(CMR) Jason Howard, Operations Manager at Hurley Media continues to be a complete menace to the community when it is clear that he does not appreciate anything about these islands.
Howard personifies precisely what Caymanians complain about when they discuss expats that are disconnected and have no real understanding of these islands and the people here.
On a regular basis, he makes fun of women, Caymanians and people of color and has never been held accountable for his actions. This morning CMR received further proof of his disgusting behavior in a video where he comments about a local DJ, Chuck Taylor, being hard to see because he is black.
The video was then posted on social media for all to see.
Whilst this may appear amusing to Howard this is offensive and it is not the first time that Howard has demonstrated his obvious disdain for Caymanians.
Back in March 2015, Howard was embroiled in another controversy where local cartoonist, Barefoot Man, made fun of Caymanian men. Essentially calling them lazy and unmotivated. Howard interjected himself in that situation and was in full support of the derogatory viewpoint. He was able to escape any real consequences after he made a half-hearted apology.
Every single time he makes a “mistake” he apologies and all is forgiven. No Caymanian would ever be offered so many opportunities to mess up. He is called “insensitive” but no one is unwilling to truly hold him truly accountable for his behavior.
Recently he posted about women and their need for feminine products, causing several women to call him out about it.
Now, CMR is particularly offended because he describes a Caribbean man, a Caymanian and man of the soil as being so black that “he's hard to see.” Chuck Taylor has been in the entertainment and radio business a very long time. He is well respected amongst his colleagues and this remark is entirely uncalled for.
He made no such disparaging remarks about his other co-workers. So why does anyone's color become a conversation piece?
What the average person reading this will not know is that Howard has exhibited his prejudicial behavior when dealing with staff as well. He has enjoyed complete impunity when it comes to any repercussions. The only thing that we can figure is he must make Hurleys Media a lot of revenue and so they are willing to allow him to do anything he wishes. We can assure you the list of alleged wrongdoings is far greater than we can publish in this opinion piece.
Recently he hosted the Miss Cayman pageant some weeks back. Once again the feedback received including his outlandish behavior and use of profanity throughout the evening. Imagine, on a night of pageantry for our Caymanian young ladies who are being held to the highest standards. A night when we have international guest judges visiting our beautiful island – he's at the forefront. One person said:
“It was so incredibly embarrassing.”
Embarrassing is certainly one way to describe it. He was intoxicated during the evening and as a person who presented the People's Choice Award was extremely unprofessional. He got on the state and went on about how another girl should have won the pageant. He was overheard making disparaging remarks about the venue, The Ritz Carlton saying how expensive they were for a bottle of water. Once again apologies were tendered and nothing further will come of it.
We have received stories spanning years about his despicable racist behavior. We have heard some serious complaints about him that would make anyone's head spin.
Anyone at Hurley's Media that spoke out was targetted and treated poorly. He ended the careers of many hopeful Caymanians. It is alleged by former staff that they were targetted directly by Howard. He crushed their ambitions and love for music or media. He had fired multiple Caymanians from their jobs and in some cases allegedly sabotaged them so they could get fired.
His disdain for Caymanians is such that he has the audacity to threaten to replace them with his ex-pat friends that he brings from overseas. Yet, nothing is done about him.
Jason has been involved in domestic violence complaints with a former girlfriend. He gets on social media and brags about not being compliant with his vehicle for over a year. He has no respect for the laws of the Cayman Islands or the people. Rumors of open drug use in the office are widely circulated – so much so that many people have discussed it both inside and outside the company.
His claim to fame thus far is being able to solicit advertising deals from people like Cathy Williams of Williams2. He is able to brag about “seducing money out of her” over expensive drinks and dinners that she pays for.
Howard has had his permanent residency application denied last year April. So, 1.5 years on he is still here. Now, we know how this operates when your employers are privileged business owners who are seeking to protect their golden egg. They will pull every string in the book to ensure the Immigration Appeal Tribunal finds a way to allow this menace to society to remain among us.
We are begging the Immigration Appeal Tribunal to dig into this one because he does not deserve the privilege of remaining in these islands on a permanent basis.
As Caymanians when will we have enough and stop allowing tyrants to enjoy nice cushy jobs in the Cayman Islands whilst ignoring their bad behavior?
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