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Racism In Trinidad & Tobago - Race - Racist

Racism In Trinidad & Tobago

Do you think racialism is integrated into society? Before you 'jump' to answer… Here are some questions to ponder from actual 'scenes' in daily life. Do not answer each question, but make a general statement as to if you think racists are rampant in our society.

1. If you were of African or Indian descent would you feel comfortable approaching a Syrian for a date without wondering if you will be rejected.
2. If you were going for a job interview at a known company and you sat on a bench that had a local white, Indian, African, and Chinese sitting on the same bench all with the same qualification and degree - who do you think will most likely get the job?
3. As an Indian would you feel comfortable wearing the typical african dress to your next formal occasion?
4. If you are a Syrian - do you really see yourself as 'white' knowing that in Britain you would be considered black? Further to this question… Do you find it easy to portray 'dominance' because your skin seems lighter?
5. If you saw a blonde blue eyed woman walking on the beach with a pitch black Rasla what is your first impression about them… They just want sex, the woman, easy, the Rastafarian rich, or they have real love for each other.
6. Executive Management in your work place tends to be dominated by what race? Conversely, what race tends to have the 'lesser' work?
7. Why do people choose political rulers based on race?
8. Do you think most residential areas are mixed or segregated?
9. Is schools based on race, money or intelligence. Depending on your answer which one seems to be dominant in the prestigious schools.
10. If a group of typical Trinidadian guys were sitting on a corner and several girls passed at the same time each from one of the typical races (White/black/indian/etc) and all were beautiful which one would the black guy go after, the Indian guy, etc…
11. Lastly, do you get angry if someone calls you 'nigger', 'Colliee', 'negro', 'honky', 'Chinee' or some other term or would you rather they give you a color such as… Black, white, brown, or would you prefer that they specifically name you by ancestral country such as Africa, India, China, etc?
12. If a salesman came to sell you a great deal - would you most likely buy it if he were Indian, African, Syrian or an European?

Okay so now what are your opinions or experiences. Please let us know what ethnic background you are from too and the circumstances of your situation if you had one.

Racist Race Tobago and Trinidad Racism

Wow, this is a controversial issue. I'm not a Trini citizen but I am a legal resident so I think I can give some thoughts on this without being kicked.
I think race issues is a big problem in Trinidad and Tobago. Some people accept it, other people denied it. As a foreigner living in TT, I can say that from the first time I reached here I noticed the 'war' between Africans and Indians and how the so called 'local whites' are the ones who get the better jobs and positions in companies.
When you go to the mall, most sales girls tend to approach the lighter-skin person than the darker one (like if because you're light-skinned, you have lots of money!)
People tend to treat you better if you're from a specific race and background. I don't want to sound so bad, but I think Trinis are very superficial in the deals with people. They just see the outlook and nothing else is important.
Of course there are exceptions but as I said, I speak based on my experience as a foreigner living in Trinidad.
Regards to the typical Trini men, they go after ANY girl... Thin, thick, short, tall, black, Indian, Chinese, Spanish or white...

Racism In Trinidad & Tobago - Race - Racist Caribbean / Tobago & Trinidad

I am a(an): Trinidadian

I am an: East indian


I will answer  those questions I can (I have to do it this way to avoid confusion)

Q1. Yes I will feel comfortable approaching a Syrian or any race (if I were so inclined to do so). If someone rejects me based on my race, they aren't worth my time anyway

Q3. I do wear head wraps, which is a type of African wear. I see  it as experimenting with my own sense of style, and it is also comfortable.

Q5. I have seen this. I must admit, it still surprises me, but I don't think anything that you mentioned. I only wonder what kinds of reactions they get from people they meet.

Q7. I think people hold the view that their own race will do more for them if they are in power. They fail to realize that most politicians work to benefit themselves.

Q11. I prefer people not use terms such as "coolie" etc. "Black, white"etc. Suits me much more

Racist Race Tobago and Trinidad Racism

QUOTE

"Black, white"etc. suits me much more

This is my personal opinion, but I think using a 'color' seems to emphasize what we hope to avoid. If I say... he is 'black'... I mean can anyone truly be 'black'. Sometimes there are very fair people that are refered to as 'black'. What about if I said, 'African' or 'Afro', I think that would immediately describe how the person looked. If the person was fair, I could say 'Euro-Afro' or something like that. It would give more sense. Another reason I say this is because places like the UK and som parts of the US do not distinguish anything that is not 'white'. For instance they may say, 'black' and refer to anyone that is hispanic, African or Indian.

Racist Race Tobago and Trinidad Racism

I am Trinidadian...but I've been living in America the last 8 years

I am mixed.  African, white, spanish....so I have black African hair, light eyes, fair skin.

My comments on racism in Trinidad are based on my experience in moving to America.  So I don't know if it applies or not but here goes....

I never knew I was a colour until I moved to America.  It did not seem to be a big deal when I was in T& T (but that might just be me).  However, I do remember not getting into some of the night clubs because I was not a *member* and all the members seemed to be of one race!  And coming to think of it, I never felt like I fit in.  There seemed to be cliques at school that were based predominantly on race...but on the other hand, no one was unfriendly to me based on my race.  I just didn't belong to any of the cliques.

Racism In Trinidad & Tobago - Race - Racist

QUOTE

I never knew I was a colour until I moved to America.  It did not seem to be a big deal when I was in T& T (but that might just be me).  However, I do remember not getting into some of the night clubs because I was not a *member* and all the members seemed to be of one race!  And coming to think of it, I never felt like I fit in.  There seemed to be cliques at school that were based predominantly on race...but on the other hand, no one was unfriendly to me based on my race.  I just didn't belong to any of the cliques.

I heard that a lot of people who are 'mix' in the USA suffer the same thing you're telling us. The blacks do not want them because they don't think they're 'black enough' and the whites because they see them as 'black'. So it must be so confussing specially for children to deal with this. Personally I think this is so sad, knowing we are in the year 2003 almost 2004 and we think so 'primitive'.

Racism Trinidad & Tobago Race Racist

I"ll preface this by saying that I was a born in T&T of East Indian ancestry and have lived most of my life in Canada. I believe one of the rudimentary steps in addressing a problem is admitting that you have one. I do not contend to have my hand on the pulse of matters in the country but continue to hear the resounding echo of the ever-present theme in Trinidadian society and it reminds me of Ben Franklin's quote 'the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Growing up I was never afforded the luxury of learning to hate and to develop prejudices or perhaps I just didn't remember it. I taught a student from T&T and found it odd that I had a difficult time connecting with this person and for the life of me could not understand the source of his hostility toward me until he wrote a paper about the "Racism in T & T. In his cognitive development, he had internalized and embraced the hatred and resentment that had been an integral part of his parents" world. Years later, I had the opportunity to teach a student of similar background however, it appeared that he was not subjected to the negative parental influence and I"m happy to say that we still maintain a close relationship. The empirical data supports the common wisdom regarding the development of these attitudes and adjunctive behaviors.

Racialism is too closely associated with racism and it has been historical evidenced and used to promote this construct. It is a great idea but requires a different moniker, as it is tantamount to naming your son Adolph in the hope that he would have a relatively normal life. Canadians have the concept of multiculturalism that essentially encourages citizens to practice and celebrate their culture under the umbrella of the nation state. Amongst other things anything it fosters tolerance and assists in deconstructing ignorance. Tribalism will continue to occur on scale but like it or not we are increasingly being referenced in the global context and in that light we must rely on the rule of law and the utilization of democratic process in setting the agenda in lobbying for the introduction, institution and strengthen existing laws and processes that seeks to remove these odious practices from any association with the state.

Trinidadians can pride themselves in the understanding that it's most important commodity that has been shared with the world has not been oil but the wealth of human resources; creativity, intelligence and political awareness, to note a few and the attainment of what may seem to be improbable, in consideration of the aforementioned is quite tenable.

Edited: Charles R on 28th Dec, 2006 - 11:43pm

Racism Trinidad & Tobago Race Racist Trinidad & Tobago / Caribbean

Well written. I have found that race is an issue mostly for people who do not have things go their way. All too often someone makes a rather rash statement, and cannot find a real reason for their hasty words so they bring it down to such a base resolve as the person's race for the criterion of their insults. An example of this is someone being given a 'bad drive' while on the road, and the one who is victim of it blurts out a racial slur as the reason for the radical driver's action, rather than his lack of defensive driving or simple stupidity.