Ah just spent a long time reading through this thread.
It appears to me that race is an issue for all of us even though we may try to cover it up.
I remember years ago whilst I was in QRC a teacher who also happened to be involved in NUFF said that we are all inherently racist.
He went on further to explain that we are all really tribal in nature.
He used examples like how people were stereo typed and for instance how much enjoyment and pride a trinidadian of african descent got when playing pan at panorama and how similar that sensation was for the guys palying tassa for hosay.
We questioned his logic because we felt to compare carnival with hosay was wrong because one was a religious event and the other just party.
He said that the origins of carnival could be thought of as being almost religious because of what it really represents for black people (not the catholic thing) freedom.
Anyhow what he was alluding to is that when it really gets down to it we tend to lime, marry,do business, work with our own tribe.
As a dougla I have been able almost to have a surreal look at this interaction throughout my life.
In school I remember Ghany bringing lunch in a paper bag with his sada roti wrapped in newspaper and the non indians scorning it so much that they totaly embarassed to the point where he did not eat lunch in school again. No thought was given to the fact his mother probably got up very early in the morning to prepare this for him and probably was the best she could give him and the fact that he enjoyed it.( As kids we cud do some evil shit)
Some years later Curry Massala opens and all kinda races rushing to eat the same sada roti early early in the morning.
I also spent some of my growing up years living in Couva, and remember my neigbours waking up every morning real real early to deliver papers.
Three boys and one girl (they were african descent) They started on foot and eventually got bikes. One of the boys was in my standard in primarty school and sometimes if any of the other children were sick or could not make the paper run would have to do it for them , on those days he would come to school not smelling to right , but you should hear the comments , nasty nigger, dey does bathe in drain water etc.
This boy became a man who is very senior in a state company now,
He also happens to be my best friend
Anyhow to cut to the chase we all have said at some time or the other for instance if we get a bad drive " Yuh coolie mudder c**t" or "yuh nigger mudder c**t" as natural as taking a piss.
But we also are disgusted by people like Sat that wear it on thier sleeves and do not have the slightest feeling of guilt or make an atempt to try to understand that people are all the same when you get right down to it.
Sat's reason for wanting to get the french footballer here is because of the pride he must have felt watching the socawarriors represent in the WC and realising to himself that if there were indians on the team he would have felt even greater pride and would also have been able to jump on the band waggon of congratulating people of his own (in his mind tribe). He does not want to miss out again so he thinks this will get the guys out now.
Wow ah wonder if ah make sense ?
