Eight names were put forward. Mine was one of them; well, I said that the intention had been for lightheartedness. There were other names from the media and there was, as befits a British expatriate newspaper, a bias towards Britons. But there were two names who were not British, and they stood out. One, and for the wrong reason, was the Duke of Palma. The other was Javier Pierotti.
Just for fun it was meant to be, but invariably this is not how it is perceived. I have a great suspicion of such polls, especially when they are social media driven and when this suspicion can increase to a contempt for the manipulative nature of the exercise. Regardless of the medium, the inherent element of a competition sits uneasily with me. As does the potential for division within what is supposedly but isn't a "community". Put it this way, someone (from Pollensa) said to me - in no uncertain terms - that it was to be hoped that the "winner" would disrupt a south-of-the-island hegemony.
If it is specific, as with for example a best footballer poll, then a competition has some validity as like is being compared with like - up to a point - but even relative specifics can be open to abuse or simply to apparent misjudgments by those taking part in the poll; the golfing fraternity was, after all, decidedly miffed that Rory McIlroy did not win Sports Personality.
As things were to turn out, the poll became very much more serious than had been intended. Serious but also joyful and meaningful. It also gave me the opportunity to deal with a personal unease by stating that there was someone who genuinely was deserving of the "difference" accolade.
Javier Pierotti was nominated. I immediately seconded the nomination. Within minutes there was a flood of support. Within hours it was clear that Javier would win the poll. There was no manipulation in the sense of there having been a campaign behind his nomination. Yes, one or two people asked "friends" to add their support to Javier, but otherwise there was a wholly genuine, hugely moving and in some ways surprising rush to side with the Pierotti nomination. The surprise lay with the fact that Javier was not of the British expat community. He was an expat (Argentinian), but an expectation that Britons (who don't exclusively follow the Facebook page, it must be said) might opt for one of their own was not realised. It was as surprising as it was satisfying: a broader, more nuanced, more sophisticated and less parochial perspective had ruled.
Javier's suicide touched many people. And just as many had been supportive of his attempts to effect change in Magalluf. He did so with a selflessness that at times appeared to border on the reckless. With hindsight, and I am only surmising, perhaps he saw the end coming and felt he had nothing to lose, even if it was his life. He took it that night by the castle in Alaró but he had received death threats.
It is that selflessness that marks him out. Too often, one suspects, there is a self-interest that invades the motives of those who might typically be regaled by the expatriate community. Not all. Of course not. But some. Javier wanted to make a difference, and in the process he didn't just receive threats to his life, he was also potentially going to be sued by the mayor of Calvia. Yet, he had a comparatively good relationship with Manu Onieva. He was able to write to him and to do so with some intimacy. There is no more poignant memory of the days just before his death than the letter that he sent to Manu in which he spoke of his impecuniousness and of his loneliness. It was desperately sad. He had nothing to lose, but he knew that he was on the point of losing the sight of his second eye because of the cancer. Doubts might still be expressed about the suicide, but it would be fitting were conspiracies to now be laid to rest along with his body.
In all of this, however, there is the original proposition. Made a "big difference". As it has happened, the poll morphed into person of the year. This is more appropriate. Did Javier make a big difference? He tried, my God he tried, but the difference, if it is realised this summer in Magalluf, will have come for other reasons, most notably the ridiculous fuss over the blowjob video. There again, he did make a difference. He became a totem for a drive for change, one that continues and that will be carried forward by those who adhere to Javier's selflessness and not their own benefits. He awakened greater awareness of issues in Magalluf and did so by breaking through national barriers. This is why his being honoured in the way that he has been in "The Bulletin" is so welcome. Person of the year. Amen. DEP. RIP.
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