What is a Trini to the bone?

[Tallman]

Trinidad Express Letter

Ever since I first heard the expression "Trini to the bone", I have been trying to analyse the expression. One person said that he is better, since he was "Trini to the marrow" however, this was said at a mas camp, this should have given me a clue.

We have a President who loves a fete and he is considered "Trini to the bone", another clue, some media photographers show people wrapped in the national flag and they are considered "Trini to the bone", another clue.

I look around and see that very few things work to improve the quality of life for us in Trinbago, I hear and see corruption as people, put in positions to make a difference in the lives of the citizenry, are incompetent yet they are drawing large salaries and driving fancy cars even as the nation is falling apart.

We have voted for a political party since 1956 which was out of office for two occasions, and in that time major things to improve Trinbago have been non-existent. The roads, transportation, electricity, water, education, academic and trades, agriculture, sanitation, crime all have fallen by the wayside although money is flowing in Trinbago.

What has "improved" is the amount of drugs and sophisticated guns and lawlessness which is rampant in the nation, and we have a PM who said that crime is temporary and that he knows who are the gang leaders, that he will lock down the country, as he has all of these grandiose plans (eye in the sky, blimp with sophisticated radar and listening devices, radar with 360 degree capability).

This jokey PM said that the solution is prayers as if Trinbagonians haven't been praying ever since our ancestors were brought either as slaves or indentured servants. We have fools who say that "God is a Trini" so therefore why should we worry, just be a "Trini to the bone", play mas, wine and go down, listen and sing to nonsensical calysoes, dress up in the national colours and that is all. In the meanwhile foreign companies control us economically, but we are "Trini to the bone".

I can only hope that Trinbagonians, those who have eyes to see and those who have been fooled for all of these years, will do what they have to do at the coming election and vote out the puppet masters those who are exploiting us. We have been fooled for too long. We are not independent.

Trinbago for the Trinbagonians!!

Kwadwo Mensah

[AB.Trini]

Ok Mr. Mensah,
Your points are well taken about the rising rate of crime etc.... but you neglect to also mention the improvemnets along social infrastructure, and development. The malise you mentioned cannot be so simplistic be attributed to the government. One ony has to see the prevailing shift in cultural norms, values and beliefs to see that crime and rampant inadequacies in society is not endemic to TNT alone.

Culture is not static nor does it operate in a vacum; the ills of society is far beyond the ruling governance of a government. Yes ther are measures which if implemented  may work to reduce the ills we are seeing but keep in mind the rapidity of technological advancements, the rampant avaliability of weapons, the sophisticated organized crime elements have surpassed measures to curtail these corrosive elements in society.

To solely blame the government as the main culprit or as the harbingers of morality and the answer to our woes is too simplistic. As a people each and everyone has to introspectively examine our actions and decide if we are part of the solution or part of the problem. Do you think another ruling party woul dbe different? Do you think that another ruling party would solve the woes we now have? What i the opposition doing now to worl alongside the ruling party to assit with measures to reduce the ills of society?

When man could put aside egos, the thirst for POWER, PRIVILEGE, and STATUS and work in ways to improve the economy, and the individual lives of its citizens then we could  move unto a road of recovery.

[ribbit]

hey albertatrini,

i don't think he's targetting JUST the government in this letter. he's targetting the "trini to the bone" concept - the overly zealous, "wrap one's self in the trini flag" culture where objectivity and self criticism are eschewed. one nation shouldn't mean one mind.