The Dilemma of Nationality

Twice this week I have heard statements, though quite innocent, are loaded with racist slur or maybe I should say nationalistic slant. One was "Despite the love-hate relationship between our countries I still bringing Trinidad because they are Caribbean." This was said when discussions were going on prior to the recent Trinidadian World Cup match. Sadly Trinidad was defeated. Well done guys. I think you are winners whether you have won a trophy or not. You have again shown the world that Trinidad and the Caribbean are World Class and not Third World. The other was a discussion about two educators one obviously not liking the other. The reason...one was from Guyana and the other from Trinidad. I find it so interesting that we despise the US and UK for racism exhibited in these countries and right here in our region we have the same thing going on. Some may argue that it not as overt and that is a different thing etc. In my mind I am unable to distinguish between the two.

Why is there a love hate relationship between the Jamaicans and Trinidadians? Why do Guyanese and Trinidadians dislike each other? Yes I am generalizing a bit but I do so against the background that these discussions are on the road. Jamaicans have a saying "If a nuh so, a near so it go". Translation: What is said and heard about a situation is not usually far from the truth.

I find it interesting against the background of the Carib bloggers. Can you imagine me disliking SmallIslandGirl simply because I know she is from T&T and vice-versa. I've never met the lady. From her writings she seems to be a pretty decent and interesting person. On what basis could I dislike her? Let us move therefore to a national level...Jamaica has a population of 2.5 million. Trinidad has a population of about 1.1 million. Most Jamaicans have never been in contact with a Trinidadian and vice versa. So what propels us to this negative view of persons simply because of nationality?

I can say quite confidently that I have had a cultural enlightenment by my treks around the Carib blogs. I have read about food and drinks that are still a vague concept but one day I hope to sample simply because I have had this limited interaction with other persons from our region. Maybe we need to educate our countrymen some more...

Remember that what we see of each other does not represent the whole. We may dislike things about the persons we meet but that does not provide just cause for us to dislike their nations people.

Later all.

Just a Pop In

Just a "Howdy" to the blog world. You know my story by now so I won't bore you with the details. I'll just sum it all up in one word....SCHOOL. 14 weeks of work is done during the summer in just 10 weeks so yuh know seh crammin haffi gwaan. The assignment schedules don't change so we are still required to submit the same volume of work. Not nice. On a better note it seems as if the research proposal that we had done last semester was better than we expected and so we should have no problems in the actual research. On an even better note I am officially starting my countdown (humour me..it keeps me sane), we have only 3 semesters remaining till the end of my programme. OK...so it is a whole year but it sound shorter when we say it in semesters.

Rest assured I still read a bit but it has become very sporadic. So you'll see a comment here and there but until otherwise advised, I am very much alive.

There's nothing worse than a Doctor's Receptionist who insists you tell her what is wrong with you in a room full of other patients. I know most of us have experienced this, and I love the way this old guy handled it. An 86-year-old man walked into a crowded Doctor's Waiting Room. As he approached the desk, the Receptionist said, "Yes sir, what are you seeing the Doctor for today?" "There's something wrong with my dick," he replied. The Receptionist became irritated and said, "You shouldn't come into a crowded Doctor's Room and say things like that." "Why not? You asked me what was wrong and I told you," he said. The Receptionist replied, "You've obviously caused some embarrassment in this room full of people. You should have said there is something wrong with your ear or something and then discussed the problem further with the Doctor in private." The man replied, "You shouldn't ask people things in a room full of others, if the answer could embarrass anyone." The man walked out, waited several minutes and then re-entered. The Receptionist smiled smugly and asked, "Yes?" "There's something wrong with my ear," he stated. The Receptionist nodded approvingly and smiled, knowing he had taken her advice. "And what is wrong with your ear, Sir?" I can't piss out of it," the man replied. The Waiting Room erupted in laughter. That's it for a Friday post guys. Enjoy the weekend.

A Gay Batwoman?!!?!!!!!!?.....Alrighty Then :-S

Quite interesting. I think even our comic book super heroes or heroines or somewhere in-between have jumped on the "I am gay and loving it" bandwagon. This actually made NBC news this morning. that Batwoman is to be re-introduced into the DC comic lineup as a lesbian crime fighter. I guess they need a counterpart so I figure that catwoman will soon come out of the closet as well......

What has our world come? Really now.....leave the comics out of the sexual revolution nuh.........

Frankly, I find this ridiculous :(

(oh before I forget the photo is from the BBC web site see the story here or the other stories here or maybe here)