Graze on my lips, and if those hills be dry

Stray lower,

Where the pleasant fountains lie.

— Shakespeare

Now, if that isn’t an invitation from a lady to come hither, then nothing is. Can you just imagine a woman looking you straight in your face and telling you words like that, especially those last words, “Stray lower, where the pleasant fountains lie.” No man could resist, for that could lead to one and only one thing — the pursuit and culmination of happiness. And pray tell, what is happiness to a man?

Ahh, sex – sex is happiness to a man. That wonderful, glorious activity that can bring great men to their knees and makes even the strongest knee bow. Without being sacrilegious, the Bible did say, “Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess.” That can very well happen when men venture where pleasant fountains lie.

But, as in all things in life, there is no free lunch, no free ride, but always repercussions, always, always, consequences, for with every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. What exactly is a consequence? It’s a result or effect, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.

Why, though, should an act as pleasant as sex have consequences? That’s because people will do almost anything to partake of that pleasure, and that’s where the repercussions, the blowback, the backlash, the cause and effect, the boomerang trajectory, the ricochet come into play. The ends do not always justify the means.

We’ll find out what these sexual consequences are, right after these consequential responses to my take on ‘Desperate Internet involvement’.

Hi Tony,

I recall that before the Internet there were dating agencies whose clients would pay a fee to join and to which VCR recordings of men and women ‘selling’ themselves on who they were and their virtues, hobbies, and likes and dislikes [would be sent]. They would say their first name and provide constant information. I assume that these clients were vetted, making it somewhat safer to meet those chosen ones. Advances in technology and the Internet are great, but people will always find a way to make these advances seamy.

Gordon

Tony,

People reaching out to meet other people is nothing new. What the Internet has done is to expose the dark underbelly of human beings, who will lie, cheat, bear false witness upon themselves in order to present an attractive picture. They are indeed wolves in sheep’s clothing as they pull the wool over the eyes of unsuspecting victims and draw them into their web of lies. Internet dating is very much like gambling, where everybody plays, but there are only a few winners.

Carmen

Very few things in life have as many dire consequences as sex, which is a tragic irony, for few things in life are as pursued as the act of sex. Some may call it lovemaking, but I beg to differ, for there is a distinct difference between the two. Lovemaking is the mutual, consensual, sharing of the minds and bodies of two people, while sex does not have to be by mutual consent or shared consensually by two people.

It has been said that French and Latino men make love to their women, while Jamaican men have sex. In fact, sex is often a one-way street performed by more than two people, for threesomes and foursomes have been known to happen. That’s where the consequences and repercussions come in, for there is a cause and there is effect and there is action and there is reaction.

One severe consequence of sex is guilt — guilt that can sometimes last a lifetime. Of course, this mostly applies to women, for I can’t recall hearing any man saying that he felt guilty after having sex with a woman. It doesn’t matter who she is, she could be the wife of his best friend, he will not feel guilty after the act. Because of this, he will keep on going back for more.

It’s usually the woman who will become wracked with guilt and remorse as she reflects on what she has done.

I’m sorry

So sorry

Please accept my apology

But love is blind

And I was blind to see

I’m sorry

— Brenda Lee

But the consequences of that act can be dire for the man, and indeed the woman, too, for the aggrieved husband may not take it lightly and take matters into his own hands. So just like how the wages of sin is death, the consequences of the simple act of sex can also be death. We see it played out with great regularity on a more than daily basis, right here in Jamaica. So much of our crimes are steeped in sex and sexuality.

Another small consequence of sex is the loss of freedom – imprisonment. This involves the act of forced sex on another person, and if you check it out our court records show that sex crimes dominate the record books. Those charged are experiencing the consequences of having sex with someone against their will. It’s called rape, and the consequences are dire.

Why would a man want to have sex with a woman against her will, armed with the fact that there are so many available sexually accommodating women around? It’s a question often asked when a rape is committed and can be answered by the psychologists and experts in that field. Rape is not just about sex, but more about power. Even so, sex is the method used to convey this power and for that, there are consequences.

A man who is impotent cannot rape, a man who suffers from erectile dysfunction cannot rape, and a man who is afflicted with premature ejaculation cannot do the act.

“Man, better yuh go bruk shop or tief goat, for yuh can’t manage the rape ting at all.”

Rape is no laughing matter, and that’s why the consequences of that dastardly sex act have such severe consequences.

“Ten years hard labour with no possibility of parole.”

Another consequence of sex that has befallen countless men and women is that of pregnancy. In many cases it’s a joy and blessing, for consequences aren’t necessarily negative. But, in other scenarios, unwanted, unplanned pregnancy results in weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

“Oh my, look how Miss Babs good good church daughter go and get pregnant while still in school.”

“It’s a consequence of sex, my dear.”

The bottom line is, if she didn’t have sex she wouldn’t get pregnant, so they’ll have to live with the consequences.

Sadly though, in many cases, it’s an older man who is involved and took advantage of a much younger girl, resulting in the consequences. A young girl having sex can suffer serious consequences and a scarred life, battered and bruised psychologically by the experience of early sexual involvement from which recovery is extremely difficult.

There are stories of young girls drawn into a web of sexuality by their older relatives – uncles, cousins, step-fathers, fathers, and brothers. In many scenarios these young women sink into a world of promiscuity, jumping from one man to another and as a result become pregnant multiple times.

I was reading of one such girl, who ended up with seven children before the age of 30 because she was sexually molested by her brother from she was nine years old. You can see how far-reaching the consequences of sex can be on the human psyche.

The psychologists say that, in many cases, victims of early sexual abuse turn into homosexuals. I have known at least four women who became lesbians all because of early sexual abuse from older relatives. The consequences can be far-reaching. Many are so confused that they keep switching their sexuality from hetero to homo.

On a lighter note, one consequence of sex for men who aren’t getting any from their wives is misery and sinking into a bad mood. Ah bwoy, what an endless tale this is of men being made to suffer from the drought of celibacy, not being allowed to stray lower, where the pleasure fountain lies as the aforementioned quote said.

Nothing is as powerful as sex. It controls people’s minds and causes great men to become whimpering beggars. Nothing is as pleasant, as it brings people to untold heights of fulfilment and is sought after by millions of people every day. They seek it out, they hunt it down, they tell lies to get it, they spend money to get it, they withhold it for favours, they even kill for it. But the consequences can be dire.

More time.

seido1yard@gmail.com

Footnote: It is indeed ironic that the three most important groups of people in our society — police, nurses and teachers — are treated so financially badly by governments, past and present. This has been a perennial problem. Policemen and women put their lives on the line every day, venturing into dangerous situations that other people avoid. Nurses are indispensable to our health-care system and are also at great risk from infectious diseases. Teachers mould and educate our children, and we all owe who we are to our teachers. We cannot exist without these people. And yet, for decades they have to be begging futilely for a decent wage. Some migrate to greener pastures, but most cannot. They really should be treated better.