Soca Warriors Online Discussion Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: AB.Trini on April 11, 2007, 11:10:16 AM
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Well well look at this article:
Extra! January/February 2000
Anything but Racism
Media make excuses for "whitewashed" TV lineup
By Janine Jackson
Confronted by protests from the NAACP and others about discrimination in their primetime lineup, the four leading TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) did what powerful institutions often do in such situations: They feigned affront, denied the facts, made excuses and attacked the messenger, then offered patchwork "solutions" and returned to business as usual.
The NAACP's Kweisi Mfume denounced the big four's slate of 26 new primetime shows, none of which feature people of color in lead roles, as a "virtual whitewash in programming," and was immediately echoed by such groups as the National Hispanic Media Coalition and the Media Action Network for Asian-Americans. The initial official reaction was upbeat and bland: CBS said that "the issue raised by the NAACP was extremely important," while NBC claimed that "including minorities on the air is an issue that has been a top priority for some time and it continues to remain an important priority." (All Things Considered, 7/28/99)
Asked to comment, individual executives sounded variously defiant: "We want to put on the best shows possible, and I don't care if the casts are blue, green, yellow or orange," declared Fox Entertainment president Doug Herzog (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/28/99). Or hapless: "When you get into picking your pilots and casting...sometimes in the speed of that you don't recognize the larger picture," explained ABC Entertainment co-chair Stu Bloomberg (Plain Dealer, 8/15/99). Or just surly, like the unnamed exec who told Entertainment Weekly (7/30/99): "It's become a no-win proposition. Unless you're putting on an hour-long show about a black brain surgeon helping Third World children, you're insulting the race."
No more serious engagement of the issue was discernible from the networks' news coverage. ABC and CBS gave the protests brief nods (7/12/99) on the nightly news, but the story was otherwise relegated to a scattering of mentions on morning shows. Among the more in-depth of these was a July 13, 1999 Good Morning America, in which host Diane Sawyer gave Mfume approximately four minutes to combine discussion of the NAACP's TV protests with the group's campaign against gun sales.
Counting the wrong thing
If dismissiveness was the predominant tack, a more combative industry response to charges of minority underrepresentation was to say that protesters suffered from a narrow view; if they had only counted something else, the true diversity and fairness of the industry would have shone through. Numerous executives pointed to individual people of color who had succeeded (virtually always Bill Cosby), or individual directors who have made successful interracial shows (virtually always Steven Bochco), as if these exceptions disproved the rule. CBS's Leslie Moonves seemed the most confused: "It's not fair that our network, which features Bill Cosby in two shows, Ed Bradley, Bryant Gumbel, Della Reese, Cheech Marin, Arsenio Hall and Sammo Hung, be accused of not recognizing the minority audience," he complained (Boston Herald, 7/27/99).
Others said the NAACP was wrong to exclude those who "lend strong dramatic support to white leads" (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/28/99). Or that, to be fair, they really should have included everyone appearing on all of television: "If you look at daytime, cable, syndication, public television," explains CBS writer-producer Lee Goldberg (Plain Dealer, 8/15/99), "there's incredible diversity."
Of course, no one denies that the roster of leading roles in the new season's lineup is just a snapshot of the TV industry. It is, however, a meaningful picture. Network primetime still attracts biggest number of viewers, and as a result, the largest amount of ad dollars (Plain Dealer, 8/15/99). Why shouldn't it be subject to scrutiny?
And there's no shortage of other evidence of imbalance. Against Moonves poignant claim to "Bill Cosby in two shows" stand numerous indicators of the overall underrepresentation of blacks, Latinos, Asian-Americans and Native Americans in television writing, acting and producing jobs.
A survey by the NAACP's Beverly Hills/Hollywood chapter found that of 839 writers currently working on primetime shows, just 55 are black, 11 Latino, three Asian-American and none Native American, meaning minorities make up just 7 percent of primetime network writers.
According to the Screen Actors Guild, the number of primetime parts for blacks and Latinos declined in 1998, with blacks filling around 12 percent, and Latinos just 3 percent. Asian-Americans represented a little more than 1 percent of parts on primetime shows.
A 1998 Directors Guild of America report showed that minority (and women) directors (in TV and film) worked fewer days in 1997 than the year before, despite an increase in work for directors overall (L.A. Daily News, 7/17/98).
As for the executive ranks, an investigation by Entertainment Weekly (which has done exceptional reporting on this issue) found only a handful of minorities in television's corridors of power, including Scott Sassa, the Asian-American head of NBC West Coast. (Sassa, along with Cosby and Bochco, is frequently offered as proof that diversity's on the march in TVdom, despite his own comments to the contrary.) Notes Entertainment Weekly (10/18/99), "These are the exceptions, and most of the creative executives come from the cable side," not from broadcasting.
Such numbers are valuable indicators. But the executives are right that numbers don't completely capture racism's complex nature. Discrimination, for example, also takes the form of segregation. The vast majority (83 percent) of the 55 African-American primetime writers worked on shows with primarily black casts. "White writers, however, routinely make the crossover to write on shows with predominantly minority casts," as the Los Angeles Times observed (10/27/99). CBS has 144 writers; the two that are black both work on Cosby.
And of course there are countless anecdotal examples that suggest pervasive problems. Like Jay Dyer, the successful African-American writer whose agent was told flatly: "This isn't a black show. We don't need a black writer." (Entertainment Weekly, 7/30/99) Or the casting director who wasn't satisfied that auditioning actor Garrett Wang was doing a "Japanese accent" until "I took the most exaggerated Cantonese-Chinese accent, you know... 'Oh I give you two free egg roll if you bring laundry into my store.'… And she said, 'That's it. That's the one.'" (All Things Considered, 10/27/99)
Black, Latino, Asian-American and Native American actors cite the frustration of being considered only for "specifically ethnic" roles, the countless opportunities they miss because of someone's parochial idea of what a "neighbor" or a "bank teller" should look like (see, e.g., Hollywood Reporter, 9/14/1999). On the flip side, minority writers say they can only get started in the business by avoiding issues relating to ethnicity: "If you do a spec script for a white show with white characters, at least you'll get a foot in," writer Daryl Nickens told the Chicago Tribune (8/8/93).
The misunderstanding of the systemic, institutional nature of discrimination was also reflected in the scramble by some of the networks to "tack on" token minority characters to existing shows later in the season. "What we keep hearing," explained Milwaukee Journal Sentinel TV critic Joanne Weintraub (All Things Considered, 7/28/99), "is, 'Oh we didn't have any black people or brown people in our pilot, but wait'll you see episode four. We're going to introduce Steve and he's black, and he's going to interact like mad with all the white people.' Sometimes it sounds just that silly."
Not black and white, just green
Even as they more or less acknowledged a hiring system built overwhelmingly on personal networks, the relative absence of minorities in executive roles, and a stubbornly stereotypical approach to casting, the media industry argument in the wake of complaints had a tone best described as, "It's not racism; it's...." That blank was filled various ways, but the hands-down most popular was "it's economics."
"This year's lily-white TV season isn't about racism. It's about ratings. For the networks, diversity just doesn't pay," says the Fort Worth Star Telegram (9/5/99). "Remember that TV is all about numbers," the Orlando Sentinel explained (9/12/99) in a story headlined "Advertisers, Not Networks, Influence the Minority Roles on TV." "Shows succeed—and more often, fail—on ratings. The higher the ratings, the more attractive a show becomes to advertisers. More advertisers equals more money—and a hit show." "Blame Demographics," counsels the Indianapolis Star (7/15/99): "The big networks shoot for the bigger slice of the pie—the 70 percent of viewers who are white." Diane Sawyer (Good Morning America, 7/13/99) summed it up in a question to Kweisi Mfume: "They do go where the money is. So if there were money in it, they would go there. Can you blame them for doing basically what they're constituted to do, which is [be] a network that makes money?"
It's somewhat noteworthy to see media acknowledge the powerful role sponsors play in the content of programming. But this "economics, stupid" line, which pretends to be a dry-eyed, straight-up look at things, actually stops short of the whole story.
The WB's Felicity draws similar numbers of 18-to-49 year-olds as the net's two highest-rated black series, the Steve Harvey Show and the Jamie Foxx Show. But last season, Felicity commanded more than twice as much money per 30-second commercial than either show ($80,000 vs. less than $40,000). In the first week of the new season, The Steve Harvey Show pulled in 500,000 more viewers than Dawson's Creek; but Dawson's Creek gets $63,000 more for a 30-second spot. (All Things Considered, 10/17/99) How can that be simple ratings?
The fact is "economics" do not explain the disparate treatment of white and non-white audiences by sponsors, and consequently by programmers. Advertisers pay less for programs that garner non-white audiences, in a widely acknowledged policy called "discounting." Some flatly refuse to buy ads on stations or shows that reach primarily non-white audiences, the so-called "no urban/no Spanish dictate."
Such policies are not based in "market sense." When Emmis Broadcasting, operators of a New York radio station with a primarily black listenership, approached their local Volvo dealers group about buying ads, they supplied market research showing that "their black/urban listeners were just as able and likely to buy cars in Volvo's price range as the radio audiences Volvo dealers were currently paying to reach, suburban whites." (Forum Connection, Civil Rights Forum on Communications Policy, 9/30/99) The company couldn't deny the facts, but said no anyway. What it came down to, according to station manager Judith Ellis, "was the head of the dealership who said, 'I just don't want to. We just don't want it on that radio station.'"
Last year, an internal memo from media representation firm Katz Media Group came to light, in which the company advised its sales staff not to place ads on so-called "urban" stations, explaining that businesses want "prospects, not suspects." (Black Enterprise, 7/31/99)
The FCC has collected plenty of such evidence, illustrating a range of racist assumptions about non-white customers openly cited by advertisers as reasons to pay less for ads in ethnic markets, or not to buy them at all. There's the buyer for Ivory soap who refused to purchase time on a Latino-formatted station because "Hispanics don't bathe as frequently as non-Hispanics." (FCC study, "When Being No. 1 Is Not Enough: The Impact of Advertising Practices on Minority-Formatted Broadcast Stations," 1/99) Companies have cited worries that "our pilferage will increase," if they advertise on minority stations, or said simply, "Your station will bring too many black people to my place of business." If that's not racism, what is?
Yet mainstream media consistently sought out ways to explain this situation while emphatically maintaining that it wasn't discrimination. Often the disconnect between a show's ratings and its ad rates was actively obscured, in constructions like this from USA Today (7/20/99): "Privately, network executives say their lack of interest in black shows reflects simple economics. Recent black shows haven't reached the young, upscale viewers who translate into success, as measured by Nielsen ratings, premium ad prices and syndications revenue."
Or race and class were simply collapsed together without explanation (Virginian-Pilot, 8/31/99): "Others say the parade of new shows with young white casts isn't about racism. It's about economics. It's about attracting the hard-to-get audience of white 18-to-34 year olds with vast buying power—the Felicity crowd."
"Is TV's Racism Black and White or Just Green?" asked the popular framing (Plain Dealer headline, 8/15/99). The phrasing points up the obscurantism permeating media coverage—coverage that left unclear whether TV's racist practices were being denied, or just excused on the grounds that they are making some people very wealthy.
That may be the most disconcerting aspect of the media response to the NAACP protests: the way that, having stumbled upon the open secret of the media world—that, platitudes aside, its commercialism fundamentally impedes its democratic and creative promise—journalists carefully tip-toed away.
See FAIR's Archives for more on:
Race and Racism
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In the 7 years since this article was written. I'm sure AB you have seen changes
Perhaps not as quickly as you would like...but nevertheless there have been changes
as an example
There's the buyer for Ivory soap who refused to purchase time on a Latino-formatted station because "Hispanics don't bathe as frequently as non-Hispanics." (FCC study, "When Being No. 1 Is Not Enough: The Impact of Advertising Practices on Minority-Formatted Broadcast Stations," 1/99)
In 2007 any corporation that dosent cater to the hispanic community in the states....hang deyself
Dem fellahs does bend over backward and even put de ads in pure spanish......niche and target marketing is the order of the day now
I have seen a lot of high end consumer companies target blacks in print and radio and even tv ads....including volvo
The changes may seem glacial in speed but the reality is...the vast majority of the viewing audience with neilsen ratings boxes are white.......the producers are simply playing to their audience
Besides, dem fellahs did done make ah black version of the bachelor almost 30 years ago
Dey did call it ah different name back then is all ;D
(http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/MG/210003~Superfly-Posters.jpg)
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MOST RECENT:
• A conversation about race (4/15/08)
LYNDON JOHNSON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT : This graduating class at Howard University is witnessed to the indomitable determination of the negro America to win his way in American life. BRIAN WILLIAMS, NBC NEWS ANCHOR : President Lyndon Johnson here ...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24165209/ when site open launch video and check the experiment with the black children and the dolls .
• Man meets ancestor's slaveowner (4/6/08)
... but only now, with the emergence of an African-American candidate with a real chance of winning the presidency, has race finally pushed itself into the heart of America’s civic conversation. “In some ways we’ve never talked more about race in ...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23780855/
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I will go on record as to say, "If I could get away with it, i'd wash his mouth with dog piss." What a sc**t...
Sudama: NAR to blame
By by Denyse Renne denyse.renne@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Apr 26, 2011 at 11:44 PM ECT
Story Updated: Apr 26, 2011 at 11:44 PM ECT
Former minister Trevor Sudama has placed blame squarely on the shoulders of the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) for the 1990 insurrection.
Testifying yesterday at the third session of the commission of enquiry into the July 1990 attempted coup, Sudama said the failure of the then NAR government to take a firm stance against the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen led to the uprising.
"They (NAR) were not vigilant enough with security, they did not act firmly in dealing with the Muslimeen," Sudama said.
Referring to the issue involving the Mucurapo land acquired by the Jamaat, Sudama said had the NAR government acted on the stance taken by the Muslimeen, things may have been different. The NAR government was led by former prime minister Arthur NR Robinson.
"If they (NAR) had dealt with it firmly in the beginning, this (coup attempt) may not have occurred. A lot of what the Muslimeen were doing went undetected. Instead, by failing to act, the NAR government condoned the Muslimeen actions," Sudama said.
The former minister, who was being led into evidence by Senior Counsel Avory Sinanan, also admitted there was great conflict with the coalition government which included himself, Robinson and Basdeo Panday.
Sudama said the coalition had inherited a drained treasury from the People's National Movement (PNM) and, as such, "the stability of the country was undermined and the government was forced to carry out harsh measures in order to get money from the IMF (International Monetary Fund)".
Sudama said in order to get money from the IMF "we needed to cut back on expenditure, and COLA (Cost of Living Allowance) was cut".
Sudama said the issue of ethnic imbalance also raised its head and a decision was taken "not to have an Indian in power, since some members were of the opinion that Indians were not part of the struggle".
"The PNM never had a Hindu in their Cabinet and there was distrust for Indians and Hindus. They were not seen as an inclusive party.
"The view was also held that Indians are dominant in professions of medicine, law and business and if they were allowed in the corridors of power, it will create a huge ethnic imbalance and Africans will be marginalised," Sudama said.
As a result of this, Sudama said Panday could not be Prime Minister and shortly after Robinson assumed the Prime Minister's portfolio, things started to unravel.
Sudama said the Panday faction had recommended the names of individuals to sit on State boards and Robinson had hired Ken Gordon as his Trade and Industry Minister. Sudama said checks were made and it was discovered that four per cent of the people recommended by Panday to be appointed to State boards were of East Indian descent. Sudama said: "We thought it was one love, togetherness and then this happened."
He said questions were raised, following which Gordon then made more appointments, bringing the percentage to ten per cent.
"There was a serious disjuncture at what is said on the platform level and when you get into government and this started with recommendations for State boards," Sudama said.
Sudama said Robinson yielded limited support in Tobago, yet he was in charge and "calling all the shots".
"It was hurtful for us. Here is a man with limited support in Tobago and he was calling the shots. "We felt members were not being given a fair deal," Sudama said. Admitting that the relationship between Robinson and Panday was at times testy, Sudama said it was not in Panday's nature to talk about a problem.
"His style was confrontational, while Robinson used his authority to put people in their place," he said.
Recounting the events of being held hostage at the Red House, Sudama said he got the impression that the Muslimeen had an agenda of implementing an Islamic state, and removing government was the first step to accomplishing this.
Describing the second night of the attempted coup as being the most critical, Sudama said, "I had the feeling that something was going to happen. I had a feeling of doom and gloom. The Muslimeen were carrying out the final rites of a doomsday scenario."
Hearing resumes today, with the continued testimony of former head of news and current affairs at the now defunct Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT) Jones P Madeira.
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Daughters came home yesterday and said they had a confrontation with some teenage girls who've been bullying them in school twitter and Facebook. Seems they've heard my dad talk about how bad myself and my siblings (sisters and brother) were during our school days and how we never took shit from others. Well, they stood up for themselves and had the girls scampering. During the melee, it seems some names were called and it's the first time they've such racist words directed at them. They just didn't know how to respond.
Have you prepared your children for racism? How do you as a parent act or respond? What do you expect of your children when such a thing happens. What if it was your child guilty of racism?
The youngest was home when I just got in and said that she went to the principal office and reported it.. she's still messed up from it (didn't realize that it hit her so hard) and had to come home from school early today. Now the older sister is in school and that chile have crazy blood... she wasn't there when the racist names were directed at the younger sister... if she lashes out at these girls, should I be mad?
Thoughts? Comments?
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I does tell my girls deal with it how they seem fit, just know that word like N@gger have nothing to do with dem, but more so the one saying such nasty things.
Actually, recently in an indoor soccer game a blonde lil cutie call her a N@gger B@tch. Well she dismantle that with some beat and some goal then blast her with the ball a couple times and she can hit that ball.
Just got through a R.A.D program with her, so she can hit rel hard and put them down quick, so let them mess.
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Let them know it is real...it exists...and it is your reaction to the offensive words and actions that impacts on the situation.
You either embrace the name and own it...then show them what you can do in a positive light.
You either ignore and carry on...succeeding and doing the best that you can do. (this and the above piss them off more)
Or you could tun c&*% and hit them a bellers, cuss them back, feel a sense of internal satisfaction and deal with the consequences after ( as well as the remark see dais how dey does geh orn)
Each of the above are to be used at a certain time and scenario...the trick is to know when to use it.
Jumbie they are young ladies...doh let them turn jagabat...let them stand up and confront the offender and say ok we do not like being called these names and that is offensive to us, (fack off)...but we cant change how we come out and who our parents are...but deal with it diplomatically, using the principal, teachers etc and report the issue. Do not let physical harm come to them and do not encourage violence.
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dais a tough one dey jumbie
Viscerally ah inclined to say shook de big rotweiller behind dem....but dat eh go really do nuttn but reinforce stereotypes in dem redneck minds
When my daughter was bout 7 or 8 I had already taught her about the kinda words somebody might call her on the playground....just so she wouldnt be stunned to respond or clueless (I also teach she a few choice ethnic slurs as well,, but at 7 she probably woudnt a remember any)
Fortunately she has never been on the sharpened end of any verbal racial barbs even though she get into a couple fights......maybe ah shoulda teach she to hit some hard bullet like elan's kid
Make sure the principal doh sweep the whole issue under the carpet
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We've had tuh deal wit dat ah few times, and believe me it eh pleasant when yuh have tuh help yuh yutes navigate dem treacherous waters. A lot of it is education, education, education. At times teachers and parents were brought in, becz in many instances de offenders does pick it up from dey household. But it doh have no quick fix or one time ting yuh could do or say. Is ah ongoing process. And as Touches say, different circumstances warrant different reactions, and dat can only be gained through experience.
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Dread....yuh just have to make sure that yuh kids have so much self esteem that shit like that directed at them does just make them amused, and come home and relate the story to yuh matter of factly. They must know that that stuff exists only in the minds of idiots and when some fool starts to spit racist words at them, all they must be is bemused, feel some pity and yes, a sense of superiority. They must understand that as long as hand eh pass, them words really apply to the people/person that saying it.
Now if hand pass all that highfalutin shit must go out the window and they must be prepared to be real ignorant and aggressive, and still call the cops after, afterall, its a hate crime, doh let it slip.
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Tough luck dey jumbie, the best way i think is tuh let yuh kids learn about their history, now i don't know your ethnicity, but assuming it's african, then you should show and teach your kids of all the great things that african ppl have achieved, past and present.
the pyramids, the moors in spain and the technology they brought to the dark ages of europe when ppl didn't bathe for months @ a time, the great navigators of north africa, "ancient egyptian" history and so forth, even modern day inventions by ppl of african decent, ( get this book by, JA rogers, 100 inventions by black people).
you must also teach them of the uncivilized nature of european culture even though it might be tough, and disturbing to hear, but it's the truth. white folks basically came out of ah harsh unforgiving region with limited food and resources, so they tend to be a bit less forgiving and grudging, all this has mold them into the kind of ppl they are today.
i know nuff ppl love to ignore this, but it's the truth, as harsh as it may be.
white folks (for the most part) don't have any problem in demonizing and teaching their kids falsehood about other races, especially black, so why should we be apprehensive about teaching our kids of the true nature of white folks. once yuh kids know that this is an uncivilized culture, then they would have less of a problem dealing with manifestations of such kind, wisdom and knowledge is the best tools you could give your children in combating bigotry, once they understand it, then they could navigate around any racist encounter with relative ease.
as for the ppl who think being civilized has anything to do with infrastructure, then think again! ppl could live in great cities with all the modern amenities and still be as backward and unsophisticated as animals in the wild. concrete and gadgets don't make you civilized. just look @ how white folks interact with other races, and that alone would teach you of their uncivilized unsophisticated culture.
they normally hate co existing with folks of another ethnicity since time immemorial, and if they do, then it's out of absolute necessity. if they are compelled to to coexist with another race by mandate, then they could resort to brute force in order not to integrate, and if they do decide to integrate (against their initial judgment), they must have the only say on how things are administrated.
if ppl are willing to put their emotions in their back pockets and research the history of the european, they would come up with ah trunk full of reasons and answers as too how uncivilized of ah race these folks truly are, and i'm not talking about individuals, NO! i'm referring to culture!
they hoard the world's wealth amongst them selves for over a thousand yrs, they rape and pillaged and colonized most of the worlds cultures and helped themselves to their resources, hek, even mother earth was ravaged despite of her cries. they stole and lied and hid history in order to justify their greed and barbarism, and these are the things we need to teach our children, i assure you, this will not make them hateful, but rather, wise.
it's funny how we could teach our kids that lions tigers and poisonous snakes are dangerous, bc if you get close to them, especially in the wild, chances are more than likely they are liable to inflict serious harm on them, even possible death, but we refuse to teach the realities of human danger.
you got to show your kids the great culture and civilization they derived from, and make them proud of it, and another thing we as black ppl need tuh know, the word "nigger" actually means "BLACK" in latin.
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Teenages should not be on facebook and tweeter and other sites like that.
Yuh live de American way, yuh have to deal with de pain that comes with it.
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Ah see what it iz goin on here wid allyuh members, but doh worry, many more will have tuh suffer, many more will have tuh cry.
when iz ah thread on maccoing and bacchanal business ppl does weigh in in droves, but when it's about serious issues that affecting lives which could provoke positive as well as negative responses ppl could care less, matter of fact they does run an hide like some lil wossies!
i also notice when i weigh in on ah subject the thread that automatically run cold, like if i does come on the board on ah vampire scene.
it's OK not to like me, as ah matter of fact i prefer it that way, i'm not here to be liked, but @ least don't go on like some little panzies by not responding, say how allyuh really feel, if allyuh dislike just cool no sweat! but @ least grow ah fackin beard and say it out loud so i would refrain from responding when allyuh post, but the passive aggressive behavior is for lil school girls and PMSing broads, not big grown arse men.
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Ah see what it iz goin on here wid allyuh members, but doh worry, many more will have tuh suffer, many more will have tuh cry.
when iz ah thread on maccoing and bacchanal business ppl does weigh in in droves, but when it's about serious issues that affecting lives which could provoke positive as well as negative responses ppl could care less, matter of fact they does run an hide like some lil wossies!
i also notice when i weigh in on ah subject the thread that automatically run cold, like if i does come on the board on ah vampire scene.
it's OK not to like me, as ah matter of fact i prefer it that way, i'm not here to be liked, but @ least don't go on like some little panzies by not responding, say how allyuh really feel, if allyuh dislike just cool no sweat! but @ least grow ah fackin beard and say it out loud so i would refrain from responding when allyuh post, but the passive aggressive behavior is for lil school girls and PMSing broads, not big grown arse men.
But I like you :'( :devil: :beermug:
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Ah see what it iz goin on here wid allyuh members, but doh worry, many more will have tuh suffer, many more will have tuh cry.
when iz ah thread on maccoing and bacchanal business ppl does weigh in in droves, but when it's about serious issues that affecting lives which could provoke positive as well as negative responses ppl could care less, matter of fact they does run an hide like some lil wossies!
i also notice when i weigh in on ah subject the thread that automatically run cold, like if i does come on the board on ah vampire scene.
it's OK not to like me, as ah matter of fact i prefer it that way, i'm not here to be liked, but @ least don't go on like some little panzies by not responding, say how allyuh really feel, if allyuh dislike just cool no sweat! but @ least grow ah fackin beard and say it out loud so i would refrain from responding when allyuh post, but the passive aggressive behavior is for lil school girls and PMSing broads, not big grown arse men.
I does barely notice you. But judging from the way you are speaking apparently you've had issues with others. I go pay more attention to you from now on.
VB
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Jumbie,
I am not going to profess to know enough to guide you as I've never had kids and had such an issue.
As an individual I've experienced it enough times, sadly usually from black people who don't seem to mind pelting slurs your way.
Usually I've ignored it, responded a few times and pelt one or two lash.
But I can only imagine that it's more painful to see your kids have to deal with it.
I have two much younger brothers. Their mum is Chinese and looks wise they have taken after her. I must ask them if they ever had to deal with this.
Both are 2nd Dans in Tae Kwon Do with the older one being an ex Canadian Champ (boys) so I have a feeling if there was a problem they were probably ok.
Sometimes you bring up your kids in the best neighbourhoods, and best schools but it still filters through.
VB
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Thx for the advice and shared thoughts on the subject. They already went to the principal and I plan on following up on Monday morning. I take this serious and will make it an issue at the school.
JC, the funny thing is (and some people here know or have seen my children)... other than the ethnic features (face), if you saw them you'd think they were full white.. especially in the winter when their skin gets lighter. In the warmer months they could easily pass for Sicilians. People who have been around other cultures pick on on their ethnicity very fass though. Their background is very mixed and we've tried our best to not just make them very proud of their unique mixture, but we've introduced them to everything culturally as we can and they are surrounded by many positive aspects of their mixed heritage.
Again, thx for everyone's contribution.
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Ah see what it iz goin on here wid allyuh members, but doh worry, many more will have tuh suffer, many more will have tuh cry.
when iz ah thread on maccoing and bacchanal business ppl does weigh in in droves, but when it's about serious issues that affecting lives which could provoke positive as well as negative responses ppl could care less, matter of fact they does run an hide like some lil wossies!
i also notice when i weigh in on ah subject the thread that automatically run cold, like if i does come on the board on ah vampire scene.
it's OK not to like me, as ah matter of fact i prefer it that way, i'm not here to be liked, but @ least don't go on like some little panzies by not responding, say how allyuh really feel, if allyuh dislike just cool no sweat! but @ least grow ah fackin beard and say it out loud so i would refrain from responding when allyuh post, but the passive aggressive behavior is for lil school girls and PMSing broads, not big grown arse men.
Dread you real sensitive sometimes yes... it ever occur to you that some people might just be out of answers? Me personally I don't have any children so I don't know what I would tell dem. De ole ni**a in me does have me ready to run up people chest, but I know that is not the best response, hence I sitting dis one out.
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Ah see what it iz goin on here wid allyuh members, but doh worry, many more will have tuh suffer, many more will have tuh cry.
when iz ah thread on maccoing and bacchanal business ppl does weigh in in droves, but when it's about serious issues that affecting lives which could provoke positive as well as negative responses ppl could care less, matter of fact they does run an hide like some lil wossies!
i also notice when i weigh in on ah subject the thread that automatically run cold, like if i does come on the board on ah vampire scene.
it's OK not to like me, as ah matter of fact i prefer it that way, i'm not here to be liked, but @ least don't go on like some little panzies by not responding, say how allyuh really feel, if allyuh dislike just cool no sweat! but @ least grow ah fackin beard and say it out loud so i would refrain from responding when allyuh post, but the passive aggressive behavior is for lil school girls and PMSing broads, not big grown arse men.
@ Just Cool: I personally don't have a problem with you. It is difficult for me to form an opinion of someone who goes by an online pseudonym and who I have never met personally. Judging from the content of your posts, you seem fairly knowledgeable and although I do not agree with everything that you write, I respect your right to write it.
@ Jumbie: I do not have children, so I will be very cautious in my comments. Assuming that your daughters are the ethnic minority in their school, I think that Just Cool's suggestion that you teach them their history is very good advice. If they are of African descent, this is especially very important and lies at the heart of the many identity crises that African-descended youths suffer from in the African Diaspora. However, I would not focus on the inadequacies of the European race for the reason that they will have to interact with Caucasians on a daily basis and it would be wiser resist the tempatation to cast aspersions on the entire Caucasian race. This is just as bad as the racism that the redneck in Alabama would display towards a person of African descent.
As for lashing out, I do not think that initiating a physical confrontation is the answer, especially considering the fact that they are young ladies and culturally speaking, fighting is considered more unbecoming for a young woman. If they are subject barbs, it would be best to ignore it and walk away, or to inform the offenders that verbal taunts are unacceptable. I know it is easier said than done and it is difficult to be rational and restrained in the face of such obvious provocation. In the event that they feel so insulted that they are tempted to engage in a physial altercation with the offenders, it is better for them to walk away.
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Ah see what it iz goin on here wid allyuh members, but doh worry, many more will have tuh suffer, many more will have tuh cry.
when iz ah thread on maccoing and bacchanal business ppl does weigh in in droves, but when it's about serious issues that affecting lives which could provoke positive as well as negative responses ppl could care less, matter of fact they does run an hide like some lil wossies!
i also notice when i weigh in on ah subject the thread that automatically run cold, like if i does come on the board on ah vampire scene.
it's OK not to like me, as ah matter of fact i prefer it that way, i'm not here to be liked, but @ least don't go on like some little panzies by not responding, say how allyuh really feel, if allyuh dislike just cool no sweat! but @ least grow ah fackin beard and say it out loud so i would refrain from responding when allyuh post, but the passive aggressive behavior is for lil school girls and PMSing broads, not big grown arse men.
I does barely notice you. But judging from the way you are speaking apparently you've had issues with others. I go pay more attention to you from now on.
VB
Eh VB, doh try tuh jim carey me nah boss, bc i'm seriously on top of things without even trying. doh forget, iz not no snotnose lil johnny come lately, is ah coco scorpion yuh dealin wid here boss, so save it for the next guy.
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Ah see what it iz goin on here wid allyuh members, but doh worry, many more will have tuh suffer, many more will have tuh cry.
when iz ah thread on maccoing and bacchanal business ppl does weigh in in droves, but when it's about serious issues that affecting lives which could provoke positive as well as negative responses ppl could care less, matter of fact they does run an hide like some lil wossies!
i also notice when i weigh in on ah subject the thread that automatically run cold, like if i does come on the board on ah vampire scene.
it's OK not to like me, as ah matter of fact i prefer it that way, i'm not here to be liked, but @ least don't go on like some little panzies by not responding, say how allyuh really feel, if allyuh dislike just cool no sweat! but @ least grow ah fackin beard and say it out loud so i would refrain from responding when allyuh post, but the passive aggressive behavior is for lil school girls and PMSing broads, not big grown arse men.
Dread you real sensitive sometimes yes... it ever occur to you that some people might just be out of answers? Me personally I don't have any children so I don't know what I would tell dem. De ole ni**a in me does have me ready to run up people chest, but I know that is not the best response, hence I sitting dis one out.
Woh sensitive you talking bout ? stuueepppssss! breds, this board is small ting compare to the other aspects of my life, so i not even trying to go there wid ppl, it's just that it have ppl on here who like gang up ting, and i just putting it to the forefront.
is like you eh know what sensitive is ? if i was sensitive i woulda never engage you in any debate again since yuh talk outa timin bout my kids, not that i want tuh revisit that, but just drawing an example.
it have men on here who i didn't hit it off wid when i first joined up, and uptil now dem men still holding ah grudge and don't even respond to my post, even when i tried to engage them and reach out. now that is sensitive, not to mention passive aggressive.
if you had said that i was passionate, and tend tuh go over board, then yes, that would've been a correct assessment, but my God sensitive on ah blog site, no way bro.
breds in true and living color, it have men who does cuss me out and malign me left and right with every chance they get, and i does go on like i didn't even hear dem and still hail dem up when i see dem, that's how cool i does go on, but when it come to the truth and social issues, (which is close to my heart) i tend to over react, but personal attacks , never!
yuh got me pegged wrong saddiss.
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Thx for the advice and shared thoughts on the subject. They already went to the principal and I plan on following up on Monday morning. I take this serious and will make it an issue at the school.
JC, the funny thing is (and some people here know or have seen my children)... other than the ethnic features (face), if you saw them you'd think they were full white.. especially in the winter when their skin gets lighter. In the warmer months they could easily pass for Sicilians. People who have been around other cultures pick on on their ethnicity very fass though. Their background is very mixed and we've tried our best to not just make them very proud of their unique mixture, but we've introduced them to everything culturally as we can and they are surrounded by many positive aspects of their mixed heritage.
Again, thx for everyone's contribution.
Jumbie, far be it from me to tell ah man/ woman how tuh raise their children, and what values to give them in regards to racial identity.
i myself have biracial kids, and i made it ah law unto my self to teach my children that no matter how white their mother and her side of the family were, they are still "BLACK" african americans.
i did this bc of the racial climate of this country that we call home. i did not want some smirk snub nose mean spirited white stuff shirt hater to give my yutes ah rude awakening and a lesson in biology and sociology by letting them know not on their best day, they would never be considered or have anything to do with being white.
i make it my duty to teach my yutes of what to expect from all ppls, and how to maneuver them, i also teach my yutes of their rich african heritage, the one that no one talks about which was not recorded or mentioned in the european history books. so when some clown decides to malign them, my yutes will just look @ them like real fackin backward monkeys.
you have no idea how enpowering the history and heritage of ah ppl can be
good luck with your yutes bro. positive.
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is like you eh know what sensitive is ? if i was sensitive i woulda never engage you in any debate again since yuh talk outa timin bout my kids, not that i want tuh revisit that, but just drawing an example.
I did? Dred... YOU described your own kids as 'mongrels', not me. Much later, I then said something to you to the effect of "your 'mongrel' kids, as you yuhself call them." Since then you keep claiming I talk bad about yuh kids. I don't even know yuh kids.
Note also, I didn't call you sensitive, I said you are real sensitive sometimes. You call it being passionate and overreacting at times... I really don't see the difference, in this context.
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is like you eh know what sensitive is ? if i was sensitive i woulda never engage you in any debate again since yuh talk outa timin bout my kids, not that i want tuh revisit that, but just drawing an example.
I did? Dred... YOU described your own kids as 'mongrels', not me. Much later, I then said something to you to the effect of "your 'mongrel' kids, as you yuhself call them." Since then you keep claiming I talk bad about yuh kids. I don't even know yuh kids.
Note also, I didn't call you sensitive, I said you are real sensitive sometimes. You call it being passionate and overreacting at times... I really don't see the difference, in this context.
Breds, i really had 2nd thoughts about responding to your post, even bringing this particular incident up bc i knew you would major on this one small example and ignore the main reason i responded, which was to say that you have me pegged wrong on the sensitive comment, which in reality, i'm definitely not!
breds, i will never call my kids out in such a derogatory manner, bc my yutes is my life and i'll die for my kids without thought, in other words, i doh play wid my yutes! you need tuh produce that comment bc i doubt those words ever came out my mouth, and if it did, then it was in a jesting manner, of which i seriously doubt.
this is exactly the reason why i said in the previous post, i did not want to revisit that, i just wanted to convey my point so i used it as a reference, that's all. now please lets move on, bc it's not that serious.
positive.
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Ah see what it iz goin on here wid allyuh members, but doh worry, many more will have tuh suffer, many more will have tuh cry.
when iz ah thread on maccoing and bacchanal business ppl does weigh in in droves, but when it's about serious issues that affecting lives which could provoke positive as well as negative responses ppl could care less, matter of fact they does run an hide like some lil wossies!
i also notice when i weigh in on ah subject the thread that automatically run cold, like if i does come on the board on ah vampire scene.
it's OK not to like me, as ah matter of fact i prefer it that way, i'm not here to be liked, but @ least don't go on like some little panzies by not responding, say how allyuh really feel, if allyuh dislike just cool no sweat! but @ least grow ah fackin beard and say it out loud so i would refrain from responding when allyuh post, but the passive aggressive behavior is for lil school girls and PMSing broads, not big grown arse men.
I does barely notice you. But judging from the way you are speaking apparently you've had issues with others. I go pay more attention to you from now on.
VB
Eh VB, doh try tuh jim carey me nah boss, bc i'm seriously on top of things without even trying. doh forget, iz not no snotnose lil johnny come lately, is ah coco scorpion yuh dealin wid here boss, so save it for the next guy.
No clue what you on about. But I'm beginning to think the best thing to do is ignore certain posts of yours.
VB
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breds, i will never call my kids out in such a derogatory manner, bc my yutes is my life and i'll die for my kids without thought, in other words, i doh play wid my yutes! you need tuh produce that comment bc i doubt those words ever came out my mouth, and if it did, then it was in a jesting manner, of which i seriously doubt.
Okay, it's been 4 1/2 years and de ole memory ent what it used to be, so I not above admitting when I wrong. You did NOT call your kids "mongrel kids"... but neither did I. I tried explaining this to you I dunno how many times. Here is the conversation:
as you know i have mixed race kids and i never chase after no woman white nor black, it was allways mutual intrest.
as you know i have mongrel kids and i never chase after no woman white nor black, it was allways those negresses who chase after me.
Is too much to get into here in this unrelated thread (without derailing it further) so I just posting the original source. You posted a diatribe against white people, in such a manner that it portrayed you as a black racist.
To demonstrate how the shoe might feel on the other foot, I assumed the mindset of a white racist and mimicked your entire post word for word. Where you stated you had mixed race kids, I (the white racist) stated I had "mongrel" kids.
You then took offense, and fuh de past 4+ years on this thing about how I insulted yuh kids. Hopefully this will be the last time I have to explain... because as I say I doh even know yuh kids to be saying anything about them like that.
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breds, i will never call my kids out in such a derogatory manner, bc my yutes is my life and i'll die for my kids without thought, in other words, i doh play wid my yutes! you need tuh produce that comment bc i doubt those words ever came out my mouth, and if it did, then it was in a jesting manner, of which i seriously doubt.
Okay, it's been 4 1/2 years and de ole memory ent what it used to be, so I not above admitting when I wrong. You did NOT call your kids "mongrel kids"... but neither did I. I tried explaining this to you I dunno how many times. Here is the conversation:
as you know i have mixed race kids and i never chase after no woman white nor black, it was allways mutual intrest.
as you know i have mongrel kids and i never chase after no woman white nor black, it was allways those negresses who chase after me.
Is too much to get into here in this unrelated thread (without derailing it further) so I just posting the original source. You posted a diatribe against white people, in such a manner that it portrayed you as a black racist.
To demonstrate how the shoe might feel on the other foot, I assumed the mindset of a white racist and mimicked your entire post word for word. Where you stated you had mixed race kids, I (the white racist) stated I had "mongrel" kids.
You then took offense, and fuh de past 4+ years on this thing about how I insulted yuh kids. Hopefully this will be the last time I have to explain... because as I say I doh even know yuh kids to be saying anything about them like that.
Sharks, ah wah yuh listen to me carefully, i not holding no grudge bredder, the only reason i mention this old topic iz bc you said that i was sensitive, and i really hate to think that i could be guilty of that in cyber space, so i drew on ah reference to substantiate my claim of being on top of my emotions, never did i bring this up to make you or anyone feel bad or to insinuate that i'm hold a grudge.
that incident as you mention was yrs ago, and i not carry around all that baggage for small ting sooooo long.
in reality breds, i passed that and moving forward. like i said, i should not have even mentioned that, bc i did not want to revisit it. it's gone and we moved on, and if i came over has petty or holding a grudge, then i sincerely apologize, it was not my intention. my bad. positive. :beermug:
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JC...From what I remember in pics Jumbie is not of African descent, and I think his wife is white... so I eh know if the pro-afro teachings are relevant.
Apart from highlighting the dark-side of European history, which I don't think is an appropriate message for minors, I think you make a good point in saying that it's important to teach kids confidence and self esteem and make them proud of who they are, whether through the teachings of history or otherwise....
I think a strong sense of self would help kids through stuff like this. I doh have kids so I can't say, but I do believe that there are alot of influences over which we have little control that form the minds and affect the self esteem of kids from a very young age...Exposure to racism would probably just add a large amount of insult to injury... Particularly in the western world (dominated by white people), kids form impressions very very early about what is popular, attractive, more accepted etc... I know of very young non-white kids who have expressed dissatisfaction about their hair texture and skin color, and these are kids who haven't even been directly exposed to racism...
I'm a firm believer that it's never too early to instill a strong sense of self esteem... I also agree with touches about discouraging violence...
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Look how allyuh Hijack di man sumthin nuh cheups.. Hope all goes well with you kids brother growing up kids are rough . Let us know how it went man . I dealt with situation like dat several months ago . It was tough . Hope all goes well...
war
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Where possible: humanize the situation ... break bread with those involved. Shared meals oftentimes provide a sound platform on which to broker divisions.
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Where possible: humanize the situation ... break bread with those involved. Shared meals oftentimes provide a sound platform on which to broker divisions.
Interesting suggestion, it just occurred to me no one has yet suggested the olive branch approach.
Good point combine an upper middle class dish from jumbie kitchen with a redneck culinary delight
I suggest a nice Vichyssoise to start, followed by a possum roadkill entree
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in reality breds, i passed that and moving forward. like i said, i should not have even mentioned that, bc i did not want to revisit it. it's gone and we moved on, and if i came over has petty or holding a grudge, then i sincerely apologize, it was not my intention. my bad. positive. :beermug:
Nah you doh have to apologize, I didn't think yuh was being petty. Anybody call my chirren names I woulda take offense to that too... I just wanted to be clear to you that I never did any such thing.
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Where possible: humanize the situation ... break bread with those involved. Shared meals oftentimes provide a sound platform on which to broker divisions.
Interesting suggestion, it just occurred to me no one has yet suggested the olive branch approach.
Good point combine an upper middle class dish from jumbie kitchen with a redneck culinary delight
I suggest a nice Vichyssoise to start, followed by a possum roadkill entree
instead of possum, how about squirrel sushi as prepared by a Montreal's chef Martin Picard?
(http://nationalpostnews.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/squirrel-sushi.jpg)
sorry Jumbie ....
This is a real dish
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/02/controversial-montreal-chef-martin-picards-new-book-includes-recipes-for-squirrel-sushi-and-confederation-beaver/
or beaver
(http://nationalpostnews.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/confederation-beaver.jpg)
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Where possible: humanize the situation ... break bread with those involved. Shared meals oftentimes provide a sound platform on which to broker divisions.
Interesting suggestion, it just occurred to me no one has yet suggested the olive branch approach.
Good point combine an upper middle class dish from jumbie kitchen with a redneck culinary delight
I suggest a nice Vichyssoise to start, followed by a possum roadkill entree
instead of possum, how about squirrel sushi as prepared by a Montreal's chef Martin Picard?
(http://nationalpostnews.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/squirrel-sushi.jpg)
sorry Jumbie ....
This is a real dish
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/02/controversial-montreal-chef-martin-picards-new-book-includes-recipes-for-squirrel-sushi-and-confederation-beaver/
or beaver
(http://nationalpostnews.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/confederation-beaver.jpg)
Look how allyuh Hijack di man sumthin nuh cheups.. Hope all goes well with you kids brother growing up kids are rough . Let us know how it went man . I dealt with situation like dat several months ago . It was tough . Hope all goes well...
war
Now the thread is officially hijacked, and right after you showed your obvious displeasure. hmmmmm... some ppl have no respect. ;D
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I did hesitate before posting this but Dutty's comment about roadkill was so timely with this picture I saw in the papers that came today.
Dais is why I apologized to Jumbie in advance.
I could try to make an insightful comment about the topic but humour too can often be used to defuse tense situations .... you have to know that Jumbie is a chef, does post his recipes and reaches out to the world with Caribbean cuisine, making this place a better place for all ... and he may appreciate the humour in all of this.
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Jumbie sorry to hear about the situation involving your kids, I have no children and I've rearly encountered racism directly like that. I did experience it on the university campus in which I currently work. I was an employee at the time and another Trini friend of mine was a student on the soccer team, one evening we were both chilling at his apt listening to music and all of a sudden we heard a racial slur from right outside his apt on the street targeted in our direction. To be honest I ignored it but not solider, he got in a rage and ran to the window shouting back at the individual, then he proceeded to run out the apt, I had to restrain him plead to ignore that uneducated fool. Sadis took those comments to heart, I'm not sure if it happened before but it clearly affected him all night to the point where I had to force him to go chill and drink some beers for him to get it off his mind.
Now this is where I'll give him props, he took the issue to his coach and the coach brought it to the attention to university officials. Now we have a campaign called OneWVU to fight against racism in an effort to educate everyone on racial diversity. This was heavily pushed all over campus through ads at sporting events, the university's home channel, posters, fliers, emails, t-shirts, every outlet to get the word out and the very same Trini who was affected became the face of the campaign.
Maybe an approach similar to this my the school maybe a good angle to go to educate the students at your daughters high school. See some of the ad's the university uses even up to this day to spread the word. The poems were also written my a good friend of mine on campus and I always commend them on the effort. Hope it helps :beermug:
http://www.youtube.com/v/AaekRJxlbDw
http://www.youtube.com/v/uBWsmfFeIYE&feature=relmfu
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Soccerman, yuh pardna shoulda aks dem "why it so have so many unsolved murders in W. Va?"
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The problem with morgantown, w.v. to hancock, md is that the popo uses "blacks" as their informants for their drug and moonshine bust! If yuh black and yuh traveling on 68 and dem state troopers see that yuh black, they will strip search your car also, no joke. A few fly fishing tourneys I went out to West Virginia, I was met with a cold shoulder because of race.
My father in law moved to north eastern pa to live amongst the amish, one of the first chinese immigrants in that part rural north eastern P.A. My wife was sometimes bullied for being Asian, my father in law tried the breaking bread approach. It worked with some and did not work with others! For the one's it worked with, they became good friends and when their circles got larger, they stood up for her but it was not easy at first! Show dem people we is real people, yuh cayr conquer everyone but yuh only need a few!
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I did hesitate before posting this but Dutty's comment about roadkill was so timely with this picture I saw in the papers that came today.
buh whey de ass is dis?...look how dis man roll mih under de bus normal, and walk away clean wit he squirrel pics!
YOU have bout 28 chirren that yuh does farm out all over de globe,,if anyting you should be a fountain of wisdom for dis kinda ting
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Dreadlock soldier in the video is Trini?
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Dreadlock soldier in the video is Trini?
Yeah dais the man who this evolved from
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Soccerman, yuh pardna shoulda aks dem "why it so have so many unsolved murders in W. Va?"
Really? I was not aware that there were many unsolved murders in this state...I'll have to inquire about that one.
I know for a fact that I'm not going roaming in no remote areas around here where just about everobody have guns! The most I go is Pittsburgh and back, I don't even take the back roads to cut on the distance for commuting, strickly interstate for me.
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The problem with morgantown, w.v. to hancock, md is that the popo uses "blacks" as their informants for their drug and moonshine bust! If yuh black and yuh traveling on 68 and dem state troopers see that yuh black, they will strip search your car also, no joke. A few fly fishing tourneys I went out to West Virginia, I was met with a cold shoulder because of race.
Daft when I was in college, me and my next Trini pardner of mine went back home for spring break. We both took the same flight home and back out of Dulles. We driving back to WV on 68, out of the blue an unmarked police car pulled me over, I'm shocked because I wasn't speeding. He pulled me out of the car and start to question me about guns and ammunition, he even went as far to ask about if I had any bombs or grenades in my car. Well my pardner sitting in the car baffled as well because we like just like that, but he was white and the officer didn't even question him. He eventually let me go without stating why he pulled me over or anything but it was strange.
Don't want to hijack Jumbie's thread but encounter ran on my mind when Daft pointed out a circumstance. In the past 8 years I've only been pulled over 4 times on I-68 and given 1 speeding ticket but I alway drive between WV and MD with caution.
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I have been to WV at least twice for extended periods. The second experience took me to Martinsburg; the first to Morgantown. There was a considerable gap in time between both experiences.
I'll relate an experience from the Morgantown trip (c. 1993). I was seated in the Subway shop on the corner of High & Fayette in perhaps the final hour before closing on what I believe was a Thursday night. I was alone. There were few seats in the establishment. I ended up sharing a table and striking up a conversation with some white co-eds. I was seated with my face to the door. This allowed me to see the run of traffic on the street and to observe ppl coming into the shop or walking by. I noticed an older model pick-up go by with a shaggy-haired dude hanging out the passenger door as the truck turned right from Fayette onto High.
Run-of-the-mill until it wasn't. It became not run-of-the-mill when the vehicle made the block several times (over 5, less than 10) and each time the passenger made deliberate eye contact with me ... on one or two of the turns gesticulating. It didn't take them a whole lot of time to make the block. The messaging started to become clearer upon each drive-by. My concern grew because I needed to stand outside to hail a cab or to get on the bus. With the passing of each minute, the prospect of catching the bus faded ... and safety was at issue.
In the latter stages of the conversation, my attention was very divided ... just trying to process the implication of the moment and sussing out the next step. I didn't express my observations to the ppl I was chatting with. I stayed in that Subway easily a good 30-40 minutes longer than I expected to. My out was ... when they're leaving I'm leaving. Fortunately, due to that same interaction ... with the shop closing, everyone in the group headed out to catch a cab and I ended up sharing it with them, despite the fact that I was going over the bridge and they were not ... they provided me cover without knowing it.
There is no doubt in my mind as to what could have happened but for my caution and awareness.
HOWEVER, I'll say this: there's something about WV prior to that experience and subsequent to it that always placed me on guard moreso than in any other state in the Union. I've been to extremely rural Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina etc ... you name it ... I've always found a paradox in WV. I think part of it is perceptional ... and I think part of it rests in insularity. I've had quite sound engagements there that transcended race.
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I have been to WV at least twice for extended periods. The second experience took me to Martinsburg; the first to Morgantown. There was a considerable gap in time between both experiences.
I'll relate an experience from the Morgantown trip (c. 1993). I was seated in the Subway shop on the corner of High & Fayette in perhaps the final hour before closing on what I believe was a Thursday night. I was alone. There were few seats in the establishment. I ended up sharing a table and striking up a conversation with some white co-eds. I was seated with my face to the door. This allowed me to see the run of traffic on the street and to observe ppl coming into the shop or walking by. I noticed an older model pick-up go by with a shaggy-haired dude hanging out the passenger door as the truck turned right from Fayette onto High.
Run-of-the-mill until it wasn't. It became not run-of-the-mill when the vehicle made the block several times (over 5, less than 10) and each time the passenger made deliberate eye contact with me ... on one or two of the turns gesticulating. It didn't take them a whole lot of time to make the block. The messaging started to become clearer upon each drive-by. My concern grew because I needed to stand outside to hail a cab or to get on the bus. With the passing of each minute, the prospect of catching the bus faded ... and safety was at issue.
In the latter stages of the conversation, my attention was very divided ... just trying to process the implication of the moment and sussing out the next step. I didn't express my observations to the ppl I was chatting with. I stayed in that Subway easily a good 30-40 minutes longer than I expected to. My out was ... when they're leaving I'm leaving. Fortunately, due to that same interaction ... with the shop closing, everyone in the group headed out to catch a cab and I ended up sharing it with them, despite the fact that I was going over the bridge and they were not ... they provided me cover without knowing it.
There is no doubt in my mind as to what could have happened but for my caution and awareness.
HOWEVER, I'll say this: there's something about WV prior to that experience and subsequent to it that always placed me on guard moreso than in any other state in the Union. I've been to extremely rural Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina etc ... you name it ... I've always found a paradox in WV. I think part of it is perceptional ... and I think part of it rests in insularity. I've had quite sound engagements there that transcended race.
Could be the bib wearing dude found you sexy and was trying to make ah pick up. ever thought about that?
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Err ... no. I think he wasn't big on sharing "his" blondes. ::)
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Err ... no. I think he wasn't big on sharing "his" blondes. ::)
nah I feel he had ah ting for you.
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Err ... no. I think he wasn't big on sharing "his" blondes. ::)
nah I feel he had ah ting for you.
Then I'll defer to your expertise.
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Err ... no. I think he wasn't big on sharing "his" blondes. ::)
nah I feel he had ah ting for you.
Then I'll defer to your expertise.
yuh shoulda defer to de shaggy headed man...lol W VA love...what ah thing.
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Err ... no. I think he wasn't big on sharing "his" blondes. ::)
nah I feel he had ah ting for you.
Then I'll defer to your expertise.
yuh shoulda defer to de shaggy headed man...lol W VA love...what ah thing.
Well, lehwe make it a full circle hijack and postulate that he prefers squirrels.
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Well, lehwe make it a full circle hijack and postulate that he prefers squirrels.
well dat woulda be de perfect time for your breaking bread theory...yuh shoulda offer cletus piece ah yuh sub..wit squirrel as he was driving by
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Well, lehwe make it a full circle hijack and postulate that he prefers squirrels.
well dat woulda be de perfect time for your breaking bread theory...yuh shoulda offer cletus piece ah yuh sub..wit squirrel as he was driving by
:rotfl: :rotfl: Well it's offically hijacked now...Seeker boy sorry to hear about your experience, I think i need to pay more attention everytime I step foot outside this campus.
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Really? I was not aware that there were many unsolved murders in this state...I'll have to inquire about that one.
I know for a fact that I'm not going roaming in no remote areas around here where just about everobody have guns! The most I go is Pittsburgh and back, I don't even take the back roads to cut on the distance for commuting, strickly interstate for me.
I joking man... they cyah solve murders because there are no dental records and everybody DNA does match ;D
Okay... I done.
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Really? I was not aware that there were many unsolved murders in this state...I'll have to inquire about that one.
I know for a fact that I'm not going roaming in no remote areas around here where just about everobody have guns! The most I go is Pittsburgh and back, I don't even take the back roads to cut on the distance for commuting, strickly interstate for me.
I joking man... they cyah solve murders because there are no dental records and everybody DNA does match ;D
Okay... I done.
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
My wife had a friend that worked in a Moorefield Clinic, as a oral surgeon (doing a rotation), yuh should hear de stories she have! She ask ah man when was de last he floss.... he replied: What's Flass?
Ah didn't want to hijack de thread, but if you go to W.V. via Western MD and yuh as a colored man eh experience racism ,yuh should play de lottery. Yuh lucky if dey ah ask if yuh escape from de correctional facilities also.
@ Soccerman
I feel yuh pain, yuh doh have to be speeding, dey pulling yuh over on "probable" cause, I get pull over from sidling hill, flintstone, rocky gap, jess before cumberland, frostburg, negro mt, new german rd, accident... and I does have my guns also when I rolling through that region... drama fuh so! If yuh white friend was blasting some rap music he would have been searched. The theme for colored folk is "come on vacation, leave on probation"
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I not goin no way near WEST VA unless it's on ah plane flying over. i know ah grendian dude who almost met his fate in WV.
the idiot went down there to spend the weekend with some white chicks he met in NY on ah nayger sex safari vacation. he took his boy to get in on the action and got more than they bargained for.
long story short, they ordered a pizza just before the lynch mob came knocking on their motel door, it's ah lucky thing they ordered that pizza, bc the delivery man came and saw the commotion and booked, scaring off their attackers, or else God knows what de fack would've happen to them.
not me and dem rural towns in america nah, hek , sometimes i hate even going to jersey, bc that state is as lonely and remote as hicksville bible beltopia.
this country is not ah nice place to be black, trust meh. just ask the president.
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Starnge eh? But imagine that West Virginia was created as a state during the Civil War when it broke away from Virginia and rejected the Confederacy to remain part of the Union. However, it's not clear if this separation really indicated the people's views, but West Virginia was admitted to the Union in 1862 with the requirement that it gradually eliminate slavery.
I remember a big debate we had in University over why W Va. was so damn racist.
1. it is a white dominated state that is poor, and poor whites hold on to racism it seems and not to guns. ~~~sigh~~~
2. The GoP has seen significant rise their in the last 10 years, seems it is the in thing to blame blacks for job losses and poor economy rather than the economy.
3. Education...many peeps there eschew education except for immediate utility. Bigotry trumps gender...last election MOST W Va. said they voted for Clinton over Barack in the Dem Primary citing race as their main reasoning for so doing.
4. 4.6% of voters in WVa. consider themselves Republican! and Hillary won 60% of the republican vote..Hillary did that!
5. To me this illustrates that educated people tend to shum racism more than the less educated....a debate that was raging in another thread.
Fast facts about W Va.
1.) WV is about 96% Caucasian
2.) WV has the LOWEST college completion rate in the US
3.) WV is near the bottom impoverished states
4.) WV has historically been hostile to non-whites.
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5) seems to me that all West virginia needs is two sheet of galvanize and ah jackspiniard nest, and it will be the ideal latrine.
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Home of Cornelius Calvin Sale, Jr. Kleagle and Exalted Cyclops of the WV KKK.
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It's always insightful to hear the facts and views about this state. I will admit though, in Moragntown things are not as hostile in terms of racism and I have personally been targeted or attacked plus I've made many great non-black friends here. If you go south of Moragntown to places like Charleston, Beckley, Ripley, Boone County, etc., it's a totally different world. Things seem backwards and you get a feel for how poor the state is. The main occupation in those areas is mining and a lot of young people drop out of school high school to work in the mines. I will admit it is a heavily white dominated state and a lot of in state students always opt migrate to bigger cities upon college graduation maybe to get away from the "small town" mentally and experience cultural change. Then again there aren't many jobs available for those with tertiary education in WV.
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It's always insightful to hear the facts and views about this state. I will admit though, in Moragntown things are not as hostile in terms of racism and I have personally been targeted or attacked plus I've made many great non-black friends here. If you go south of Moragntown to places like Charleston, Beckley, Ripley, Boone County, etc., it's a totally different world. Things seem backwards and you get a feel for how poor the state is. The main occupation in those areas is mining and a lot of young people drop out of school high school to work in the mines. I will admit it is a heavily white dominated state and a lot of in state students always opt migrate to bigger cities upon college graduation maybe to get away from the "small town" mentally and experience cultural change. Then again there aren't many jobs available for those with tertiary education in WV.
Morgantown is a University town, they are usually more cosmopolitan and openminded.
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It's always insightful to hear the facts and views about this state. I will admit though, in Moragntown things are not as hostile in terms of racism and I have personally been targeted or attacked plus I've made many great non-black friends here. If you go south of Moragntown to places like Charleston, Beckley, Ripley, Boone County, etc., it's a totally different world. Things seem backwards and you get a feel for how poor the state is. The main occupation in those areas is mining and a lot of young people drop out of school high school to work in the mines. I will admit it is a heavily white dominated state and a lot of in state students always opt migrate to bigger cities upon college graduation maybe to get away from the "small town" mentally and experience cultural change. Then again there aren't many jobs available for those with tertiary education in WV.
Morgantown is a University town, they are usually more cosmopolitan and openminded.
Yup and a booming town as well so I don't usually stray too far off campus but the state definitely need to find other ways to diversify in terms of trade (technology, finance, education, etc.) to attract outsiders to invest here. That may help in redefining the image, encourage people to migrate to WV and enhance the economy. I know this is one area the state gov't been trying to work on in recent years.
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After all de thread get highjack, lojack and hangjack
I still eh find out if jumbie wrinch up for de principal or gih de parents of de redneck some dougla chicken
Clearly ah need some closure
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One of our county’s slogans is “Together we aspire & together we achieve” and our national anthem ends by saying "Here every creed and race finds and equal place and may God bless our nation".
We can’t continue to sweep the race, class & religious issues that have been plaguing T&T under the carpet, so let’s discuss them here.
If you have anything you need to get off your chest then do it here in this thread but please let’s try to keep it factual rather than using this thread to spew ignorant and inaccurate gossip.
Also we would like folks to offer solutions rather than just stating what the problems are between the various races and religions that can be found in our beloved T&T.
Should our diversity as a nation make us stronger rather than weaker as it seems to be currently doing?
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UNITE, that is a long,long time from now, it would never happen soon especially now where PEE ,PEE them is practicing their new lagoon politics.
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Not all people that way though. One of my best friend was Indian, and I never look at him differently. The bad ones does spoil it.
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One ah my best friends was a black man and he was just cool, I never look at him any different. Wait nah...I black too. Shit.
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the general populous needs to be educated as far as the effects of colonialism on T&T society, the practices of divide and conquer politics that have been a part of TT society from day one.
Kids need to be taught about the amazing discoveries of the human genome project and that we all date back to a common ancestor. Further exploration into the history of the world, starting from the first migration out of Africa to India. Certain topics need to be discussed in detail with kids at the early stages of life.
The real role of government and the negatives of the Westminster system that have created an adversarial approach instead of a unitary approach to the way we govern our nation.
You first have to understand Hinduism, and why the majority of Hindus think the way they think. You also need to examine the affects of Christianity and Islam on the east indian diaspora that settled in TT. The dynamics change and also the way of thinking from a Hindu to a Christian Indo-Trinidadian.
What also needs to be discussed is the Afro-Trinidadian approach to life and how they view their counterparts in the nation. There is a a lot of necessary discussion that needs to take place and the right questions need to be asked.
What we need to see is a panel on these issues, some ex pats and locals who are willing to ask the tough questions and get serious and honest answers. But also introduce facts and give insight into how we can improve the nation and progress to where we should have decades ago.
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One ah my best friends was a black man and he was just cool, I never look at him any different. Wait nah...I black too. Shit.
was he cool plus had other attributes or just cool only?
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the general populous needs to be educated as far as the effects of colonialism on T&T society, the practices of divide and conquer politics that have been a part of TT society from day one.
Kids need to be taught about the amazing discoveries of the human genome project and that we all date back to a common ancestor. Further exploration into the history of the world, starting from the first migration out of Africa to India. Certain topics need to be discussed in detail with kids at the early stages of life.
The real role of government and the negatives of the Westminster system that have created an adversarial approach instead of a unitary approach to the way we govern our nation.
You first have to understand Hinduism, and why the majority of Hindus think the way they think. You also need to examine the affects of Christianity and Islam on the east indian diaspora that settled in TT. The dynamics change and also the way of thinking from a Hindu to a Christian Indo-Trinidadian.
What also needs to be discussed is the Afro-Trinidadian approach to life and how they view their counterparts in the nation. There is a a lot of necessary discussion that needs to take place and the right questions need to be asked.
What we need to see is a panel on these issues, some ex pats and locals who are willing to ask the tough questions and get serious and honest answers. But also introduce facts and give insight into how we can improve the nation and progress to where we should have decades ago.
Very good start to the discussion. :beermug:
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One ah my best friends was a black man and he was just cool, I never look at him any different. Wait nah...I black too. Shit.
Not according to tommy sotomayor, you might think yuh black but according to popular opinion yuhs ah half breed, the bastard son of mr charlie. ;D
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One ah my best friends was a black man and he was just cool, I never look at him any different. Wait nah...I black too. Shit.
Not according to tommy sotomayor, you might think yuh black but according to popular opinion yuhs ah half breed, the bastard son of mr charlie. ;D
Tommy Sotomayor is a dunce pussy. My father was not Mr. Charlie, He was Mr. Stephen! My mother was Mrs. Stephen and was French and Spainsh and African mix and she considered herself nothing but black and proud! My father is Scot-African mix, looked more white than black but considered himself as black.
Now I am exactly what I identify myself as, and that is black and if some field slave asshole named Tommy Sotomayor feels he can characterise me according to his own constucts then he is free to go f**k himself with a piece of splintered board.. And, anyone else with an issue with my identity could go f**k ah piece and dry bamboo!
Tommy the cunnie Sotomayor should spend considerable more of his time wondering how he came to possess his last name....! He may be surprised to find like so many prominient (not saying his waste ah break frame is prominient), very black Americans that it is he who has the real identity problems as he is the one who may find that his coffee has slave master genes in it.
Not mine! None of my ancestors were slaves...none!
Anyway:
Too much emphasis on race in T&T, when in reality one setta dunce ass blacks and indians all collectively up the shit creek without a paddle.
These mother asses allowing politicians to drive a wedge between them for monetary and political gain.
There are some who could not care less about politicians and are racists die to their own devices.
I can remember Kamla herself (before being PM)when in India being questioned about racism in T&T said that she sees none except what is created by politicians, that as far as see can discern, the races in T&T peacefullu cohaibitate (not her exact words).
While we spit and claw at each other, the tea room of parlaiment is used as a form of good boys club. Deals are made and we pay!
Assholes!
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Them blasted coolie an dem. Wait that's half my family. Anyway it's off my chest. :) I don't know if there is any real hatred between African and East Indians. If anything our history as a nation forces us to keep up appearances but I doubt the races hate each other. Mixing up is too nice.
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One ah my best friends was a black man and he was just cool, I never look at him any different. Wait nah...I black too. Shit.
Not according to tommy sotomayor, you might think yuh black but according to popular opinion yuhs ah half breed, the bastard son of mr charlie. ;D
Tommy Sotomayor is a dunce pussy. My father was not Mr. Charlie, He was Mr. Stephen! My mother was Mrs. Stephen and was French and Spainsh and African mix and she considered herself nothing but black and proud! My father is Scot-African mix, looked more white than black but considered himself as black.
Now I am exactly what I identify myself as, and that is black and if some field slave asshole named Tommy Sotomayor feels he can characterise me according to his own constucts then he is free to go f**k himself with a piece of splintered board.. And, anyone else with an issue with my identity could go f**k ah piece and dry bamboo!
Tommy the cunnie Sotomayor should spend considerable more of his time wondering how he came to possess his last name....! He may be surprised to find like so many prominient (not saying his waste ah break frame is prominient), very black Americans that it is he who has the real identity problems as he is the one who may find that his coffee has slave master genes in it.
Not mine! None of my ancestors were slaves...none!
Anyway:
Too much emphasis on race in T&T, when in reality one setta dunce ass blacks and indians all collectively up the shit creek without a paddle.
These mother asses allowing politicians to drive a wedge between them for monetary and political gain.
There are some who could not care less about politicians and are racists die to their own devices.
I can remember Kamla herself (before being PM)when in India being questioned about racism in T&T said that she sees none except what is created by politicians, that as far as see can discern, the races in T&T peacefullu cohaibitate (not her exact words).
While we spit and claw at each other, the tea room of parlaiment is used as a form of good boys club. Deals are made and we pay!
Assholes!
Ah see you glorying in the fact that slavery somehow evaded you kinfolk?
does that mean that you are better than us bucks who wore raggedy clothing and chopped fire wood and carried bags of cocoa on our backs from sun up till dusk?
well it's been my observation that hardship builds character. i've had the opportunity to observe some africans and i had to say that i thank God for slavery, bc i noticed that the black ppl who didn't go through slavery (mainly africans) are very much so beholding unto colonialism and have very little to no social consciousness, matter of fact most of them that i met have no heights what so ever and is as shallow as ah tea cup of water. anyhow carry on mr pierre duval.
BTW, mr stephen, the man or mr charlie, it's all the same, it's a euphemism for the big boss whiteman. so i was right you are an off spring of mr charlie, how else would you explain the green eyes. ;)
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where in anything I wrote that I am glorfying anything? Yuh implied that my father or ancestors were some slave master, showed you that you needed to check your genealogy as mine has no slaves in it...capiche?
My mother had green eyes...how is that? And what the f**k is my race, eyes or family to do with this asshole topic?
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My two cents ...
As a child I do not remember encountering any overt or covert hostility between the races. As I reflect on the neighbourhoods I lived in or visited, I do not recall any racial discord. My childhood friends covered every race and possible mixture.
Maybe I was blind or naive to racism .. and still am to some extent today.
So it is with a certain degree of sadness when I hear the different stories about the divide between Trinis of east Indian descent and those of African descent. Even on this Board, which I suppose may be a reflection of the actual state of affairs in T&T, I see the animosity between the Indians and the Blacks.
Interestingly enough, my son (yeah, I seem to draw a lot on my childrens' experiences), has been trying to understand his identity. Here is an email he sent his Grandmother last week.
Recently I've been doing a lot of thinking about my personal identity, how I relate to the people around me, and my environment. I'm a guy with brown skin, with parents from the West Indies, with ethnic heritage from India, China, and Africa. I speak Chinese, and I live in Japan. I'm a giant mix up of cultures and ethnicities. But I realized that I don't know a whole lot about my own family history. I'm marching myself around the world without a strong idea of where I came from. Of course I know about Trinidad and Jamaica - I have a direct connection to those places through my family. But I've never been to either of the places, so my knowledge of the culture is secondhand, passed to me through stories from my parents, grandparents, and other family, and through customs and traditions that didn't change even after our families came to Canada.
What I'm really curious about is how our family got to Trinidad? When did we get there, and under what circumstances? I've heard stories about a great (great?) grandfather who bounced back and forth between Trinidad and Hong Kong with a wife in each country. I also seem to recall a story about someone who was brought to Canada to build the Trans-Canada railroad. What's the real story? How did Papa's family get to Trinidad? Do we even know?
How would I explain to him the discord between the races in Trinidad. How do people of mixed race deal with racial issues back home. Are they like my son trying to find answers in an environment that does not embrace the strength that its people can bring to the nation?
Sad state of affairs that an Island Nation that prides itself on different creeds and races finding an equal place failing to do that.
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Amen Pecan ^^^^^^^^
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IMO dr capeldoe have a lot to do with nuff of this new found hostility.
yrs ago i saw an independent movie @ the angelika about the labor movement in T&T there was no mention of uriah buttler dr wiliiams, george weeks or none of the prominent figurs in T&T politics and labor movement, just an indianized version of the labor movement some where in rural south trinidad.
he made it seem like dr williams was only for africans and totally neglected indians, which was clearly not the case, if not the other way around.
williams only mamaguye black ppl in east POS, yeh he give dem govt "rental" housing (plannings), @ very affordable rental rates, but if you came from livin in a barrack yard to a three bedroom apartment you too would be flabbergasted.
the only other thing williams did in the urban POS east area was introduce social welfare in the guise of 10 days(DEWD) and gave menial jobs to uneducated idle black middle age men on the port as stevidores, and as national housing maintenance men.
he also made the "bad johns" from those waring gangs foremen and checkers (positions) on the projects (DEWD). and yeh, he introduced community centers and trade schools in the centers......... :thinking: no that was the catholic church. ;D
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No.
Well maybe 100 years from now when the gas done and all who rape de country take dey millions and ride out leaving the poor Africans and Indians here to ketch dey arse, maybe den....
.....oh never mind....No.
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IMO dr capeldoe have a lot to do with nuff of this new found hostility.
yrs ago i saw an independent movie @ the angelika about the labor movement in T&T there was no mention of uriah buttler dr wiliiams, george weeks or none of the prominent figurs in T&T politics and labor movement, just an indianized version of the labor movement some where in rural south trinidad.
he made it seem like dr williams was only for africans and totally neglected indians, which was clearly not the case, if not the other way around.
williams only mamaguye black ppl in east POS, yeh he give dem govt "rental" housing (plannings), @ very affordable rental rates, but if you came from livin in a barrack yard to a three bedroom apartment you too would be flabbergasted.
the only other thing williams did in the urban POS east area was introduce social welfare in the guise of 10 days(DEWD) and gave menial jobs to uneducated idle black middle age men on the port as stevidores, and as national housing maintenance men.
he also made the "bad johns" from those waring gangs foremen and checkers (positions) on the projects (DEWD). and yeh, he introduced community centers and trade schools in the centers......... :thinking: no that was the catholic church. ;D
capildeo and williams were best of friends, pawns in the grand scheme of things, capildeo didn't even want to be a politican, he was a brilliant scientist and mathematician, williams was a brilliant educator, historian and speaker, read ivar oxaal and his insight on what really happened in tt, it will change your view on the race debate, that and the fact i heard it direct from my family who were connected to both men
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IMO dr capeldoe have a lot to do with nuff of this new found hostility.
yrs ago i saw an independent movie @ the angelika about the labor movement in T&T there was no mention of uriah buttler dr wiliiams, george weeks or none of the prominent figurs in T&T politics and labor movement, just an indianized version of the labor movement some where in rural south trinidad.
he made it seem like dr williams was only for africans and totally neglected indians, which was clearly not the case, if not the other way around.
williams only mamaguye black ppl in east POS, yeh he give dem govt "rental" housing (plannings), @ very affordable rental rates, but if you came from livin in a barrack yard to a three bedroom apartment you too would be flabbergasted.
the only other thing williams did in the urban POS east area was introduce social welfare in the guise of 10 days(DEWD) and gave menial jobs to uneducated idle black middle age men on the port as stevidores, and as national housing maintenance men.
he also made the "bad johns" from those waring gangs foremen and checkers (positions) on the projects (DEWD). and yeh, he introduced community centers and trade schools in the centers......... :thinking: no that was the catholic church. ;D
capildeo and williams were best of friends, pawns in the grand scheme of things, capildeo didn't even want to be a politican, he was a brilliant scientist and mathematician, williams was a brilliant educator, historian and speaker, read ivar oxaal and his insight on what really happened in tt, it will change your view on the race debate, that and the fact i heard it direct from my family who were connected to both men
Please don't bother, i know more than you think, thank you.
BTW i beg to differ, capeldeo wanted to be the first PM of trini, make no bones about it, maybe if he came around this time he may have stood a chance, it was just the luck of the draw that he was a contemporary of williams that he didn't stand a snow balls chance in hell.
IMO capeldeo could have done something to quench the racist politics, but instead he fueled it. this is the sin about T&T, ppl fail to see the truth and when yuh bring it up they get offended and start acting simple!
this saying all ah we is one, is the biggest crock ah sh!t i've ever heard! trinidad i divided along racial , class, national and gender lines. never have i seen a more divided society who don't even met or come together on carnival day, the day of revelry and freedom.
during carnival all the whites does play in their band, and all the blacks does play in their band. when i was ah yute bands like steven leong, eddie hart were white bands and mc william and baily were black bands.
all the whites french creoles and chinese used to jump with hart and leong, the blacks used to rock wid baily and mc william, but other races used to jump wid baily bc he was the man and brought some best mass.
back then country indians never got into carnival, instead they went to the beach like the seven days adventist. back in my day it was extremely hard to see ah white police officer, fire man, or even civil servant, they thought that those job were beneath them, and to besides they own the private sector for the most part, and they hired their own.
whites kids only went to the top schools in the country, fatima, CIC and st anthony's, in osme cases they sent to trinity or QRC but not for the most part.
schools like tranquility, belmont intermediate, woodbrook sec, st james sec, and south east hardly to never have white ppl kids in attendance, so what yuh saying, they were soooo bright that they only passed for the top three schools in T&T??
T&T have a serious race problem, but it was always stifled by dumb arse black ppl who the sysrem worked against who were the majority @ the time but was happy and content with the bone that mr charlie gave them, and still happy wid it to this day. that's why i left that place and will never return there to live until justice is served!
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One of the reasons things would never change in Trinbago ,since the begining of general elections 10 communities always voted one way they never change not once up till now.
At times the PNM supporters would support other parties like now , but in these 10 communities the indians never shitf at all dont ask me why yuh know.
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One of the reasons things would never change in Trinbago ,since the begining of general elections 10 communities always voted one way they never change not once up till now.
At times the PNM supporters would support other parties like now , but in these 10 communities the indians never shitf at all dont ask me why yuh know.
not changing is not my gripe.........is the blatant unwilling to hold "their" note d quotes leaders accountable when dey clearly doing shit..........doh geh mih wrong it have plenty PNM people does do dat too and all indians don't do it, but more often we does call shit, shit regardless of colour of d ass in it falling from...be for Trinidad first god damn it
edit for d typo
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One of the reasons things would never change in Trinbago ,since the begining of general elections 10 communities always voted one way they never change not once up till now.
At times the PNM supporters would support other parties like now , but in these 10 communities the indians never shitf at all dont ask me why yuh know.
not changing is not my gripe.........is the blatant unwilling to hold "their" note d quotes leaders accountable when dey clearly doing shit..........doh geh mih wrong it have plenty PNM people does do dat too and all indians do it, but more often we does call shit, shit regardless of colour of d ass in it falling from...be for Trinidad first god damn it
It have plenty Indians who hold "their" leaders accountable. That's why COP form. UNC wasn't cutting it for them.
Yuh can't be making generalized statements about an entire community? Ent allyuh just cuss me out for the same thing?
steups....
The real problem why TnT never uniting? Too much finger pointing
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One of the reasons things would never change in Trinbago ,since the begining of general elections 10 communities always voted one way they never change not once up till now.
At times the PNM supporters would support other parties like now , but in these 10 communities the indians never shitf at all dont ask me why yuh know.
not changing is not my gripe.........is the blatant unwilling to hold "their" note d quotes leaders accountable when dey clearly doing shit..........doh geh mih wrong it have plenty PNM people does do dat too and all indians do it, but more often we does call shit, shit regardless of colour of d ass in it falling from...be for Trinidad first god damn it
It have plenty Indians who hold "their" leaders accountable. That's why COP form. UNC wasn't cutting it for them.
Yuh can't be making generalized statements about an entire community? Ent allyuh just cuss me out for the same thing?
steups....
The real problem why TnT never uniting? Too much finger pointing
sorry bout d second bolded part that should be DON'T....but d argument still stands we collectively have to keep our gov'ts honest again sorry for the typo
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One of the reasons things would never change in Trinbago ,since the begining of general elections 10 communities always voted one way they never change not once up till now.
At times the PNM supporters would support other parties like now , but in these 10 communities the indians never shitf at all dont ask me why yuh know.
not changing is not my gripe.........is the blatant unwilling to hold "their" note d quotes leaders accountable when dey clearly doing shit..........doh geh mih wrong it have plenty PNM people does do dat too and all indians do it, but more often we does call shit, shit regardless of colour of d ass in it falling from...be for Trinidad first god damn it
It have plenty Indians who hold "their" leaders accountable. That's why COP form. UNC wasn't cutting it for them.
Yuh can't be making generalized statements about an entire community? Ent allyuh just cuss me out for the same thing?
steups....
The real problem why TnT never uniting? Too much finger pointing
Well that was short lived because COP enjoyin eatin ah food wit they UNC brothers.
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In my view the political argument about race relations has been bit overstated and the human side is rarely covered. By human I mean issues relating to class, religion and customs that affect relations between individuals and groups in situations were politics is either completely absent or just marginally relevant.
Religion has a big part to play I think, through both doctrine and preference. Consider that many Christians find Hinduism bizarre and ungodly given that it is incompatible with the first and second commandments. Also consider that Hinduism has an affinity for light skin and an aversion for dark skin. In my view these feelings alone are a major contributor to the problem.
Another factor to consider is class. When I see how pervasive classism still is today in Trinidad particularly, I can only imagine the challenges rural people would have faced in urban migration several decades ago. Samuel Selvon actually wrote about it in A Brighter Sun and Lord Kitchener touched on it in Toco Band. Combine the misalignment of rural customs with religious and cultural peculiarities and I can conceive of the probability for increased same-group preference and social recoil as a defence.
The two major racial groups view each other with a degree of suspicion, that isn't in my view totally irrational but absolutely must be eroded for any positive change to occur. Thankfully this distrust and even animosity has never resulted in a sustained violent confrontation. I would caution however that we should never presume immunity from such a tragedy.
According to the latest population census more people are identifying themselves as mixed and not just in the form of the traditional 'Dougla' either. For me this is encouraging as it reveals a measure of integration and the possibility of an improvement in relations due to shared ancestry. Note that I said possibility as the opposite outcome could manifest through selective rejection. I have seen this among my own extended family where some of my cousins identify with their east indian roots only as a matter of fact and express their broadest allegiance through their national identity. I think it just makes things easier for them.
Lately I can't seem to move away from this theme of the culture and leadership cycle. I think the politics is a reflection of the society and the evils therein. After all these politicians come out of the society in the first place. They simply manipulate what already exists on the ground - greed and distrust.
edit
This problem is not unique to T&T and I think it is a natural challenge civilizations with large heterogeneous groups invariably encounter.
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at the end of the day if we can't extricate ourselves from racially driven politics we will be completely destroyed by it...because the viscous cycle will continue......I would gladly vote for a purple hippo with ah yellow backside if they would run d country the right way for the benefit of all that inhabit it.
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In my view the political argument about race relations has been bit overstated and the human side is rarely covered. By human I mean issues relating to class, religion and customs that affect relations between individuals and groups in situations were politics is either completely absent or just marginally relevant.
Religion has a big part to play I think, through both doctrine and preference. Consider that many Christians find Hinduism bizarre and ungodly given that it is incompatible with the first and second commandments. Also consider that Hinduism has an affinity for light skin and an aversion for dark skin. In my view these feelings alone are a major contributor to the problem.
Another factor to consider is class. When I see how pervasive classism still is today in Trinidad particularly, I can only imagine the challenges rural people would have faced in urban migration several decades ago. Samuel Selvon actually wrote about it in A Brighter Sun and Lord Kitchener touched on it in Toco Band. Combine the misalignment of rural customs with religious and cultural peculiarities and I can conceive of the probability for increased same-group preference and social recoil as a defence.
The two major racial groups view each other with a degree of suspicion, that isn't in my view totally irrational but absolutely must be eroded for any positive change to occur. Thankfully this distrust and even animosity has never resulted in a sustained violent confrontation. I would caution however that we should never presume immunity from such a tragedy.
According to the latest population census more people are identifying themselves as mixed and not just in the form of the traditional 'Dougla' either. For me this is encouraging as it reveals a measure of integration and the possibility of an improvement in relations due to shared ancestry. Note that I said possibility as the opposite outcome could manifest through selective rejection. I have seen this among my own extended family where some of my cousins identify with their east indian roots only as a matter of fact and express their broadest allegiance through their national identity. I think it just makes things easier for them.
Lately I can't seem to move away from this theme of the culture and leadership cycle. I think the politics is a reflection of the society and the evils therein. After all these politicians come out of the society in the first place. They simply manipulate what already exists on the ground - greed and distrust.
edit
This problem is not unique to T&T and I think it is a natural challenge civilizations with large heterogeneous groups invariably encounter.
Define bizarre to me? Because Hinduism pre dates Christianity and the foundation of Hindu thought was a continuation of the first migration out of Africa and hence, African practices. I would isolate the individuals who bemoan the religion as the few who are uneducated and have little knowledge of history and migration patterns of civilization. Even funnier is that fact that elements of Christianity or should I say Catholicism are also present in Hinduism. Condemnation is reserved for God, religion as an institution is divisive in many ways.
Any level of suspicion between the two races can be attributed to politics, dirty politics. The freethinkers understand the game that is being played and how to get around it.
However, it is refreshing to hear people identifying themselves as mixed, its about time. I think the race card is reserved for the uneducated who are easily manipulated and swayed by phony promises and grand charging...
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Define bizarre to me? Because Hinduism pre dates Christianity and the foundation of Hindu thought was a continuation of the first migration out of Africa and hence, African practices.
There isn't much too read into it. The rituals are very different and devotees pray to graven images of deities, a practice which operates counter to two basic Judeo-Christian statutes. That's all I'm referring to. The chronological order of the advent of either faith isn't relevant when the substantive issue is doctrinal divergence.
Any level of suspicion between the two races can be attributed to politics, dirty politics. The freethinkers understand the game that is being played and how to get around it.
You are taking responsibility away from individuals. Politicians use ethnic mobilization to win elections or in the case of the UNC et al to hold a pre-budget rally to help stave off widespread public criticism. The suspicions that people habour are the result of lessons learnt and less taught from first and second hand experience. Prejudice can develop without the influence of national politics and has it's genesis in some of factors I mentioned.
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Define bizarre to me? Because Hinduism pre dates Christianity and the foundation of Hindu thought was a continuation of the first migration out of Africa and hence, African practices.
There isn't much too read into it. The rituals are very different and devotees pray to graven images of deities, a practice which operates counter to two basic Judeo-Christian statutes. That's all I'm referring to. The chronological order of the advent of either faith isn't relevant when the substantive issue is doctrinal divergence.
Any level of suspicion between the two races can be attributed to politics, dirty politics. The freethinkers understand the game that is being played and how to get around it.
You are taking responsibility away from individuals. Politicians use ethnic mobilization to win elections or in the case of the UNC et al to hold a pre-budget rally to help stave off widespread public criticism. The suspicions that people habour are the result of lessons learnt and less taught from first and second hand experience. Prejudice can develop without the influence of national politics and has it's genesis in some of factors I mentioned.
:applause: :applause: :applause: could not have said it better
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Define bizarre to me? Because Hinduism pre dates Christianity and the foundation of Hindu thought was a continuation of the first migration out of Africa and hence, African practices.
There isn't much too read into it. The rituals are very different and devotees pray to graven images of deities, a practice which operates counter to two basic Judeo-Christian statutes. That's all I'm referring to. The chronological order of the advent of either faith isn't relevant when the substantive issue is doctrinal divergence.
Any level of suspicion between the two races can be attributed to politics, dirty politics. The freethinkers understand the game that is being played and how to get around it.
You are taking responsibility away from individuals. Politicians use ethnic mobilization to win elections or in the case of the UNC et al to hold a pre-budget rally to help stave off widespread public criticism. The suspicions that people habour are the result of lessons learnt and less taught from first and second hand experience. Prejudice can develop without the influence of national politics and has it's genesis in some of factors I mentioned.
For you there isn't much to read into because you never read into it to begin with. Which makes you sound fairly ignorant on the subject of religion and especially Hinduism. Its easy for people with limited education on certain topics to wave a partisan flag as a show of condemnation but it takes a highly intellectual individual to understand religious thought and where its origins lie. You condemn Hindu religious thought that is so closely aligned to your ancient African roots. Which makes you no different than the other bigots that are present in the UNC and PNM, who disguise their words to cover up what they really feel. Most Hindus are also blind to these facts and this also makes the problem of racism even worse.
The images you speak of can also be found in the Catholic church, which was the foundation of Christian thought as we know it. Which was the religion your forefathers converted to from their tribal religions. Or in some cases, Islam which they were converted to by force before being enslaved. Keep in mind I am a Christian believer. I noticed you just skipped over the actual history of the religion and pagan practices that have been amalgamated into Christian practices over the centuries. Condemning Hindus and their religion is further deepening the problem, you need to spend some time reading and educating yourself about the History of Christianity before you speak of Judeo Christian practices which are far removed from the practices than many Christians follow in modern times.
The question you need to be asked is how do you feel about Chinese Trinis, Middle Eastern Trinis and European/English Trinis? Do you also have or hold animosity towards them as well? Or is your main gripe with indo-trinidadians and the UNC?
The people who often speak about Christianity know little about Christian history itself. Let me correct you on a few things, Judeo Christian practices are not to be mixed up with Catholicism and it's practices.
So where did your prejudice develop if not from political propaganda? Was it from your upbringing or was it because of experiences with other TT citizens who were ignorant and uneducated that swayed you to think that you are any different or better than a Hindu Trinidadian, or a Chinese or European, or Middle eastern Trinidadian?
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You're obviously very attached to this issue. So attached that you labelled my observation which was actually critical of both faiths, as a condemnation of one. I won't write an epilouge to prove that I'm not a racist or a bigot as you say. You asked for clarification about the 'bizarre' comment and I answered. Never did I think it have would caused such indignation.
There is no need to correct me on Judeo-Christianity either . You seem to be the one who is conflating ideas in that regard , in fact I never even mentioned Catholicism.
As I read your post more I'm disappointed with myself that I'm actually responding. I don't know where you get the impression that I condemning people of Indian descent.
Your last paragraph is a mishmash of presumption and miscalculation. It can't be that you resort to these tactics when you disagree with someone. You are so hell bent on being defensive that you didn't realize that there wasn't even a threat.
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You're obviously very attached to this issue. So attached that you labelled my observation which was actually critical of both faiths, as a condemnation of one. I won't write an epilouge to prove that I'm not a racist or a bigot as you say. You asked for clarification about the 'bizarre' comment and I answered. Never did I think it have would caused such indignation.
There is no need to correct me on Judeo-Christianity either . You seem to be the one who is conflating ideas in that regard , in fact I never even mentioned Catholicism.
As I read your post more I'm disappointed with myself that I'm actually responding. I don't know where you get the impression that I condemning people of Indian descent.
Your last paragraph is a mishmash of presumption and miscalculation. It can't be that you resort to these tactics when you disagree with someone. You are so hell bent on being defensive that you didn't realize that there wasn't even a threat.
You would not believe, but I read his response this morning some time after 1 am and actually started to respond, not really on your behalf, but to point out the flaws in his understanding. Then I ketch mihself mid-reply and say it will only engender more empty talk.
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You're obviously very attached to this issue. So attached that you labelled my observation which was actually critical of both faiths, as a condemnation of one. I won't write an epilouge to prove that I'm not a racist or a bigot as you say. You asked for clarification about the 'bizarre' comment and I answered. Never did I think it have would caused such indignation.
There is no need to correct me on Judeo-Christianity either . You seem to be the one who is conflating ideas in that regard , in fact I never even mentioned Catholicism.
As I read your post more I'm disappointed with myself that I'm actually responding. I don't know where you get the impression that I condemning people of Indian descent.
Your last paragraph is a mishmash of presumption and miscalculation. It can't be that you resort to these tactics when you disagree with someone. You are so hell bent on being defensive that you didn't realize that there wasn't even a threat.
One of the very few times I will say that I misread your statement, I apologize for the accusations as they were unwarranted. Re-reading your statement I actually agree with many of the points stated. One thing that you are right of is I am passionate about this topic because it is important to the progress of our nation.
The part where we differ in opinion is that I do place blame on the media and external forces for dividing the races even further, as a means to manipulate and control the population. The generation of our grandparents had a certain level of civility and respect that is not present in this generation. The gap is widening year by year and the rift deepens with ethnocentrism on both sides.
Prejudice can develop with partisan political propaganda, that is of course my opinion and what I believe from my analysis. Almost to the point of indoctrination, where you forget the platform itself and focus on race of the group or individuals.
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ROME – It was hailed as a giant step forward for racial integration in a country that has long been ill at ease with its growing immigrant classes. But Cecile Kyenge’s appointment as Italy’s first black Cabinet minister has instead exposed the nation’s ugly racism problem, a blight that flares regularly on the soccer pitch with racist taunts and in the diatribes of xenophobic politicians — but has now raised its head at the centre of political life.
(http://nationalpostnews.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/kyenge-and-letta.jpg?w=300&h=415)
more ... (http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/05/01/italys-racism-problem-exposed-with-first-black-cabinet-minister/)
Some of the most blatant manifestations of racism occur in the realm of Italy’s favorite sport, soccer – which for Italians and others has shown itself to be a perfect venue for displays of pent-up emotions. In the case of a handful of Italian teams, soccer is a way for right-wing fan clubs to vent.
(http://nationalpostnews.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/mario-soccer.jpg?w=620&h=465)
Mario Balotelli, the AC Milan striker born in Palermo to Ghanaian immigrants and raised by an Italian adoptive family, knows all about it. Perhaps Italy’s best player today, he has long been the subject of racist taunts on and off the field: Rival fans once hung a banner during a match saying “Black Italians don’t exist” while the vice-president of his own club once called him the household’s “little black boy.”
Balotelli called Kyenge’s nomination “another great step forward for an Italian society that is more civil, responsible and understanding of the need for better, definitive integration.”
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Maximum respect to that lady oui......fightin one hellava uphill battle just showin up for work in a country where racism and misogyny is par for the..coursera
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Maximum respect to that lady oui......fightin one hellava uphill battle just showin up for work in a country where racism and misogyny is par for the..coursera
And ingrained. Hmm. Hope she keeps at it.
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Interesting clip this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeK759FF84s
A class divided http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf0zfMl5KSA
At the workplace
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Race and politics in T&T, Guyana
Published:
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Vishnu Bisram
In this academic masterpiece, the authors carefully probe the processes by which social and ethnic problems (competition between Indians and Africans) impact on politics in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, two multi-ethnic societies. Profs Ann Marie Bissessar (Behavioural Sciences) and John Gaffar La Guerre (emeritus, UWI) display their scholarly expertise and skill in examining the mechanics of political power—how the “mechanism of ethnicity” determines “critical outcomes” in the two pluralist societies.
They discuss similarities and differences between the two societies. The book is thoughtfully written and makes several insightful and salient points on ethnicity. It amply discusses and illustrates some of the problems of governance in multi-ethnic states although it is short on solutions. As the authors stated, the study has as its principal objective an examination of the morphology of the race factor in relation to political alignments and realignments in the two plural societies.
The authors demonstrate a profound knowledge and understanding of ethnic concepts and they utilise extensive and copious documentary notes to supplement their analysis. The book is a welcoming addition to the academic literature on endemic political problems associated with ethnic conflict between Indians and Africans in both societies.
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There is no need for any big study and behavioural patterns in the way people vote in Guyana and TT.Indians have been the target of derision in both countries since independence and even before.The British government spread the stories of hate against the Indos of Guyana and almost unlawfully put Jagan out of power giving the Afro Burnham power,the Indians had years of suffering with his rule,he,Burnham turned out to be worse than Jagan.In TT Williams came into power using race and Indians like in Guyana suffered under the PNM rule for 50 years.The boot is now on the other foot and Indians have caught up with the Afros and also passed them in many fields,they are less targets for derision now than they were back in time.Why all the fuss now about voting patterns,it is simple,Indians vote for the Indian Party and Afros vote for the Afro Party,there is a slight difference,more Indians vote for the Afro party than Afros vote for the Indian party,that is the pattern,sad but true.I hope that the whole of TT will one day be all Dougla.
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There is no need for any big study and behavioural patterns in the way people vote in Guyana and TT.Indians have been the target of derision in both countries since independence and even before.The British government spread the stories of hate against the Indos of Guyana and almost unlawfully put Jagan out of power giving the Afro Burnham power,the Indians had years of suffering with his rule,he,Burnham turned out to be worse than Jagan.In TT Williams came into power using race and Indians like in Guyana suffered under the PNM rule for 50 years.The boot is now on the other foot and Indians have caught up with the Afros and also passed them in many fields,they are less targets for derision now than they were back in time.Why all the fuss now about voting patterns,it is simple,Indians vote for the Indian Party and Afros vote for the Afro Party,there is a slight difference,more Indians vote for the Afro party than Afros vote for the Indian party,that is the pattern,sad but true.I hope that the whole of TT will one day be all Dougla.
You have got to be a compounded jackass to think much less write such drivel
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Racism: A History [2007] - 1/3
http://www.youtube.com/v/efI6T8lovqY
Racism: A History [2007] - 2/3
http://www.youtube.com/v/IdBDRbjx9jo
Racism: A History [2007] - 3/3
http://www.youtube.com/v/oCJHJWaNL-g
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Thanks for posting this :beermug:
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After looking at this debate I think I now understand and respect Sat a little more than I previously did.
Trinidad and Tobago Race Debate - Pt. 1
http://www.youtube.com/v/jYJIYjtCF8s
Trinidad and Tobago Race Debate - Pt. 2
http://www.youtube.com/v/SJdtfMWO7VE
Trinidad and Tobago Race Debate - Pt. 3
http://www.youtube.com/v/TpA2ytcGoRw
Trinidad and Tobago Race Debate - Pt. 4
http://www.youtube.com/v/ZoFfvoD89NE
Trinidad and Tobago Race Debate - Pt. 5
http://www.youtube.com/v/oF-sTi33s8I
Trinidad and Tobago Race Debate - Pt. 6
http://www.youtube.com/v/iZPQP4gG2CM
Trinidad and Tobago Race Debate - Pt. 7
http://www.youtube.com/v/FWYa1WfQG5c
Trinidad and Tobago Race Debate - Pt. 8
http://www.youtube.com/v/D4x8EgOMnRs
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Kambon: There’s racism against Africans in T&T.
By Richard Lord (Guardian).
Chairman of the Emancipation Support Committee Khafra Kambon says racism is still being practised against African people in T&T. Kambon was speaking on Tuesday at a panel discussion on the topic, T&T’s International Obligations regarding Race Relations, Gun Violence and Human Rights—Assessing the Trayvon Martin Case, at the Noor Hassanali Auditorium, St Augustine Campus, University of the West Indies.
Other panellists were Jasmine Rand, attorney for the family of Trayvon Martin, and dean of the Faculty of Law Prof Rose-Marie Belle Antoine. Martin was a 17-year-old African American of Miami Gardens, Florida, who was fatally shot by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, in Sanford, Florida, in 2012.
Dealing with the ban on citizens from some countries with Ebola cases, Kambon said that move was “irrational, hysterical and there is no scientific justification for that action.” He said people with Ebola were more likely to enter T&T by sea than by air and banning citizens from entering the country would not protect the country from Ebola. “It is rational behaviour based on science that is going to protect you,” he pointed out.
He criticised the Government for imposing a travel ban on Nigeria even after the WHO had said it was free of the virus. Kambon said: “Nigerians have been virtually banned from this country for a long time.” He was made aware of this ban last year after COPA Airlines said every time it brought Nigerians to T&T, they were being turned back and said he had to do a lot to get approval for some Nigerians to enter T&T.
There were only about 1,000 Nigerians in the country of an estimated 100,000 undocumented visitors, he said. “When it comes to Africans from the continent, they are the most abused immigrants,” he added. Kambon said 80 per cent of the immigrants at the detention centre were from Africa and spoke of acts of brutality against people being held there, including one who was brutally beaten on May 21 and might have suffered permanent damage. He said the man was released under former National Security Minister Jack Warner but re-arrested under the current minister, Gary Griffith.
Kambon also said citizens should be very concerned about the level of police killings in the country for the year to date, as it was “absolutely unacceptable, no matter what fears we have about crime.”
If it were anyone else being killed other than young African males from particular communities, public reaction would have been different, he argued. He said in many instances “there has been no justification for the execution of young African males in this society.” National Security Minister Gary Griffith said previously the move to deal with illegal immigrants was not a witch-hunt but intended to ensure the matter was properly addressed and the Government would seek to regularise the status of illegal immigrants where possible.
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Kambon, I share the feeling towards the treatment of immigrants from Nigeria. But the part about Black men being killed is a bit hypocritical. Your buddy, the Dagger-in-the back sitting in parliament doing nothing. Why he doh use his influence to alleviate the problems on the hill. He has been wanting to be in power for donkey years. He is a member of the PP. Where is his voice. When the gangsters killing old women and 17 year old boys or just attacking residents in EDR, I doh hear you criticize them
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Kambon, I share the feeling towards the treatment of immigrants from Nigeria. But the part about Black men being killed is a bit hypocritical. Your buddy, the Dagger-in-the back sitting in parliament doing nothing. Why he doh use his influence to alleviate the problems on the hill. He has been wanting to be in power for donkey years. He is a member of the PP. Where is his voice. When the gangsters killing old women and 17 year old boys or just attacking residents in EDR, I doh hear you criticize them
which is the majority of the killing in the edr, he talking nonsense, my uncles were among the first behind the bridge to support njac... and most of the killings were black on black crime... not police killings bc of race
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Let us not pretend and be blind to what is happening
Kambon also said African illegal immigrants were being detained for extremely long periods. “By United Nations standards, three months of indefinite detention is considered torture. By UN standards, three months is considered too long. What happens is people, and especially immigrants from Africa, are detained for far longer periods. Some of them are detained for more than two years,” he said.
Kambon said the situation sowed frustration and even suicide among African people. “You are faced with a situation where there is a high level of frustration. The tendency is to detain Caricom nationals. Last year, I believe a Guyanese woman committed suicide. And we have had attempted suicide in the women’s prison. A man from Mali, Africa, attempted suicide but due to a lot of efforts, he is out.”
Kambon said while the incarcerated people were guilty of immigration violations, they were not guilty of criminal acts.
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Kambon-claims-discrimination-violence-against-illegal-Africans-282504961.html
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Kambon: Horrors for migrants from Africa (http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2014-11-13/kambon-horrors-migrants-africa)
Published: Thursday, November 13, 2014
Renuka Singh (T&T Guardian)
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/Socapro/Khafra%20Kambon%20Chairman%20of%20the%20Emancipation%20Support%20Committee.png) (http://s124.photobucket.com/user/Socapro/media/Khafra%20Kambon%20Chairman%20of%20the%20Emancipation%20Support%20Committee.png.html)
Chairman of the Emancipation Support Committee Khafra Kambon
Attorney Farid Scoon, who represents several African nationals detained at the National Detention Centre, Arima, claimed yesterday Guyanese and Syrian mirgrants were being given preferential treatment by the immigration authorities. To support his view, he produced a 2004 internal circular, issued by the Chief Immigration Officer, which, he said, ordered that the cases of African nationals seeking extensions to stay in the country have to be escalated to Immigration senior officers.
Scoon said the processes for other nationalities were different. "Before an immigration officer can grant an extension, even if you have a work permit, he has to go to the assistant chief," Scoon said.
That circular used to included migrants from the Middle East and Far East but in recent times the convention between Trinidad and India has changed, he said, and he did not know why there was that disparity in treatment between the races. "I cannot say but there is a discriminatory policy enshrined in the immigration policy where they treat African nationals differently from how they treat other nationals," he said. He also said he had evidence of the disparity in treatment of African migrants as opposed to Syrian migrants.
Scoon confirmed that according to local laws, once someone is married to a T&T national, they automatically qualify for naturalisation. He said he was aware of cases where conglomerates in Trinidad hired consultants to source and retain Guyanese workers to work in restaurants. "On the one hand you are saying undocumented immigrants are taking away from our jobs, and on the other hand you are allowing certain persons in the society to bring in migrants by the hundreds to have jobs in T&T," he added. He said they receive work permits because of the influence of restaurant owners. Scoon also raised questions on whether there was a pact between the Syrian community and the government to allow nationals into the country because of the crisis in Syria. “Why is not the same courtesy being extended to Africans?" Scoon asked. The T&T Guardian tried to contact Griffith but was unsuccessful.
Kambon: Smear campaign against Africans
Emancipation Committee chairman Khafra Kambon is accusing Minister of National Security, Gary Griffith, of using "smear campaigns" to discredit the horrors endured by the African men held at the National Detention Centre. "We are seeing two trends in the conversation coming, especially from the Minister of National Security, who keeps linking undocumented migrants with crime and fake marriages. “We think we can discuss a major issue of concern without smears against persons who are victims," Kambon said yesterday.
He was speaking at a media conference at the committee's office, Bergerac Road, Maraval. He said the treatment meted out to the detainees who entered the country illegally was a violation of human rights. "Human rights conventions actually recommend that not be treated as a criminal act, even though it is against the law of the country," he said. There was a sentiment the Emancipation Committee was recommending that all African detainees should be released, but that was not so, he said, and there had been correspondence between the committee and the Ministry of National Security in which it recommended sending migrants back home rather than keeping them locked up indefinitely. "We feel there should be equality of treatment for everyone. We can say, without any fear of contradiction, because the evidence is there and we dare anyone to say otherwise. “The reality is that there is particular discrimination in the treatment of the migrants that come here from the continent," he said.
Kambon countered Griffith's statement that migrants cases would be studied to regularise their individual cases, saying there were 23 African detainees at the centre but that had since increased to 27 and he had evidence that the State was planning to send them back to Africa. "The State is seeking to charter a plane to take these migrants home. It is discriminatory to have an open door to other people, where they can come in and have their cases heard, and at the same time shut the door on those who are already in detention," he added.
Griffith dismisses allegations
National Security Minister Gary Griffith yesterday dismissed all allegations made by Emancipation Committee chairman Khafra Kambon and lawyer Farid Scoon. In a telephone interview yesterday, Griffith said Kambon and Scoon were misleading the public as he had the statistics to show that of the 640 people repatriated “a handful” were Africans. “The majority is from the region,” he said.
He said the two men also were misleading the public by saying African men were being profiled or treated worse among the detainees.
Griffith did admit that there had been allegations of mistreatment at the centre and said both his junior Security Minister Embau Moheni and the Chief Immigration Officer were investigating and compiling a report for him. “We will put things in place to ensure there is no recurrence of that but again, this is not treatment specific to the African detainees. These were reports across the board,” he said.
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TV6 News
"The inclement weather didn't prevent protesters in Diego Martin from angrily lashing out over the shooting of 19 year-old Ray Phillips from Rich Plain. He was allegedly ambushed and killed by police. The protesters are viewing the killing as a direct attack against the Islamic community."
http://www.tv6tnt.com/sevenpm-news/--Diego-Martin-Protest-283607301.html (http://www.tv6tnt.com/sevenpm-news/--Diego-Martin-Protest-283607301.html)
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TV6 News
"The inclement weather didn't prevent protesters in Diego Martin from angrily lashing out over the shooting of 19 year-old Ray Phillips from Rich Plain. He was allegedly ambushed and killed by police. The protesters are viewing the killing as a direct attack against the Islamic community."
http://www.tv6tnt.com/sevenpm-news/--Diego-Martin-Protest-283607301.html (http://www.tv6tnt.com/sevenpm-news/--Diego-Martin-Protest-283607301.html)
Alleyne interviewed one of the members of the community who witnessed the event and got a detailed account of the killing. The man told Alleyne that Phillips worked as a painter with a contractor and was returning home from a job when he met armed police in the “track” he was using to go home. The man said the police shot an unarmed Phillips several times then, as he lay on the ground, turned him over and allegedly began taunting him.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2014-11-29/police-killing-angers-community (http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2014-11-29/police-killing-angers-community)
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In this latter in incident, assuming the veracity of the facts alleged, where's the racism? Seems like content driven to the Ian Alleyne thread rather than this one.
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Bas: Making a mountain out of a molehill
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Bas-Making-a-mountain-out-of-a-molehill-293092521.html (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Bas-Making-a-mountain-out-of-a-molehill-293092521.html)
Panday said the matter was being made “a mountain out of a molehill” to create a political issue and use race as a factor.
“They are making a big ‘hoo-ha’ out of it because it is elections. And I noticed that they are
introducing a lot of racism into the matter. As I predicted, this election is going to evoke a racial clash which we have not seen since 1962,” said the former prime minister.
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Jack: Uproar over Ravina being Indian
By Anna Ramdass
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Jack-Uproar-over-Ravina--being-Indian-293092911.html (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Jack-Uproar-over-Ravina--being-Indian-293092911.html)
The furore over Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley’s wine with Ravina Rampersad was fuelled because Rampersad is East Indian, says Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner.
Warner, the MP for Chaguanas West, was responding to questions from the media on the issue, following the adjournment of Parliament yesterday.
“Sat Maharaj grievance is and he has said so: it’s an East Indian girl, and I say listen to me, thank God, because what the girl realise is that we live in a plural society and that dance, that wine, demonstrated that,” said Warner.
He said the wine was a non-issue. “That for me is making a mountain out of
a molehill, the PP (People’s Partnership) is desperate for something
against Dr Rowley and the PNM (People’s National Movement) but they haven’t succeeded.
“The fact is this girl, like anybody else sees a celebrity and she wants to wine on a celebrity, she does that. Dr Rowley’s hands are open and exposed, in addition to, nobody knows she is 17 years old; why doesn’t she walk with her birth certificate on her back, and even then, if she’s 17, where is her guardian?
“Her guardian is doing a lousy job but, most importantly, that is something for Mrs Rowley to talk to Dr Rowley about, not me, not the public and, therefore, for me, that is a wine of distraction and I will not subscribe to it,” said Warner.
Warner agreed women do also come up and wine on him and “even at my age, I wine back”.
The controversial wine also came up during the Parliament sitting as St Joseph MP Terrence Deyalsingh was speaking on the Trade Marks Bill 2014.
Deyalsingh was urging the House to “grab the opportunity” to send the bill to a Joint Select Committee of the Parliament when a Government member quipped “Like Rowley”.
“What does that have to do with the debate?” asked Deyalsingh as he requested from Vice-Speaker Nela Khan for 30 seconds to address the issue.
“Has anyone paused to consider the effect of this controversy on an innocent woman who went out to play mas? You
all are destroying a person. Leave that alone, that is somebody’s daughter,” said Deyalsingh
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“Has anyone paused to consider the effect of this controversy on an innocent woman who went out to play mas? You all are destroying a person. Leave that alone, that is somebody’s daughter,” said Deyalsingh
Bravo to Terrance Deyalsingh :applause:
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Some people cant help it. As I posted in another thread...similar sentiments get voiced at the girl who was in Olatunji's video....just because she was of one ethnic background different from him. A set of non issues and to and fro accusations.
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Now look at what is happening at an African majority school in San Fernando where I grew up.
This is so sad the things that are going on in T&T under this PP government especially in the area of education! :'(
Claims of racial prejudice: parents protest outside school (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Claims-of-racial-prejudice-parents-protest-outside-school-296013161.html)
By Sue-Ann Wayow sue-ann.wayow@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Mar 11, 2015 at 11:32 PM ECT
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/Socapro/Parents%20protest%20outside%20San%20Fernando%20Girlsrsquo%20Government%20Primary%20School_1.jpg) (http://s124.photobucket.com/user/Socapro/media/Parents%20protest%20outside%20San%20Fernando%20Girlsrsquo%20Government%20Primary%20School_1.jpg.html)
Making their voices heard: Parents display placards outside San Fernando Girls’ Government Primary School at Rushworth Street during a protest yesterday which was triggered by alleged race discrimination and other issues. —Photo: INNIS FRANCIS
San Fernando
Alleged race discrimination was one of the issues that triggered a protest outside the San Fernando Girls’ Government Primary School yesterday morning, with parents demanding a meeting with school officials.
The parents marched with placards outside the school at Rushworth Street, San Fernando, while classes were in session.
Natalie James claimed she overhead a school official telling another person: “This is a Government school that has one race and I’m here to equal the race.”
The comment was allegedly made last month when the school was registering new pupils for the new school term in September, said James.
The Express was also told of the plaques on the walls of pupils who had done well.
Parents said the plaques with children of African descent were removed first and when questions were raised, all photos were removed.
Parents also objected to not being allowed on the school’s compound.
James told the media: “You can’t go in school and sit down and talk to your child. This is new thing for most of the infant children. You come with your parents, your parents wait for you on mornings to get you settled in. Now you are not allowed to go into the gate. That is not nice. My child is going here three years now. I am accustomed walking in school with her till her teacher comes.”
She added: “Sometimes it has children in the other classes with problems, they have somebody to talk to on mornings. Who are they going to talk to? Teachers are not in their class until half eight when the bell is called. It has nobody on mornings for them to talk to when they come to school.”
The school official was not willing to speak with parents, reporters were told.
Some of the problems included “unprofessional communication, medical conditions not being addressed, no financial report given after Christmas Frolic was held, parents’ vehicles being wrecked outside the school, lack of supervision in classrooms before 8.30 a.m. or on lunchtime, children are not allowed to eat, play, run outside of classroom”.
The parents also complained that they were “not allowed to speak to or correct any child that they see doing something wrong or harmful to themselves or schoolmates”.
They asked: “How are parents to build a relationship with teachers if they only meet with them once a term or only when there is a problem of money is needed?”
Education Ministry responds
An official with the Ministry of Education said a meeting was held with the school’s administration, school supervisors and parents yesterday.
The official said there was no evidence to substantiate claims of racial discrimination. The school official denied making such statements and explained that all the photos were removed to facilitate repairs.
The official said the parents decided to be a part of a more organised Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) not related to the National PTA.
“With reference to dealing with issues in the school, the stakeholders have decided that there is going to be greater consultation. The school-based management model will be strengthened. The model is the inclusion of all the stakeholders with reference to issues of this nature,” the official said.
And the official added that the Ministry of Education had a training programme for newly appointed school officials.
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Understanding the roots of racism in politics in T&T.
For those who want to understand the roots of most of our problems we are now seeing you need to read the book by Tony Martin called "General History of the Caribbean" especially focusing on Volume V, Chapter 6 entitled "AFRICAN AND INDIAN CONSCIOUSNESS".
Here is a link to a file in pdf format: http://www.unesco.org/culture/caribbean/pdf/ghc_onlinechapter_vol5_chap6_en.pdf
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This is just shocking...
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/11011194_10153203654324680_7235536127221602759_n.jpg?oh=ad7b6af6a0ebaef0c072e8c1114f1558&oe=5585D075&__gda__=1434384400_74ac448c3bf9ff2a1b0b011bdec94c16)
https://www.facebook.com/basdeo.panday1/posts/620749361338047
(https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/11032298_917385371657366_9135041972723224540_n.png?oh=e6dc38a9475c327e4921a3dbcfbdec77&oe=55BAAE17)
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CAUpg8VWAAA1Eo8.jpg)
ILP comments on racist comments by Leladharsingh (http://www.ttonline.org/2015/03/17/ilp-comments-on-racist-comments-by-leladharsingh/)
The Independent Liberal Party (ILP) notes with alarm and outrage contents of a Facebook conversation being circulated on social media in which former Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) board member Jaishima Leladharsingh appears to be making racial slurs and using obscene language.
The ILP Says such behaviour is unacceptable, especially in a diverse society such as ours and is unbecoming of a holder of public office.
“To our knowledge, Leladharsingh is also a senior manager at the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) which is under the portfolio of Minister of Food Production Devant Maharaj of Maha Sabha fame. Leladharsingh should be removed immediately from the CDA board and from his post at the ADB.” the political party added.
It has since been reported that Leladharsingh has in fact tendered his resignation to the CDA.
The ILP further noted that Leladharsingh’s post has been in circulation on the internet since April 2014 and even prompted former Prime Minster and former United National Congress (UNC) leader Basdeo Panday to appeal for Leladharsingh to desist from propagating racial division.
“For the People’s Partnership Government (PPG) to keep Mr Leladharsingh in both these positions indicates that the PPG condones and accepts racist and obscene behaviour by its appointees to public offices and is prepared to unashamedly engage in the politics of racial division regardless of the damaging consequences to our society,” ILP added.
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Yuh beat me to it Bakes.
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almost a whole year after though?
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But wait, there's more!
(https://scontent-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10703548_10152780379822812_403766906323682891_n.jpg?oh=e2deffaadb77d44103378990df6fa405&oe=55BB2F9E)
From September, 2013
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A lot of the racist colonial policies against Africans in T&T after emancipation of slavery were implemented by slaveholder William Hardin Burnley! Check out a little history on the man.
William Hardin Burnley and the Glorious Revolution (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/William_Hardin_Burnley_and_the_Glorious_Revolution-115366244.html)
By Selwyn Cudjoe (T&T Express)
Story Created: Feb 5, 2011 at 11:41 AM ECT
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/Socapro/William%20Burnley%20slaveholder%20Trinidad%201780-1850.jpg) (http://s124.photobucket.com/user/Socapro/media/William%20Burnley%20slaveholder%20Trinidad%201780-1850.jpg.html)
William Hardin Burnley, Trinidad slaveholder (1780-1850)
In an interesting article, "The 'Glorious Revolution'" (Express, August 2), Selwyn Ryan presents William Hardin Burnley (1780-1850), the largest slaveholder in T&T, as a "forward-looking" planter and suggests that Burnley felt that "the extinction of slavery has created a mighty revolution, in that, in this island, the master was now the slave and the former slave the master." He quotes Burnley as saying that "God and nature were conspiring to render the island of Trinidad 'a little Terrestrial Paradise for the African race.' He insisted that he was not guilty of hyperbole when he said that the African was like the 'Midas of Greek Mythology.'"
I disagree with Ryan on several substantive issues such as how he interprets the reported speech of Burnley as against his record; the sudden move from an African terrestrial society to the opposition of blacks to a plural society "from which Indians would be 'ethnically cleansed'" and a dense conclusion. Moreover, it is difficult to reconcile Ryan's picture of Burnley especially when Burnley believed that the emancipation was a mistake.
Born in New York in 1780, Burnley was educated in England before he took up residence in Trinidad in 1802. In 1809 he teamed up with Mr George Smith, Chief Justice, to steal the people's properties. As Acting Depositor-General, he had access to many properties from which he made his fortune "with Smith's knowledge, if not connivance." When he was finished he was worth a half a million dollars.
In 1818, Governor Woodford asked his Council, of which Burnley was a member, for suggestions to attract labourers to Trinidad. Burnley felt that "if Trinidad could increase its labouring population sufficiently, it could supply the rest of the West Indian islands with cattle, rice and corn….Upon serious reflection I am fully convinced that from Asia alone is to be derived the population we require." Those words made Burnley one of the first persons to advocate the bringing of East Indians to Trinidad to deal with the labour shortage.
Burnley opposed every significant event that led to the emancipation of Blacks. In 1823 he and his colleagues held a secret meeting in Tacarigua to protest the British government's initiative to stop the flogging of African female slaves and the overseers from carrying whips. In 1832 he went to London to fight against emancipation.
In 1841 Burnley made a final attempt to derail the benefits of emancipation when the Agricultural and Immigration Society which he chaired held hearings throughout the island to find out if "the great experiment of Negro emancipation succeeded." He contended that "although slavery has ceased, the angry feelings occasioned by the struggle to effect it, have not yet subsided." He was looking to break the monopoly that the ex-slaves had over the market by recruiting new laborers from Africa, Asia and the southern United States.
One needs to access Ryan's observations about Burnley's laudatory efforts against this background. It is true that Burnley believed that the cultivation of one sixth of Trinidad's soil would have satisfied the sugar demands of Great Britain. However, it does not follow that Burnley and his colleagues saw Trinidad as becoming a "prosperous African colony in the West Indies and a civilised one in Africa? (sic)." How Trinidad would have become a civilised state in Africa is another matter.
Ryan argues that by1846 "the 'Glorious Revolution' was replaced by an aggressive racist reaction." We are not told who practiced aggressive racism and who suffered from it. If an "era of good feelings" prevailed why did Burnley contend that the emancipation experiment occasioned "angry feelings" between the Blacks and Whites? Why, indeed, did Burnley warn that the society would "degenerate into barbarism" if those negative feelings of distrust continued. It is difficult to say wherein lay this utopian paradise that Ryan discerned.
Ryan makes another disastrous error when he contends that the arrival of immigrants from India, four years after Burnley's hearings, "also helped to bring to an end the dream of creating the 'African Terrestrial Paradise' many had envisioned." How was this possible when Burnley intended to exploit Africans and Indians alike?
Even if we grant Ryan's position, the question remains: who among the labouring class articulated this view. Who is this "many" of which Ryan speaks? Both the Mandingo representation of themselves and Rev. Hamilton's description the liberated Africans in Manzanilla presented different views of the same reality.
Ryan says that after 1846 there emerged "a plural society to which most blacks were unalterably opposed." No evidence is given but it is assumed that most blacks were (or are) unalterably opposed to a plural society. We are not told when this plural society came into being and how we opposed it. In Ryan's analysis Blacks go from being mute in their own deliverance to active perpetrators of the heinous crime of opposing a plural society.
Ryan is one of our most astute political scientists and social observers. However, he did an injustice to Black people when he gave Burnley the leading role in the events that surrounded emancipation. The historical record has a way of reproducing the bad and sweeping the good under the rug especially in Trinidad and Tobago. It is important that the historical record be presented in a balanced and accurate manner.
scudjoe@wellesley.edu
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FIRED FOR RACIST RANT
Tewarie: CDA board member said he used N-word ‘in a moment of rage’
By Denyse Renne (Express).
Board member of the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) Jaishima Leladharsingh has been fired for posting racist statements on Facebook.
Leladharsingh, who is also a senior United National Congress (UNC) activist and former marketing manager at the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) on April 12, 2014 referred to Anthony S Mcleod as a “stinking nigger” on Facebook.
Messages sent via Facebook to Mcleod yesterday for a comment were unsuccessful.
Speaking briefly with the Express yesterday afternoon, Minister of Planning and Sustainable Development Dr Bhoe Tewarie under whose portfolio CDA falls, said the posting by Leladharsingh had been under investigation and following its completion, he was asked to resign.
Asked how long the issue was being investigated and why in the interim Leladharsingh was still a member of the CDA board, Tewarie declined to comment and instead referred all his comments to the news release announcing his firing.
Efforts to contact Leladharsingh were unsuccessful.
Following the resignation, Leldharsingh’s Facebook page was on the receiving end of individuals expressing disgust over his statements. Posts left on his page have ridiculed his statements. The last activity on his page was on Monday where he posted pictures of Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine.
Checks by the Express revealed that Leladharsingh’s derogatory remarks on Facebook are not just last April’s. He and several other UNC bloggers have also launched a series of race attacks against Facebook users who oppose the Government.
Several of the posts have also attacked journalists and opposition members.
In one post dated September 15, 2013, Leladharsingh posted in a closed UNC group, “Each member should target at least five individuals and inbox them in persuasion of going to City Hall in protest for answers my pick would be for the niggers they pushy enough and gullible it would not take much to sway them it would also enhance the look of the PPG having the African members protesting. But I do need to ask Allan how did you persuade the “impeccable” Kazim Hosein?”
Sources told the Express that only a select group of UNC bloggers have administrative access to this closed group.
Last year, the administrators of this group expressed concern over the leaking of conversations into mainstream Facebook. Sources say the group’s main objective is to attack anyone perceived as being anti-government by using racial slurs and personal attacks.
Sources further told the Express that a relative of a former government minister who was once employed as the minister’s personal assistant has been named as one of the administrators for the closed group.
Efforts to contact the assistant were unsuccessful.
The genesis of the remarks made against Mcleod started following a post on April 11, 2014, written by former prime minister Basdeo Panday.
The post was in reference to comments made by Panday in the media following the death of former prime minister and president Arthur NR Robinson in 2014.
In that interview with the media on April 9, 2014, Panday said though he sympathised with relatives of Robinson on his passing, “I was instrumental in him becoming both prime minister and president. But I think that issue would not be as kind to him, for some of the things he did while in office.”
In his Facebook post two days later, Panday said, “It seems that my response to some journalists from the media who asked me to comment on the passing of Mr ANR Robinson has caused some very interesting comments. But none has accused me of speaking untruths.
“Had I lauded praise on Mr Robinson I would have been accused of hypocrisy, and justifiably so. All I said was that history would not be as kind to Mr Robinson as I had been to him. And when pressed for an explanation of that statement I referred to the 18-18 elections deadlock of 2001.
“I also referred to the breakup of the NAR. In so doing I spoke not an untrue word. Would my critics have preferred that I lied? Some say I should not have said what I said on such an occasion. Is there an occasion for the truth and another reserved for lies. If so, then they must surely have a morality of your own. I only ask that they do not pass it on to their luckless children”.
The Facebook posts
One day after the post was made, Leladharsingh posted: “I’m glad that Robinson is gone forever”.
Mcleod responded: “You would also be gone forever. We all have to go. I can’t believe how big people can be so stupid”.
Leladharsingh then stated, “go f... yourself Mcleod. You bastards will never understand because you never had to fight nor work for anything. I gave my opinion and I don’t care what you f.... parasites think”.
This post by Leladharsingh received “one like” from Bridgie Ramkissoon. Checks on his profile have revealed that Ramkissoon is a medical doctor.
Mcleod’s response to this rant was, “Hahaha u rel funny”.
It was at this point that Leladharsingh stated again, “ and you are a stinking nigger”
Mcleod brushed aside the comment stating, “you can say what u wat you still have to dead”.
“And you will die as a low class nigger”, Leladharsingh shot back.
Mcleod responded, “You dnt knw me nor my status and you are so confident abt ur statements. Frm wht I can see is that you hav no class”.
“F... you both, Anthony S Mcleod you are a f.... stinking and low class Nigger”, Leladharsingh wrote.
Panday then intervened and warned Leladharsingh about his conduct stating, “My Dear Jaishima Please do not do anything to exacerbate the racial problem which has been the bane of this society for centuries. Speak your mind without being offensive. Please?”
On December 26, 2014, Leladharsingh also accused the Express of being racist and called for a boycott of the newspaper on Facebook.
(http://media.trinidadexpress.com/images/nw547.png)
bloggers express disgust: Jaishima Leladharsingh
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But wait, there's more!
(https://scontent-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10703548_10152780379822812_403766906323682891_n.jpg?oh=e2deffaadb77d44103378990df6fa405&oe=55BB2F9E)
From September, 2013
I think this was a part of it too.
(http://www.trinituner.com/v3/forums/download/file.php?id=339181&t=1&sid=4591438029c2063a16ea2d90cf474f70)
As mentioned in the article with the group.
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reading this and publicsizing this thrite isnt going to improve relations but rather propagate hate.
why give a damn about whoever that fella is..
It happens all over the world.
Be bigger than that.
Dat fella has to live with dat ..not you or me
Publish something positive...lets talk about the great work Brent Sancho is doing at the moment as Minister.
How can TNT soccer prosper from his handson experience.
How nice it would be to see Dwight Yorke stadium open again.
How nice it was to see Keith getting a good rub up...
Improve relations with your neighours..whoever they will be....
Be happy and free...Ola di
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reading this and publicsizing this thrite isnt going to improve relations but rather propagate hate.
why give a damn about whoever that fella is..
It happens all over the world.
Be bigger than that.
Dat fella has to live with dat ..not you or me
Publish something positive...lets talk about the great work Brent Sancho is doing at the moment as Minister.
How can TNT soccer prosper from his handson experience.
How nice it would be to see Dwight Yorke stadium open again.
How nice it was to see Keith getting a good rub up...
Improve relations with your neighours..whoever they will be....
Be happy and free...Ola di
Remove your head from the sand my friend, this is the General Discussion board. Why can't we talk here about things that are generally affecting people in T&T?
It is racist folks like Jaishima Leladharsingh being deliberately placed in powerful positions in T&T by the current government that is leading to all the injustice, corruption and backwardness we are seeing in T&T right now.
This Jaishima Leladharsingh fellow is also a senior UNC activist and former marketing manager at the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) who has been in a position to hire and fire staff.
We have a MAJOR problem in T&T right now and the root of it is that we have a government with a racist agenda to dispossess a certain section of its population that claims that they are there for all and wants another 5 years to ensure turn T&T into another Guyana.
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Socapro ah hear yuh sentiments brother...but dont be antagonized and fall fowl to a few jackasses.
You will find hatred everywhere in the world...dont become part of the problem..
Please help my Indian brothers and sisters et al..
We are a microcosm of what good tnt is..
be a mentor and not a hater...
Dont let politics and people who cant help themselves get to you.
When all is said and done....tomorrow is a new day..
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Socapro ah hear yuh sentiments brother...but dont be antagonized and fall fowl to a few jackasses.
You will find hatred everywhere in the world...dont become part of the problem..
Please help my Indian brothers and sisters et al..
We are a microcosm of what good tnt is..
be a mentor and not a hater...
Dont let politics and people who cant help themselves get to you.
When all is said and done....tomorrow is a new day..
As I said you stay there with your head in the sand while trying to brand folks like me who are pointing out what is happening in T&T as being filled with hate.
If I did not know any better and just went by your recent posts I would start to believe that you are an undercover racist yourself.
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well what can I say..i dont know much..
but I'm not about to let other people send up my blood pressure.
I still need to find the definition of what is a racist is
But anyway i dont pretend to be god's gift to mankind but i think i live in trini long enough to know a red herring when i see it...
There are more important issues that need to be addressed in TNT...so I wouldnt let this one take away from say. WI vs NZ cricket on Saturday....
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How we supposed to think of the utterances in light of what happened with the farmers in Chagaramas?
BTW... He apologised. Not sure what effect that may have.
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Jaishima Leladharsingh's excuse about feeling threatened is weak. He is clearly a racist and his apology at this late point does not change that fact.
There are many others like Jaishima Leladharsingh in positions of power in T&T right now, he was just foolish enough to expose his real views about African people in T&T on facebook. I am sure that Satnarayan Maharaj is not too happy about losing one of his soldiers from a position of power.
I apologise (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/I-apologise-296725531.html)
By Carolyn Kissoon Multimedia Desk (T&T Express)
Story Created: Mar 18, 2015 at 10:28 AM ECT
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/Socapro/Jaishima%20Leladharsingh%2002.jpg) (http://s124.photobucket.com/user/Socapro/media/Jaishima%20Leladharsingh%2002.jpg.html)
Jaishima Leladharsingh
Fired board member of the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) Jaishima Leladharsingh yesterday apologised for posting racist statements on Facebook.
In a Facebook post at 3.24pm, Leladharsingh wrote that his statement was "inappropriate and uncalled for".
Leladharsingh posted that he was angry and felt threatened by Anthony S Mcleod on Facebook.
He wrote: "I sincerely apologise to the particular individual; for making a statement that was inappropriate and uncalled for. I did it in anger when he told me that I will be dead. At that point I took as a threat. It may not have been, but I acted in rage. I am sorry for the pain and sorrow that I caused to others. I want you all to know that I am truly sorry and i have resigned from the CDA Board of Directors effective immediately."
Minister of Planning and Sustainable Development Dr Bhoe Tewarie said yesterday that Leladharsingh's Facebook posting was under investigation and he was asked to resign.
Leladharsingh's racist rant against Mcleod started following a post by former prime minister Basdeo Panday in April 2014, but he remained as a member of the CDA's Board of Directors until yesterday.
Following Panday's post on the death of former prime minister and president Arthur NR Robinson, Leladharsingh wrote: "I am glad that Robinson is gone forever".
Mcleod responded: "You would also be gone forever. We all have to go. I can't believe how big people can be so stupid."
Leladharsingh responded with expletives and racist remarks. The Express found that Leadharsingh has deleted the content from his Facebook page.
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well what can I say..i dont know much..
but I'm not about to let other people send up my blood pressure.
I still need to find the definition of what is a racist is
But anyway i dont pretend to be god's gift to mankind but i think i live in trini long enough to know a red herring when i see it...
There are more important issues that need to be addressed in TNT...so I wouldnt let this one take away from say. WI vs NZ cricket on Saturday....
Remove your head from the sand my friend, this is the General Discussion board to discuss general issues affecting our country men and women in T&T.
Also there is no issue more important in T&T than ensuring that we don't have a racist government in power in a multi-ethnic country like T&T that built its culture and good reputation on racial harmony and traditionally bragged about and being a country where every creed and race can find an equal place.
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reading this and publicsizing this thrite isnt going to improve relations but rather propagate hate.
why give a damn about whoever that fella is..
You can't be f**king serious.
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reading this and publicsizing this thrite isnt going to improve relations but rather propagate hate.
why give a damn about whoever that fella is..
You can't be f**king serious.
That's exactly what I was thinking.
His post forces me to rethink my previous perception that most posters here are intelligent and don't support racism.
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Trinidad is a post-racial society... racism, if it exists, is a trifle we shouldn't bother ourselves with.
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http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Rowley-lauds-swift-action-296821821.html (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Rowley-lauds-swift-action-296821821.html)
Rowley lauds swift action
Firing of CDA board member
By Joel Julien
OPPOSITION Leader Dr Keith Rowley has congratulated Planning Minister Dr Bhoe Tewarie for taking swift action to remove “scum” from the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA).
Jaishima Leladharsingh was removed as a CDA board member on Tuesday following a racist rant on Facebook which was posted in April 2014, but came to light on Tuesday.
Within hours of Leladharsingh’s post becoming public, he was asked to resign.
Tewarie said the first thing he did was to ascertain the authenticity of Leladharsingh’s posts.
“On the basis of verifying that they were posted... even though it was a long time ago and not associated with the CDA, I felt that it was not appropriate for someone to continue as a board member of the CDA having uttered those statements publicly,” Tewarie said.
Rowley addressed the issue at a People’s National Movement (PNM) political meeting at Johnny’s Green Acres in Brazil, East Trinidad.
“Now there is a board populated by a man who in 2015 calling people in Trinidad and Tobago ‘nigger’,” Rowley said.
“A man who goes on Facebook as a member of the board of Chaguaramas giving away our land, the land that Eric Williams and the PNM fought for but all of them was fighting the PNM against that and he goes on the board and telling a man you will die like an old nigger,” he said.
Rowley lauded Tewarie for his response to the situation.
“Tonight I want to congratulate the minister of planning and development for swiftly removing such scum from the face of the board of the CDA,” Rowley said.
“And all those of you who believe that this country has gone past that stage, that is an eye-opener for you. So understand something—we are in perilous times,” Rowley said.
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Allyuh this is ridiculous. The TTDRI forum on FB smh
(https://scontent-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/11060919_819632881463935_5834324709062048781_n.jpg?oh=e7a23ea781bc9f95d91d9e339967d637&oe=55B18207)
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Allyuh this is ridiculous. The TTDRI forum on FB smh
(https://scontent-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/11060919_819632881463935_5834324709062048781_n.jpg?oh=e7a23ea781bc9f95d91d9e339967d637&oe=55B18207)
Once these people are not in a position of authority over the general population that is paid for by taxpayers then I have no problem with them being as racists as they wish.
However if they are in a position of authourity that is paid for by general taxpayers then we have a major problem and need to have them removed.
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Rev Teelucksingh: Outlaw racism (http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2015-05-25/rev-teelucksingh-outlaw-racism)
By Radhica Sookraj
Published: Monday, May 25, 2015 (T&T Guardian)
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/Socapro/Rev%20Daniel%20Teelucksingh.png) (http://s124.photobucket.com/user/Socapro/media/Rev%20Daniel%20Teelucksingh.png.html)
Rev Daniel Teelucksingh.
Presbyterian minister and former independent Senator Rev Daniel Teelucksingh yesterday called for laws to be passed in T&T to make racism illegal.
Speaking at the Independent Liberal Party’s interfaith service at the Passage of Asia Restaurant in Chaguanas, Teelucksingh said as the general election approaches he is astonished at the level of racism in the country. He said on May 13 at 10:30 am he was listening to a radio programme and was appalled to hear the announcer making racially insensitive remarks.
“There will never be social cohesion and trust between the two races if we don’t take action now. I think we need laws immediately to stop such treachery on the nation’s air waves. Anyone making remarks that are socially inflammatory, politically treacherous and anti-national should be charged for sedition. It should be a criminal offense to incite racism. That is the one kind of freedom people should not be allowed,” he said.
Teelucksingh, who stated that “2015 should never be a race of the races,” said all political parties should place policies to end racism on their agenda. He condemned what he described as a “continuation of the nasty legacy of the plantation system where the two races were kept apart for a political agenda.”
“There should never be an Indo-agenda or an Afro-agenda or any colour coded agenda. This is the silly season, the season of the sword and we have to put away the swords of racism, intrigue and antagonism,” he said. The former senator said the Emailgate affair was an example of the sword of intrigue.
“We are polarised politically and we are a socially fragmented society. When we look at those mysterious e-mails, we wonder what went wrong. It has been two years since those e-mails were read in Parliament and in this age of technology we wonder why is this investigation taking so long?” he said, adding that the longer the investigation takes, the more complicated and difficult the probe will be to unravel.
Teelucksingh expressed concern at the high level of antagonism at the highest levels of leadership. “There is so much suspicion. Where are our children going to look for role models?” he asked Also speaking at the service were Pundit Vishnu Maharaj and Imam Nazim Ali. Maharaj told the audience to keep their political preferences private and to stand up for the right morals and values. Ali called for discipline in the home, school, and in government.
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A noble idea, but one which careful consideration must be given to the framework of any proposed laws, before passing. Free speech, even unpopular free speech needs to be protected. Hate speech needs to be punished, as well as overt acts of racism or race-based discrimination, and even ethnic or national heritage discrimination.
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Administrator of a popular FB Trini group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/154004974659421/permalink/935073253219252/
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following up on this thread and with charleston in mind:
is racism a mental illness?
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following up on this thread and with charleston in mind:
is racism a mental illness?
only when the actor who perpetrates the crime is white.
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Kamla: Apologise to nation, Rowley
By Kevon Felmine (Guardian).
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has challenged Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley to apologise to the nation for several racist comments made by members of the People’s National Movement over the years, saying the party was not being honest in its recent comments about using race in campaigning.
As she made her point last night, Persad-Bissessar went back to the 2013 Tobago House of Assembly’s (THA) election, when then deputy Chief Secretary Hilton Sandy told supporters that if they did not vote the PNM back in to power a “Calcutta Ship” was waiting to take over the island, to make her point.
Speaking at a UNC Monday Night Forum at the Gasparillo Secondary School, she also called on PNM youth officer Fitzgerald Hinds to apologise for his “alligator in murky lagoon” comments at a public meeting at Piggott’s Corner, Belmont, recently.
She also recalled that Hinds had ridiculed a young boy with dreadlocks who kissed her hand during a tour in flood damaged Diego Martin in 2013. She claimed Hinds had referred to the boy as an “idiot” for the gesture he made towards her.
She said if Rowley was genuine about not running a racist campaign he should confront all racist remarks coming from members of his party.
“I am calling on the Opposition Leader and Mr Hinds to apologise to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. I call upon them to apologise and to confront the racist campaign they have run and the racist campaign they continue to run,” Persad-Bissessar said.
“While they talk the talk, they must also walk the walk. It is by your deeds you are judged Opposition Leader.
“If you are genuine in your statement you must confront the racist remarks from the front line of your party. I tell you tonight, your silence is deafening.”
She also challenged Rowley to account for his representation of the Diego Martin West constituency, saying it was under the former UNC government that the Carenage Government School was built, while the People’s Partnership had built the Diego Martin Highway, several schools and will soon open the new Carenage Health Centre.
Persad-Bissessar also touched on plans to boost the education, health and agriculture sectors, but stressed that crime was a major issue and that her Government was committed to dealing with.
She reaffirmed her position that there will be no negotiation with criminals and promised to give the police all the resources they need to bring criminals to justice, especially in the Enterprise, Chaguanas community where a recent spate of gang violence has left residents running scared.
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Kamla: Apologise to nation, Rowley
By Kevon Felmine (Guardian).
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has challenged Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley to apologise to the nation for several racist comments made by members of the People’s National Movement over the years, saying the party was not being honest in its recent comments about using race in campaigning.
As she made her point last night, Persad-Bissessar went back to the 2013 Tobago House of Assembly’s (THA) election, when then deputy Chief Secretary Hilton Sandy told supporters that if they did not vote the PNM back in to power a “Calcutta Ship” was waiting to take over the island, to make her point.
Speaking at a UNC Monday Night Forum at the Gasparillo Secondary School, she also called on PNM youth officer Fitzgerald Hinds to apologise for his “alligator in murky lagoon” comments at a public meeting at Piggott’s Corner, Belmont, recently.
She also recalled that Hinds had ridiculed a young boy with dreadlocks who kissed her hand during a tour in flood damaged Diego Martin in 2013. She claimed Hinds had referred to the boy as an “idiot” for the gesture he made towards her.
She said if Rowley was genuine about not running a racist campaign he should confront all racist remarks coming from members of his party.
“I am calling on the Opposition Leader and Mr Hinds to apologise to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. I call upon them to apologise and to confront the racist campaign they have run and the racist campaign they continue to run,” Persad-Bissessar said.
“While they talk the talk, they must also walk the walk. It is by your deeds you are judged Opposition Leader.
“If you are genuine in your statement you must confront the racist remarks from the front line of your party. I tell you tonight, your silence is deafening.”
She also challenged Rowley to account for his representation of the Diego Martin West constituency, saying it was under the former UNC government that the Carenage Government School was built, while the People’s Partnership had built the Diego Martin Highway, several schools and will soon open the new Carenage Health Centre.
Persad-Bissessar also touched on plans to boost the education, health and agriculture sectors, but stressed that crime was a major issue and that her Government was committed to dealing with.
She reaffirmed her position that there will be no negotiation with criminals and promised to give the police all the resources they need to bring criminals to justice, especially in the Enterprise, Chaguanas community where a recent spate of gang violence has left residents running scared.
This thread is more meant to be about the plight of the Chaguaramas Guave Road Farmers Flex.
That article you posted is more suited to the Racism in T&T - The Thread (http://www.socawarriors.net/forum/index.php?topic=63611.msg912034#msg912034) that you started but thanks for bumping this thread anyway as I have neglected to post some of the latest news on the plight of the Guave Road Farmers to this thread and need to remedy that.
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Kamla: Apologise to nation, Rowley
By Kevon Felmine (Guardian).
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has challenged Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley to apologise to the nation for several racist comments made by members of the People’s National Movement over the years, saying the party was not being honest in its recent comments about using race in campaigning.
As she made her point last night, Persad-Bissessar went back to the 2013 Tobago House of Assembly’s (THA) election, when then deputy Chief Secretary Hilton Sandy told supporters that if they did not vote the PNM back in to power a “Calcutta Ship” was waiting to take over the island, to make her point.
Speaking at a UNC Monday Night Forum at the Gasparillo Secondary School, she also called on PNM youth officer Fitzgerald Hinds to apologise for his “alligator in murky lagoon” comments at a public meeting at Piggott’s Corner, Belmont, recently.
She also recalled that Hinds had ridiculed a young boy with dreadlocks who kissed her hand during a tour in flood damaged Diego Martin in 2013. She claimed Hinds had referred to the boy as an “idiot” for the gesture he made towards her.
She said if Rowley was genuine about not running a racist campaign he should confront all racist remarks coming from members of his party.
“I am calling on the Opposition Leader and Mr Hinds to apologise to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. I call upon them to apologise and to confront the racist campaign they have run and the racist campaign they continue to run,” Persad-Bissessar said.
“While they talk the talk, they must also walk the walk. It is by your deeds you are judged Opposition Leader.
“If you are genuine in your statement you must confront the racist remarks from the front line of your party. I tell you tonight, your silence is deafening.”
She also challenged Rowley to account for his representation of the Diego Martin West constituency, saying it was under the former UNC government that the Carenage Government School was built, while the People’s Partnership had built the Diego Martin Highway, several schools and will soon open the new Carenage Health Centre.
Persad-Bissessar also touched on plans to boost the education, health and agriculture sectors, but stressed that crime was a major issue and that her Government was committed to dealing with.
She reaffirmed her position that there will be no negotiation with criminals and promised to give the police all the resources they need to bring criminals to justice, especially in the Enterprise, Chaguanas community where a recent spate of gang violence has left residents running scared.
This thread is more meant to be about the plight of the Chaguaramas Guave Road Farmers Flex.
That article you posted is more suited to the Racism in T&T - The Thread (http://www.socawarriors.net/forum/index.php?topic=63611.msg912034#msg912034) that you started but thanks for bumping this thread anyway as I have neglected to post some of the latest news on the plight of the Guave Road Farmers to this thread and need to remedy that.
But the title of your thread is the racist PP government.. Flex just posted the racist comments made by PNM members.. So I think it's not that off topic to post it on here... Maybe their comments should be addressed as well...
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Thanx guys.
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Govt warned: Don’t use race
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150701/news/govt-warned-dont-use-race
THE People’s Partnership Government is “playing with fire” by using race as a means to win the upcoming general election, Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley said last night as he warned Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar not to play “farse and loose” with the country’s stability.
Rowley also questioned whether Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal has reported his $7,000 “salary” from Jack Warner to the Integrity Commission.
Rowley slammed Moonilal for putting up a “coded racial” banner in Oropouche warning people to “hide their children from Rowley”.
“You are trying to demonise me and the PNM along racial lines in 2015 to survive and become the Government again, but the people of this country are not blind and we are not foolish and we have had enough,” he said.
Rowley made the statement while delivering the feature address at the People’s National Movement’s (PNM) political meeting held at Cocoyea Village, San Fernando, last night.
He began his address by paying homage to his predecessor as the PNM political leader, former prime minister Patrick Manning.
With Parliament being prorogued last month, Rowley said Manning ended a “tremendous tour of duty”.
Manning first entered Parliament in 1971.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you to a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago who served his people well,” Rowley said.
Rowley said the PNM has ensured that, with the selection of Randell Mitchell as its prospective candidate for San Fernando East for the September 7 general election, the “baton” that Manning held has been passed on to “very safe hands”.
“One of the first things we will do after September 7 is to have a tremendous function of the highest quality to honour the service of Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning,” Rowley said.
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(https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/12003904_10154180365269947_18575595623622712_n.jpg?oh=79e88a37ff71857dd4c8903da674c991&oe=56706BD7)
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Religious leaders slam online racist messages
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150913/news/religious-leaders-slam-online-racist-messages (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150913/news/religious-leaders-slam-online-racist-messages)
Three religious leaders have spoken out against recent racist posts on social media.
Imam Mirza Ali-Mohammed, of the Islamic Da’wah Movement; founder of the Longdenville-based Hindu Prachaar Kendra, Ravi-Ji, and Seventh-Day Adventist Pastor Clive Dottin added their voices to those condemning racist comments made on Facebook and other social media following the results of last Monday’s general election.
The People’s Partnership’s defeat at the polls resulted in the trading of insults between supporters of the party and supporters of the winning People’s National Movement. Some of the comments contained threats against particular ethnic groups.
Speaking on TV6’s Morning Edition on Friday, Ali-Mohammed said it was “frightening” that after so many years of education and awareness, racism seems to have gotten worse.
“It is frightening, especially for our young people,” Ali-Mohammed said. “The examples being set by these adults who are involved in these things, it really is scary.”
Dottin noted the intensity of this year’s election campaign and said he agreed with chairman of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), Norbert Masson, who described the campaigning as the most vile and vitriolic he has ever seen.
“We are as polarised as we have ever been,” said Dottin. “We are mis-mentoring the young people. We are misguiding them and setting a horrible example.”
Dottin said religious leaders were also setting a poor example. He said he listened to two religious programmes and was very concerned about what was being said.
“It is horrific that we as religious leaders are not setting the right example and are also fuelling a certain kind of hatred in the society.”
Ravi-Ji said it was unfortunate that people were using the cloak of anonymity provided by social media to spread messages of hate. He further added that the messages were given more attention when highlighted by traditional media.
“Media should not highlight or give coverage to these vitriolic kinds of messages,” he said.
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Ravi Ji eh have me fooled. I say highlight the racist. I expose a Pundit who went to school with me on our alumni page. Show the world who they are.
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(http://www.trinidadexpress.com/storyimage/TT/20150916/LOCAL/150919713/AR/0/AR-150919713.jpg&MaxW=730&imageversion=Article)
One man’s anti-racism campaign
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150916/features/one-mans-anti-racism-campaign (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150916/features/one-mans-anti-racism-campaign)
Radio talk show host Fazeer Rojan has started a campaign against racism on social media.
The 103 fm presenter began a “Selfie stand against racism” campaign by visiting different places in Trinidad spreading the message of love and unity.
Rojan said that he became inspired for this campaign after reading the negative comments following the September 7 general election.
According to Rojan: “We cannot let a minority get the better of us. Raymond Ramnarine uttered these words to me upon his return to the country yesterday when he called to lend support to the ‘Selfie Stand Against Racism’. I too would like to think that it’s a minority. I have no stats to offer to support this hope but that’s what it is; hope! Sometimes the world needs an idealist or two. Lord knows we have an over abundance in some other ‘not as awesome’ categories. I did what I did for reasons personal to me. I spoke on my own behalf and I’d like it to be noted that I represent no one and no group, political, religious, social or otherwise. I am citizen of Trinidad and Tobago! No other credentials are important”.
He said that the reason for the selfie was because it was a common denominator in social media.
Rojan said: “ Most of the hatred I have seen is being expressed on social media by a combination of people who knew what they were saying, those who were baited and merely expressed what already existed but remained hidden for all these years, those with fake profiles who lack the testicular fortitude to make their comments bravely, those who created mimic profiles and attempted to join the conversation under false pretences, some with axes to grind; others riddled with fear because of their political conditioning and the list goes on. It made sense then to seek to counter this hate on the platform where it was most expressed. The key would be to find the common denominator though. ‘Selfies’ came to mind. They’re an online sensation. Why not use this platform to spread the positivity? Simple. Thus was born the Selfie Stand Against Racism”.
Wearing a sign with the slogan of the campaign, Rojan is meeting people and encouraging them the take a stand against discrimination in the country.
Many have posted “selfie” photographs of themselves with the slogan signalling their stance against racism and joining in Rojan’s cause to end it.
In one of his post dated September 11, Rojan said, “It has gone from distasteful to frightful. How could a country change so much almost overnight? Or is it that social media has given everyone an opportunity to remove masks and reveal what always existed? It hurts to see it unfold and I wish it would STOP NOW! However, instead of waiting on them, I am reminded to take action ....”Be The Change That You Wish To See In The World”.
Rojan did exactly this and took matters into his own hands creating the campaign.
Rojan said that he has been faced with negative feedback from what he is doing from both sides of the political arena.
He said, “People will see what they are searching for, like those who accused me of ‘being PNM’ because my jersey is red but failed to see that I was wearing red, white and black. Others who questioned my timing and implied that I’m a ‘UNC’ man because I didn’t do this five years ago. Well, I have accepted that not everyone will agree with my stand and others may have opinions on why it should have been done differently. I will leave it as follows: Some people will see my good intentions in undertaking this. Others will question it and find ways to perpetuate the hate. The bottom line is that love and hatred, much like beauty, are in the eyes or mind of the beholder. Just think about that for a while”.
Rojan thanked his supporters and even had a message for the critics.
He said, “. To the critics, someday we’ll reach you and when we do, we’re gonna love you too!”
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Allyuh know anyone who has suffered in their workplace due to race?
How about places like Petrotrin and UWI that are rife with young Indos shooting up the ladder while all others get frozen out or overlooked for promotions.
The stories coming out of those places are disgusting.
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Allyuh know anyone who has suffered in their workplace due to race?
How about places like Petrotrin and UWI that are rife with young Indos shooting up the ladder while all others get frozen out or overlooked for promotions.
The stories coming out of those places are disgusting.
dread it wouldn't look quite as bad if they were actually qualified and doing actual work...but people earning large salaries, ent know nutten about nutten, filin dey nails whole day all kinda shit. petrotrin stagnation over the past few years have been made ten times worse with dat nonsense
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Allyuh know anyone who has suffered in their workplace due to race?
How about places like Petrotrin and UWI that are rife with young Indos shooting up the ladder while all others get frozen out or overlooked for promotions.
The stories coming out of those places are disgusting.
dread it wouldn't look quite as bad if they were actually qualified and doing actual work...but people earning large salaries, ent know nutten about nutten, filin dey nails whole day all kinda shit. petrotrin stagnation over the past few years have been made ten times worse with dat nonsense
Order has been restored Andrew Jupiter named Chairman of Petrotrin.
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Allyuh know anyone who has suffered in their workplace due to race?
How about places like Petrotrin and UWI that are rife with young Indos shooting up the ladder while all others get frozen out or overlooked for promotions.
The stories coming out of those places are disgusting.
dread it wouldn't look quite as bad if they were actually qualified and doing actual work...but people earning large salaries, ent know nutten about nutten, filin dey nails whole day all kinda shit. petrotrin stagnation over the past few years have been made ten times worse with dat nonsense
Order has been restored Andrew Jupiter named Chairman of Petrotrin.
:thumbsup:
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This is what ah like to see. Positive.. we moving forward 🇹🇹 🇹🇹 :beermug: :beermug:
https://www.facebook.com/freedom.tt/photos/a.679709022108596.1073741827.679696105443221/908809652531864/?type=3 (https://www.facebook.com/freedom.tt/photos/a.679709022108596.1073741827.679696105443221/908809652531864/?type=3)
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T&T blinded by race
By Joshua Seemungal (Guardian).
Archbishop Jason Gordon and the Catholic Commission for Social Justice (CCSJ) are urging citizens to denounce racism in all its forms.
The calls came yesterday as social media continued to be abuzz with hateful race-laden commentary all sparked by the result of Monday’s General Election in which the People’s National Movement defeated the United National Congress.
Even as a recount in five constituencies seemed to continue to fuel the flames of race hate online, Archbishop Gordon, in his weekly online address, warned that a lot of heat laced with racial tone was building up, saying the resulting discord could be very destructive to the society.
“It’s clear in this country, right now, that we are blinded by race,” Gordon said, looking intently towards the camera.
“We cannot have a place in racism in this nation. We do not have a place for it,” Archbishop Gordon asserted.
One of the incidents which would have sparked the Archbishop’s comment would have been the backlash to a comment deemed as racist by Naila Ramsaran, the daughter of the owner of Ramsaran’s Dairy Products. Several supermarket chains have pulled the company’s products from their shelves after members of the public reacted angrily to Ramsaran’s comments, although she subsequently apologised and was fired as the company sought to distance itself from her commentary.
In his message, his Grace called on citizens to see commonalities in one another rather than differences. He begged citizens to forget hyphenated descriptions, saying first and foremost, we are all citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.
Gordon claimed he’s seeing things he has never seen in the country before, adding some of the words he’s seen were used in Rwanda prior to the African country’s 1994 genocide.
“This is a serious moment. A moment where we have to stop. We have to pray and where we have to call out people who are being racist. Call them out and ask them to cease and desist,” he said sternly.
However, Gordon also called on citizens to resist fighting fire with fire.
“Please, I beg you, Trinidad and Tobago, we only have one home and that’s here. Let’s not start fires now. Quell the fires,” he pleaded.
Warning that trouble lies ahead if things do not change, he asked citizens to put their trust in the election process.
“Let the process take its place. Let it come to its conclusion and let us live with whatever the result is,” Archbishop Gordon said.
The Catholic Commission for Social Justice (CCSJ) meanwhile urged all citizens to denounce racism, which it says “is a vile worm that eats at the very soul of our beings and our nation.”
In a statement yesterday, CCSJ chair Leela Ramdeen described racism as “a sin,” which she said should be “eliminated in all its forms.
Ramdeen said society should not forget the impact of racism on the lives of our ancestors.
Citing the Book of Proverbs in the Bible, Ramdeen noted that: “Without a vision the people perish.” She added, “We have a vision—laws e.g. our Constitution, the Equal Opportunity Act; policies; the tenets of our various faith communities. Transformation will only come when we move from paper to action. Faith without good works is dead.”
The CCSJ noted that the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that: “Created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men and women have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal dignity. The equality of men rests essentially on their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it.
“Every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, colour, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God’s design.”
Ramdeen noted that while “we abhor all the recent racist statements made on social media before and after our General Election, we agree with the UK journalist, Kehinde Andrews, who rightly says that “…focusing on individual prejudice has avoided tackling endemic, systematic racism, leaving significant inequalities.”
She said “as long as racism exists, justice and peace will never become a reality.”
“The time is long overdue for us as a people to reject racism and embrace and promote unity in our diversity. We ignore, at our peril, the call of all right-thinking people to do so. Let us pray for God’s grace to open our eyes and those of our leaders so that we will choose values and virtues that will help us to flourish and progress as a people,” Ramdeen said.
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All I have to say is, don't take one of our famous mottos, " All ah we is one" for granted. As I have said on a QRC post, ever so often we have to revisit this statement. Is it true? Was it ever true ? We have never had Afros and Indos face each other in the streets. I would not put my head on block that this cannot happen. There is too much guns floating around in the country. The hard work is now, while we can put a damper on it. Don't wait until the fire start to find water to put it out. This may not be the same situation. Remember how Abu and 1990 came and bite in we arse. It is incumbent on all of us on the forum to be vigilant and work in ways to put a damper on this situation. Don't take this for granted.
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All I have to say is, don't take one of our famous mottos, " All ah we is one" for granted. As I have said on a QRC post, ever so often we have to revisit this statement. Is it true? Was it ever true ? We have never had Afros and Indos face each other in the streets. I would not put my head on block that this cannot happen. There is too much guns floating around in the country. The hard work is now, while we can put a damper on it. Don't wait until the fire start to find water to put it out. This may not be the same situation. Remember how Abu and 1990 came and bite in we arse. It is incumbent on all of us on the forum to be vigilant and work in ways to put a damper on this situation. Don't take this for granted.
The big question is who is fuelling this divide?- this emergence and proliferation of outward hatred is embedded in perceived privilege power and status. There are those who want , those who have and those who simply distrust.
I have seen some postings on social media that is blatant -hatred and derogatory - and if this election is flaming these sorts of behaviour it revealed that ideologies like these are latent and embedded in some individuals.
U ent see how they whinnng and keep on disrupting the processs
Very disappointed by all these candidates - - there is no honour among thieves with outlandish claims
I am appalluded by derogatory social media statements which are very disturbing - personal attacks on a any Leader and or any one people is very disrespectful.
But again all this is deflecting from an election victory and perhaps designed to disrupt and impede the democratic process
Tell me how does anyone belong and partake in a party whose leadership incites direct or oblique racist discourse? How does a " blank person" find acceptance in such a party much less exhalt the principles of such a political entity?
The fact is that we are a pluralistic nation and as such any one ethnicity could be and has a right to be in position of governance. However any individual ascribing to take on a leadership regardless of ethnicity should do so with an ethical regard to all members of the electorate - opposing issues is one thing but attacking the ethnicity and by mere actions allowing followers to elicit rampant and explicit ethnic denegrating attacks is unconsciousable .
Shame shame shame on those individuals who resort to these insidious forms of attacks on others to vent their hatred and defeat- All leaders and or elected individuals should take on a moral responsibility to call upon individuals to cease from this ethnic divide and to adopt a National identity- 'Trinbagonian'
BTW- people get caught up with either trying to defend, deny or accuse what was actually said by a leader - but no one seems to be questioning the intent nor asking for clarification of the term- what is a " blank man'?
If that was indeed the statement?
When leaders make disparaging statements it seems to give rise to their followers that this type of behaviour is condone. All we have to do is to witness the verbal diaherra from certain leaders in North America and see how political correctness is thrown out the window- how do blank republicans abide by or support a rhetoric of diviseness? And you know how we like foreign and how we like to emulate the American ideal- it's no wonder that the divisiness which we are seeing in TnT has become so pervasive and callous among sectorsi in our society- this is the pandemic of hatred we are encountering amidst the backdrop of an election- people wake up and look at a national identity as oppose to one of ethnic divide based on party.
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Christian churches reject racism in T&T
NARISSA FRASER (NEWSDAY).
THE Open Bible Standard Churches of T&T (OBSCTT) and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the West Indies (PAWI) say they are "rejecting racism in all its forms." The latter described it as a "social cancer."
In a press release, OBSCTT sought to remind the public that God loves everyone, "having created every one of us in His image."
"...Racism has shown itself to be very destructive in every nation where it has taken root and been allowed to flourish, damaging populations in many nations. Even though it is natural to have an affinity or a special love for the particular ethnicity or race into which we were born, that affinity should not be the basis to look down upon, ill-speak and ill-treat, harm, endanger, or destroy others of a different ethnicity or race."
It said TT, with its many races and ethnicities, has generally been able to exist harmoniously "despite occasional flare-ups," but added that the most recent attempts to cause racial tension following Monday's general election "must be stopped before it goes any further.
"As a result, we call upon all of us to reject racism, and not to fan the flames of racism but to live consistently and constantly by and teach mutual respect and appreciation for each other."
PAWI shared similar sentiments, saying it "condemns, with all resolve, the manifestation and expression of racism from our multi-ethnic communities, political and religious divide of our beloved nation of TT."
It called for the "elimination and de-escalation" of race rhetoric, adding that the Pentecostal message speaks against five forms of supremacy tendencies: regiocentrism, sexism, ageism, racism and classism.
"We believe that the coming to the front of this social cancer threatens the very fabric of the aspiration of our society to be one of racial harmony, law and order. We, therefore, raise our voices with the full awareness that the insipid presence of racism has plagued the church from its inception, as evident in God’s rebuke to Peter for referring to Gentiles as common and unclean, Acts 10:14, 15.
"We, therefore, call on our political, religious and civil leaders to take the charge and put to death, and to de-escalate the race conflict, rhetoric and forms of institutional racism. We call on our beloved citizens to build our nation to be a place of harmony, peace and stability."
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Christian churches reject racism in T&T
NARISSA FRASER (NEWSDAY).
THE Open Bible Standard Churches of T&T (OBSCTT) and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the West Indies (PAWI) say they are "rejecting racism in all its forms." The latter described it as a "social cancer."
In a press release, OBSCTT sought to remind the public that God loves everyone, "having created every one of us in His image."
"...Racism has shown itself to be very destructive in every nation where it has taken root and been allowed to flourish, damaging populations in many nations. Even though it is natural to have an affinity or a special love for the particular ethnicity or race into which we were born, that affinity should not be the basis to look down upon, ill-speak and ill-treat, harm, endanger, or destroy others of a different ethnicity or race."
It said TT, with its many races and ethnicities, has generally been able to exist harmoniously "despite occasional flare-ups," but added that the most recent attempts to cause racial tension following Monday's general election "must be stopped before it goes any further.
"As a result, we call upon all of us to reject racism, and not to fan the flames of racism but to live consistently and constantly by and teach mutual respect and appreciation for each other."
PAWI shared similar sentiments, saying it "condemns, with all resolve, the manifestation and expression of racism from our multi-ethnic communities, political and religious divide of our beloved nation of TT."
It called for the "elimination and de-escalation" of race rhetoric, adding that the Pentecostal message speaks against five forms of supremacy tendencies: regiocentrism, sexism, ageism, racism and classism.
"We believe that the coming to the front of this social cancer threatens the very fabric of the aspiration of our society to be one of racial harmony, law and order. We, therefore, raise our voices with the full awareness that the insipid presence of racism has plagued the church from its inception, as evident in God’s rebuke to Peter for referring to Gentiles as common and unclean, Acts 10:14, 15.
"We, therefore, call on our political, religious and civil leaders to take the charge and put to death, and to de-escalate the race conflict, rhetoric and forms of institutional racism. We call on our beloved citizens to build our nation to be a place of harmony, peace and stability."
Leah we start calling on specific culprits and have them be identified and apologize and stand up for the crap they are doing- Have people define what they say and mean- still checking the dictionary for what is meant by a " blank man"
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Justice Seepersad: T&T dangerously divided after 58 years of independence
YVONNE WEBB (NEWSDAY).
In a sermon streamed live to the Presbyterian community from the St Andrews Theological College in San Fernando on Sunday, Seepersad – a lay preacher – said, “We have a race relations problem and we have to fix it.”
He attributed some blame to the August 10 general election and warned that a house divided cannot prosper.
“We in this Republic have experienced a regrettable deterioration in our race relations with the build-up and conclusion of our general election.
“Our blessed Republic is reeling from a destructive degree of distrust, disdain, disrespect and dislike among the two major ethnic groups. Too many of us have engaged in race-bashing and discrimination.”
He said this path of divisiveness and discord cannot be allowed to continue.
“Let us not delude ourselves into believing that it is just emotive electoral rhetoric.”
Seepersad said the “hurtful and ill-advised advertisements and social media commentary exposed the entrenched nature of our deep-rooted ethnic biases and the disturbing disconnect between our groups” during the election campaign.
The situation is alarming as it is intolerable, and the discourse has to be diverted away from a discussion about who is more racial than whom, he said.
“We have a problem. Our people are at war with each other and we must address this reality if we are to save ourselves and our children.”
He said households must also refashion and redefine the conversations within the confines of their homes as significant pockets of the population have taught their children to dislike, distrust and disrespect those who are of a different ancestral heritage instead of engendering attitudes of love, respect and inclusivity.
Seepersad said biases must be suppressed and efforts made to address the root societal causes for alienation, societal dysfunction and poverty. National focus must be on a culture of inclusivity and citizenship.
“After decades of independence we still do not have a sense of national identity.”
He said there simply is no room in this small island for "us" against "them.”
“As fellow citizens, we must embrace our diversity and accept that we are all human beings fashioned in the likeness and image of the one true God.”
Seepersad called for consideration to be given to the formation of a “road map for the improvement to race relations and reconciliation” similar to government's road map to economic recovery.
Quoting from Acts Chapter 10, he used the story of the Jew, Peter, entering the home and preaching the gospel to the Gentile, Cornelius, to illustrate how this one act erased hundreds of years of prejudice, hatred and cultural differences.
“We need to be guided by the story of Peter's transformation and revolutionise race relations in this Republic by focusing upon “grace relations.”
He referred to the inspiring “I have a dream” message of the late Dr Martin Luther King Jr and the coexistence he espoused for lasting impressions to be based, not on the colour of a man’s skin, but on the life lived.
“Sadly, that type of coexistence is still elusive, including here in T&T.
“As we celebrate our independence, let us commit to the forging of a society where we are not identified as Indian, African, White, Syrian, Mixed or Chinese.”
Rather, he said, citizens must identify as Trinbagonians and not be defined by ethnicity but by the love for God and country.
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You can be jailed for those racist remarks
Yvonne Baboolal (Express).
If you make comments with offensive racial overtones, you can be forcefully summoned by the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), tried and committed to prison for contempt.
The EOC also has the power to grant an injunction preventing people from using racial language.
And it’s all free.
The offended party does not have to pay for a lawyer. All they have to do is visit the EOC’s Ramsaran Street, Chaguanas, office and make a complaint.
Madam Justice Donna Prowell-Raphael, sole judge of the EOC, reminded citizens there was redress available for racism, during a national virtual symposium on Sunday on race relations in Trinidad and Tobago, hosted by the Faculty of Law, at The University of the West Indies, and the Catholic Commission for Social Justice.
Noting “we’re beginning to see some offensive language on social media”, Prowell-Raphael said this can result in racial hatred.
Newspaper columnist Raymond Ramcharitar, another panellist, like several others at the symposium, traced the recurring race factor in Trinidad and Tobago to politics.
“The State and social systems were designed to create racial strife for political purposes,” he said, “Anti-Indian racism is built into the State and has been from the 19th century.
“Indians have been treated as outsiders and faced a stream of racist rhetoric from the press, the leading citizens of creole Trinidad and other institutions.”
On the controversial topic of Ramsaran’s Dairy Products, he said: “A relative of the owners write a racial post on social media. People go in a frenzy and Ramsaran’s products are pulled off the shelves.”
He said, on the other hand, a stream of anti-Indian comments and articles were treated with significantly less outrage. Ramcharitar claimed the present racial circumstances are significantly driven by the international Black Lives Matter movement, which has found its way into T&T. However, the core of that movement, that blacks are racially victimised by whites, is inapplicable to Trinidad, he said.
“How can a group that has been in power for 48 or 58 years be racially disadvantaged?”
Ramcharitar said it’s because Indians are available to be painted as the oppressors in Trinidad. At the same time, he disembodied the notion that Indians in Trinidad are a disempowered minority. He said the reason the People’s National Movement (PNM) has been in power the longest was because of the absence of a viable opposition.
He quoted from the 1974 Hugh Wooding Commission.
“The opposition spent the pre- and post-Independence periods fighting itself, leaving the PNM to take and colonise the State.”
Ramcharitar said United National Congress (UNC) political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar showed no compunction in sacrificing the national interest in favour of losing the August 10 general election to retain personal status. He said all her predecessors did it.
“Indeed, the Indian parties are characterised by insiders who, when rejected, return to destroy the party.”
Several testimonials from people who said they were victims of racism were read out at the symposium.
One Afro-Trinidad woman said after a general election which the UNC won, an Indian man told her and her family: “Is we time now to spit on n----r.”
She said, ironically, she and her family had voted and campaigned for the UNC.
Many others of mixed ancestry, particularly of Amerindian ethnicity, said they were victims of verbal racial abuse by both Indo and Afro-Trinidadians.
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‘Bachelor’ contestant Rachael Kirkconnell apologizes over racist photo controversy: 'I am ashamed about my lack of education'
Raechal Shewfelt·Editor, Yahoo Entertainment
The Bachelor's Rachael Kirkconnell has apologized.
Kirkconnell, who's a contestant on the current season of the long-running reality series, has faced accusations of racism since last month, when photos surfaced of her attending a fraternity formal with an antebellum plantation theme in 2018. Around the same time, a TikToker made an unverified accusation that Kirkconnell had bullied her in high school for dating a Black guy.
Kirkconnell is white, and she's competing for the heart of Matt James, the show's first ever Black bachelor.
"At one point, I didn't recognize how offensive and racist my actions were, but that doesn't excuse them. My age or when it happened doesn't excuse anything," she said in a statement Thursday afternoon. "There are not acceptable or okay in any sense. I was ignorant, but my ignorance was racist. I am sorry to the communities and individuals that my actions harmed and offended."
The 24-year-old said she was "ashamed" of her lack of education and that she's learning. She also encouraged others to use this as a "teachable moment" to prevent someone else from making the same mistake.
She concluded by saying, "Racial progress and unity are impossible without (white) accountability, and I deserve to be held accountable for my actions." As for forgiveness, Kirkconnell said she hopes to earn it with her actions going forward.
Kirkconnell, who's a contestant on the current season of the long-running reality series, has faced accusations of racism since last month, when photos surfaced of her attending a fraternity formal with an antebellum plantation theme in 2018. Around the same time, a TikToker made an unverified accusation that Kirkconnell had bullied her in high school for dating a Black guy.
Kirkconnell is white, and she's competing for the heart of Matt James, the show's first ever Black bachelor.
"At one point, I didn't recognize how offensive and racist my actions were, but that doesn't excuse them. My age or when it happened doesn't excuse anything," she said in a statement Thursday afternoon. "There are not acceptable or okay in any sense. I was ignorant, but my ignorance was racist. I am sorry to the communities and individuals that my actions harmed and offended."
The 24-year-old said she was "ashamed" of her lack of education and that she's learning. She also encouraged others to use this as a "teachable moment" to prevent someone else from making the same mistake.
She concluded by saying, "Racial progress and unity are impossible without (white) accountability, and I deserve to be held accountable for my actions." As for forgiveness, Kirkconnell said she hopes to earn it with her actions going forward.
Just one day earlier, Bachelor host Chris Harrison issued an apology for having defended Kirkconnell during an interview with Rachel Lindsay, who was the first Black star of The Bachelorette in 2017. When asked about the photos, Harrison initially said people should not be so quick to judge Kirkconnell.
"We all need to have a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion," he said. "Because I have seen some stuff online — this judge, jury, executioner thing where people are just tearing this girl's life apart and diving into, like, her parents, her parents' voting record. It's unbelievably alarming to watch this. I haven't heard Rachael speak on this yet. Until I actually hear this woman have a chance to speak, who am I to say any of this? I saw a picture of her at a sorority party five years ago and that's it."
When Lindsay said the controversial images were "not a good look," Harrison responded by asking if it was a good look in 2018. Lindsay's response was that it was "not a good look ever because she's celebrating the Old South. If I went to that party, what would I represent at that party?"
Harrison argued, "50 million people did that in 2018."
(https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/i.pEBebXKvChHOeBMKyr.A--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MA--/https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2021-02/1112a300-6cd5-11eb-b7bc-50790c4601e5)
Rachael Kirkconnell stars in The Bachelor. (Photo: Instagram)
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For too long in North America the issuseof racism seems to be centered around black white.at what point will we ever see representatives of electric raciliazed individuals ontvshows like the bachelor? Or in commercials?
When will leaders apologized for swaying public opinion and inciting hate? We still have a leader who swore that she uttered " a blank man....... in reference to another leader" and like sheep there is a herd who obidently stood and defended these statements. Why would any sane rational person support leaders or individuals who overtly display or articulate blatant racial discord?
Birds of a feather Fck together -ooops I said Flock