Barbados Transport Authority.

Project co-ordinator for the Adopt A Stop project, Barney Gibbs, said in a press release: “The apparent reason for the removal is that the letters “RH” contained in the design could be perceived as an acronym for a well-known local profanity”.

The signs were erected in early October on solar bus shelters in Christ Church, St Peter and St Michael.

Gibbs said that the Barbados Transport Authority rarely exercised its right to veto any messaging on the bus shelters, but they did have that right under the terms of their agreement and therefore they had to comply.

The three signs were commissioned by a private individual, who has remained anonymous. The sponsor was extremely concerned about the litter situation in Barbados, and asked Adopt A Stop for the most direct message possible.

“The sponsor is understandably disappointed because the message was resonating, both locally and with Barbadians overseas. We have decided to pivot and circulate the slogan using a replica bumper sticker, in order to maintain the momentum of this important anti-littering message,” Gibbs said.

Director of the Barbados Transport Authority, Alex Linton, said the decision to have the signs removed came from the board and the instruction was then given that the signs be taken down.

When asked to give a possible reason for the decision, Linton said he was not going to divulge what was said at the meeting.

“It was discussed and it had been decided that the signs need to be taken down,” he said.

Meantime, Gibbs said that the bumper stickers can be requested by sending a postal address to the Adopt A Stop Facebook page.

When the signs were erected it caused a stir on social media with many persons making their suggestions on what the “RH” in the message stood for, with some assuming it was an acronym for a well-known local expletive.

In a press release issued shortly after the first sign was erected at Maxwell Main Road, Christ Church, Gibbs had noted that in his view the meaning of “RH” was in the eye of the beholder, with a possible interpretation being “road and highway’.

He said that double entendre or ambiguity in messaging where one meaning may be risqué is a frequently used and very effective technique employed in calypsoes and other forms of social commentary. (LK)

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