At My Crossroads

The hate and the quake by Sir Hilary Beckles

2010-01-18T17:43:00.000-05:00

From the Nation Newspaper [Barbados - Published on: 1/17/2010]

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES is in the process of conceiving how best to deliver a major conference on the theme Rethinking And Rebuilding Haiti.

I am very keen to provide an input into this exercise because for too long there has been a popular perception that somehow the Haitian nation-building project, launched on January 1, 1804, has failed on account of mismanagement, ineptitude, corruption.

Buried beneath the rubble of imperial propaganda, out of both Western Europe and the United States, is the evidence which shows that Haiti's independence was defeated by an aggressive North-Atlantic alliance that could not imagine their world inhabited by a free regime of Africans as representatives of the newly emerging democracy.

The evidence is striking, especially in the context of France.

The Haitians fought for their freedom and won, as did the Americans fifty years earlier. The Americans declared their independence and crafted an extraordinary constitution that set out a clear message about the value of humanity and the right to freedom, justice, and liberty.

In the midst of this brilliant discourse, they chose to retain slavery as the basis of the new nation state. The founding fathers therefore could not see beyond race, as the free state was built on a slavery foundation.

The water was poisoned in the well; the Americans went back to the battlefield a century later to resolve the fact that slavery and freedom could not comfortably co-exist in the same place.

The French, also, declared freedom, fraternity and equality as the new philosophies of their national transformation and gave the modern world a tremendous progressive boost by so doing.

They abolished slavery, but Napoleon Bonaparte could not imagine the republic without slavery and targeted the Haitians for a new, more intense regime of slavery. The British agreed, as did the Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese.

All were linked in communion over the 500 000 Blacks in Haiti, the most populous and prosperous Caribbean colony.

As the jewel of the Caribbean, they all wanted to get their hands on it. With a massive slave base, the English, French and Dutch salivated over owning it - and the people.

The people won a ten-year war, the bloodiest in modern history, and declared their independence. Every other country in the Americas was based on slavery.

Haiti was freedom, and proceeded to place in its 1805 Independence Constitution that any person of African descent who arrived on its shores would be declared free, and a citizen of the republic.

For the first time since slavery had commenced, Blacks were the subjects of mass freedom and citizenship in a nation.

The French refused to recognise Haiti's independence and declared it an illegal pariah state. The Americans, whom the Haitians looked to in solidarity as their mentor in independence, refused to recognise them, and offered solidarity instead to the French. The British, who were negotiating with the French to obtain the ownership title to Haiti, also moved in solidarity, as did every other nation-state the Western world.

Haiti was isolated at birth - ostracised and denied access to world trade, finance, and institutional development. It was the most vicious example of national strangulation recorded in modern history.

The Cubans, at least, have had Russia, China, and Vietnam. The Haitians were alone from inception. The crumbling began.

Then came 1825; the moment of full truth. The republic is celebrating its 21st anniversary. There is national euphoria in the streets of Port-au-Prince.

The economy is bankrupt; the political leadership isolated. The cabinet took the decision that the state of affairs could not continue.

The country had to find a way to be inserted back into the world economy. The French government was invited to a summit.

Officials arrived and told the Haitian government that they were willing to recognise the country as a sovereign nation but it would have to pay compensation and reparation in exchange. The Haitians, with backs to the wall, agreed to pay the French.

The French government sent a team of accountants and actuaries into Haiti in order to place a value on all lands, all physical assets, the 500 000 citizens were who formerly enslaved, animals, and all other commercial properties and services.

The sums amounted to 150 million gold francs. Haiti was told to pay this reparation to France in return for national recognition.

The Haitian government agreed; payments began immediately. Members of the Cabinet were also valued because they had been enslaved people before independence.

Thus began the systematic destruction of the Republic of Haiti. The French government bled the nation and rendered it a failed state. It was a merciless exploitation that was designed and guaranteed to collapse the Haitian economy and society.

Haiti was forced to pay this sum until 1922 when the last instalment was made. During the long 19th century, the payment to France amounted to up to 70 per cent of the country's foreign exchange earnings.

Jamaica today pays up to 70 per cent in order to service its international and domestic debt. Haiti was crushed by this debt payment. It descended into financial and social chaos.

The republic did not stand a chance. France was enriched and it took pleasure from the fact that having been defeated by Haitians on the battlefield, it had won on the field of finance. In the years when the coffee crops failed, or the sugar yield was down, the Haitian government borrowed on the French money market at double the going interest rate in order to repay the French government.

When the Americans invaded the country in the early 20th century, one of the reasons offered was to assist the French in collecting its reparations.

The collapse of the Haitian nation resides at the feet of France and America, especially. These two nations betrayed, failed, and destroyed the dream that was Haiti; crushed to dust in an effort to destroy the flower of freedom and the seed of justice.

Haiti did not fail. It was destroyed by two of the most powerful nations on earth, both of which continue to have a primary interest in its current condition.

The sudden quake has come in the aftermath of summers of hate. In many ways the quake has been less destructive than the hate.

Human life was snuffed out by the quake, while the hate has been a long and inhumane suffocation - a crime against humanity.

During the 2001 UN Conference on Race in Durban, South Africa, strong representation was made to the French government to repay the 150 million francs.

The value of this amount was estimated by financial actuaries as US$21 billion. This sum of capital could rebuild Haiti and place it in a position to re-engage the modern world. It was illegally extracted from the Haitian people and should be repaid.

It is stolen wealth. In so doing, France could discharge its moral obligation to the Haitian people.

For a nation that prides itself in the celebration of modern diplomacy, France, in order to exist with the moral authority of this diplomacy in this post-modern world, should do the just and legal thing.

Such an act at the outset of this century would open the door for a sophisticated interface of past and present, and set the Haitian nation free at last.

***Sir Hilary Beckles is pro-vice-chancellor and Principal of the Cave Hill Campus, UWI.***

The Pearl of the Antilles

2010-01-14T23:18:00.002-05:00

THIS IS A COMMENTARY FOR RADIO I WROTE IN 2004 ABOUT HAITI. I THINK MOST OF IT IS STILL APPLICABLE NOW, I WISH I COULD HAVE POSTED THE ACTUAL AUDIO,WITH THE SOUND EFFECTS.

The Pearl of the Antilles has been devalued,
The country that once brought France its greatest riches now staggers,
her back bent with shame as many watch and wonder why she even bothers to try to stand,
But now it's time to stop watching and hold out a hand,
To help to strengthen bones which have suffered years of arthritic pains,

Haiti, a country that spent most of its youth fighting for the rights of black people in the Western Hemisphere,
A country that gave many others in the Caribbean the inspiration to fight for freedom and stood as testimony that that freedom could be had,
Such a country cannot be allowed to be brought to her knees, her significance in history is too great for bystanders to watch her disintegrate.
CARICOM must intervene in whatever way possible,
What is the significance of CARICOM if it cannot help its members in a time of need,
What of being our brothers' keeper?

A country which rendered help to so many other Caribbean countries in the fight against slavery and colonialism cannot be ignored,
The fact is that, at this point, without outside help to start restoring Haiti from the core, Haiti will continue to struggle and fail at restoring order,
The interim government cannot restore order to Haiti,

Haiti has been affected by too many disasters which are not her own doing,
Hurricanes, disease, economic and political turmoil, the recent flooding in Gonaives, which left thousands homeless have been part of the bitter portion given Haiti.
Haiti is not capable at the moment of pulling herself up by her own bootstraps,because she has taken so much battering that even with the will, she cannot find a way.

Her neighbours, friends, brothers and sisters, must help her find that way,
taking in Haitian refugees may seem like a friendly and helpful gesture,
But who will continue to take in boatfuls of refugees?
Can this be done for Haiti's more than eight million population?
A different approach must be taken.

Haiti has the will, she still has the fighting spirit,
She is only in need of health care to sooth her aching, hurting body,
she needs food for strength and good sound advice to help her on the path to restoration.

What Haiti doesn't need is another military invasion and the use of force,
show her love, and stretch a helping hand.
It is being abandoned that has helped to perpetuate her problems,
Embargoes have been her fate, no one has wanted to associate themselves with her,
She was alone in her battle for freedom, has been alone in trying to maintain it, even in the face of major hardships.

Haiti is tired of being alone,
she needs friends that will step forward to help polish her and restore her to her former glory as the Pearl of the Antilles.

Too Smart for God

2010-01-07T21:09:00.001-05:00

“How can such a smart person believe such nonsense?”

That’s a question many atheists ask, especially when the person in question is someone society would normally consider intelligent, well-educated or even a free thinker in some cases. This scenario is actually quite mind boggling for the atheist who is sometimes disappointed a person they looked up to as ‘sensible’ actually believes such ‘nonsense’.

In the minds of many, logic and religion cannot coexist; you are either really gullible to believe in a god or you are smart and past such ‘low-level’ thinking. The smart man mouths off theories from Marx and others explaining how religion is an opiate for people desperate to explain their miserable lives. Many say it is merely a social construct designed to keep social order.

Those who believe in a god tend to reject these opinions, and in many cases are even offended by it. It’s been said that many people tend to flaunt their atheism like a badge of honour signaling how liberated they are, how smart and superior they are for managing to rise above the ‘murky’ waters of religion. They think many atheists are not as liberated as they think they are because they arrive at their position on religion not from in-depth study of the world’s belief systems, but just by the fact that they think they will appear to be intelligent by rejecting the existence of a god.

But it’s very hard to convince the atheist that their thinking on the subject of god and logic is wrong. After all, there is consensus among researchers that more intelligent people tend not to believe in religion. This is the result even when the researchers are Christian conservatives themselves, as even a 1995 Gallup poll corroborates these findings.

It is simple indeed: religion and the idea of god leaves many questions unanswered which a logical thinker is not prepared to accept by faith.

So are atheists mostly puffed up people too high on their so called intelligence that they can’t recognise the existence of god? Are they the silly ones considering that a vast majority of the world’s population actually believe in a supreme being? Or will the atheist one day be able to say “I told you so, god is just another fairytale character”?

Are you too smart for God?

I Hate Ignorant People!!!!!

2009-08-17T19:53:00.004-05:00

I'm writing this post and I am extremely upset. Here I am minding my own business when my 'friend' (I'm still not sure if I should call anyone so ignorant my friend), bursts out that she doesn't understand the 'hype' over Jamaica's Independence or over the Emancipation of slaves.

To put this into context, Emancipation Day was celebrated on August 1 and marks the day black slaves were considered free men, the day when they would not have to toil under their masters' whip. The day when blacks could try to reclaim their dignity and stop being chattel to their white owners, mere animals created for nothing else but manual labour. Jamaica also celebrated its independence from Britain on August 6. Several events were held across the island to commemorate these two events.

So back to my ignorant 'friend', I could let it slide about the independence thing. Though I am fiercely patriotic, I can understand if people feel disillusioned by the fact that our country still has so many problems. Her Emancipation comment rocked me to the core though and I am seriously contemplating slashing her from my list of friends.

I mean how can you use the word 'hype' in the same sentence as Emancipation? I tried to explain to her that Emancipation is not about hype in the first place, and that secondly I thought she was ignorant for having the gall to be ungrateful that so many thousands of people died so that we could be free. In Jamaica here, many persons were hanged for starting the freedom uprisings. In the US people were lynched for having the audacity to be black and breathe the same air as whites.

Mark you, reflecting on Emancipation is not a time to be bitter and to hate whites, it's a time to celebrate the coming of age of the human race on a whole and the end of ignorance (which my 'friend' seems intent on perpetuating). Therefore, how can you even have the balls to after suggesting there is too much hype around Emancipation say you are not even sure we are better off being free? To me, that's an affront to our ancestors and shows that person is really better off being a slave, because, clearly that person does not deserve to walk among humans as equals, because while as a race we have not fulfilled our potential in several areas, the hope that our forefathers had when they fought for emancipation is still alive and the dreams of our forefathers can still be realised.

I don't even feel any way about being so harsh, anyone that ignorant does not deserve consideration. Anyone who even for a moment thinks that perhaps I would be better off in chains, chopping sugar cane or picking cotton cannot be my friend. Anyone who thinks being treated like an animal and being sold like goods could have any positive sides CANNOT be my friend. Anyone who thinks like this is certainly still a slave.

World Championship

2009-08-16T17:09:00.005-05:00

OK, so this weekend I've been glued to my TV, heart pounding, anxiety mounting, but feeling on top of the world. This weekend was the start of the World Championships in Berlin, Germany. if you know anything of Jamaica you'll know we are athletics (esp track) fanatics....we also have the calibre athletes to justify our love of the sport.

Biggest treat today?

USAIN BOLT BROKE THE WORLD RECORD AGAIN!!!!!!

This means he has lowered the mark from 9.69 to 9.58...is that even conceivable? Also, my personal favourite, Asafa Powell, placed third in a race which saw him running the best in a long time. What can i say, I'm proud of my Jamaican boys.

Only negative to the 100m race was Tyson Gay cursing at the end as if he thought he would have won Bolt. I think it would have been more in keeping with the spirit of sports, if he enjoyed the moment and thanked God his name would be a part of history, after all he was in a history-making race. To make things worse, the guy ran the best race of his life, lowering the American record, running faster than he would have dreamt of running a year ago, yet he was too vexed to even celebrate his achievement. I really hate sore losers.

Anyway, I'm signing out now, cause i gotta rest so i can catch some more races tomorrow! two medals to down, many more to come!!!!

Sleeping on the Job

2009-08-12T12:43:00.003-05:00

Since I'm at work, nodding off because I was on the phone for over 5 hours last night with my honey, and didn't get to bed until almost 5 a.m., I might as well just do a proper introduction of myself. Yeah I know, I have a profile page; but have you really looked on that measly one line that I have used to describe myself?

I think one of the things I'm proudest to be identified as is Jamaican. I know there is no rhyme or reason to being overly patriotic, especially when your country is poor, sometimes gets international headlines for wrong reasons (human rights violations, especially by the police; marijuana exports; murder rate; and a host of other undesirble things my countrymen get up to). But, on the whole, this country is full of passion, people are genuinely warm, the weather is heavenly, and most of all we know how to sing and dance even through the worst most depressing circumstances. Plus Jamaicans are hilarious, maybe in a later post I'll elaborate on some of the funny things that we laugh among ourselves about and regale you with some Jamaican expletives. haha!

Anyhoo, I'm a journalist who up to January this year worked for the leading Caribbean newspaper. I'm a trained radio broadcaster and have worked with two radio stations. I currently work in the government information service as a print reporter.

I'm also a student at the University of the West Indies, who is pretending to complete her masters in International Relations. My thesis focuses on international trade law, specifically dispute settlement at the World Trade Organisation.

I'm not very family oriented, but I am very close to one of my brothers. I have 4 brothers and four sisters by the way (yeah i know, that's a lot). I am the last child :)

Funny how you can't think of anything to say about yourself when you decide to write about youself. Just reminds me of one of the worst questions i've been posed: "Um so, tell me about yourself" Who the hell can actually respond to such a request?

As if my day at a boring job, couldn't get any worse; my housemate just called to tell me the power company has disconnected our electricity. It's so depressing too considering we just got around to calculating the bills this morning and she was supposed to pay them today. Just another thing when you procrastinate, now it's going to cost us more to get it reconnecetd. Not to menion it's so embarrassing having your lights cut off! YIKES!!!

Ever felt workday blues? Tell me so we can both feel miserable (lol). Also, what is one thing about yourself you are most proud of without any really tangible reason?

Happy Day

2009-08-10T14:37:00.005-05:00

Today is one of those days that I get a glimpse of what I'd like for my life. Not necessarily what I did today, since I'm mostly staying home, chatting with a friend who is crashing with me a bit, listening to music and of course blogging. The most significant thing about today is that I can do anything I want to. It's my day off and I'm not bogged down by the demands of work. I don't have a boss to please, nor am I stressing about writing what is pleasing to my editor. I can do anything, write anything. This is what I want, freedom. I just haven't fully worked out how I'll make money, how I'll fill the hours and what I really want to do. I'm figuring it out though, you can see my journey on my other blog: http://oneonecocoa.wordpress.com

Two posts ago I pondered whether to make my blog more personal, rather than only discuss my opinions on particular issues I might be thinking about at the moment, I think the decision is that I'll make this blog a little more personal.

So, as a symbol of my keeping things close to home here, here's a text I sent my boyfriend today. Contrary to my last post I must be feeling pretty in love today. haha

I'm here wondering why I sometimes risk losing you for silly things or just for the sake of being stubborn when I am so in love with you and when losing you would be the worst thing that could happen to me. I'm going to try harder, I promise. I love you.

Do you think it is OK to want to make changes for your significant other? How far should you go? What should you NEVER do?

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Love's Labours Lost

2009-08-04T09:17:00.003-05:00

All or nothing...that's how it is with emotions. You can't just feel one and not the others....It's all of them or none of them. You also can't half love or half hate...it's all or nothing.

I used to feel nothing, no real love, no real hate, no real sadness and no real joy. I loved it as much as one who cannot love could ever love a thing, with appreciation and with the satisfaction of knowing I was in control.

At age 15, I had made a vow to myself. I had realised that feelings and caring about people involved a risk to ones own self. After suffering at the luck of the draw, having family hurt me just because I wanted them to love me, I realised it was better not gambling. You see, if you don't let people close enough to care about them, then they can't hurt you. So, I made a pact with myself, I would never feel again, and I would never cry again. It worked. My life was content. I only broke my no-crying rule on my 18th birthday. I just thought I deserved a cry afte three years. After that night I resumed keeping my promise to protect myself.

This promise was well kept until after I completed my undergraduate studies at 21. He tried for two years unseuccessfully to break down my defenses. I weighed my options and decided to give love a chance. That was my first mistake.

I'm learning now it's not possible to select the emotions I feel. You let in one, you let in all. Is it worth it feeling love when with it comes doubt, sadness, distrust and an unexplained aching within?

Another lesson, I can't help crying when i'm sad, frustrated or watch a particularly touching movie. So, with the emotions has returned my tendency to wear my feelings on my sleeve and to express those feelings outwardly, especially with tears.

They say it's better to have loved and lossed than to have never loved at all. But is it? Is it really better to feel the pain that can come with love than to blissfully go about not knowing what love feels like and, by extension, what it feels like to be burned by love?

Should I resurrect this blog?

2009-08-03T15:32:00.005-05:00

Just passing through here and wondering, 'Should I ressurect this blog?' I have such a fleeting attention span, a personality that starts one project enthusiastically then forgets it just as quickly. However, sometimes I feel I need an outlet, a place I can let my thoughts run free. I think I should return to this blog and start to give it some loving.

I have been a bit down in the dumps feeling like I have not been doing what I should to ensure my life is what I want it to be. Since making my last post here, I was laid off from a job that I worked at for four years, a newspaper company. I relocated back home for a little while, then got a new job and came back to the city. Since that time i've broken up with my boyfriend and gotten back together. In April my father died. I have reverted to having a roommate as I have less income from my new job than what I made at the old job and, therefore, can no longer afford an apartment of my own. That pretty much sums up the last six months. If this spell of blog enthusiasm continues, I might get into detail about some of these events.

I'll probably be needing this blog a lot in the next few months so i'm optimistic i'll post at least for a while. I think I should also make my blog a little more personal. Things to ponder, even as I ponder resurrecting this blog.

I'm A Mass Of Contradictions

2009-01-13T02:39:00.001-05:00

I'm carefree, but I'm calculated

I'm friendly, but I'm aloof

I'm lazy, but I'm hardworking

I'm trustworthy, but I'm secretive

I'm open minded, but I have boundaries

I'm wise, But I'm foolish

I'm lucid, but I'm irrational

I love company, but I love being alone

I'm warm, but I'm cold

Should I blame people if they think I'm a two-faced bitch?

New Year Reflection

2009-01-01T21:02:00.001-05:00

2008 came and went, yet it's all a blur to me. I can barely separate 2008 into moments. How can i when it seems to have been just one short, fleeting moment.

Where are the big plans i made, all the grand goals i would accomplish by the end of the year?

Another year wasted procrastinating, second guessing, loafing, doing nothing...I was going to discover my purpose, my strengths and my true love (whatever that thing or person is)...the world was going to discover me, i was going to make strides, people were going to start feeling my presence, my worth.

How many opportunities have been lost procrastinating?

Well, 2008 was a great vacation. I spent it with friends who've been there for me for years and that for me was the highlight.

Now on to 2009, and i'm declaring it a year of action. Hold me to it! This year it's going to be different...I won't spend January 1, 2010 writing another reflection on the year i don't remember...in fact i won't have to write a reflection--- because you will remember it.

No sex...but you let him eat it

2009-01-01T19:05:00.006-05:00

There are many girls who are doing their best to preserve their virtue, saving that virginity for the honeymoon with Mr Right. Others might not be virgins but aren't in a committed relationship and, therefore, are choosy about who they go to bed with. They would rather have no sex than wake up regretting the deed.

What's a girl to do when the urges are strong and there are so many men ready to satisfy them. Let him eat it of course! after all it is not sex....or is it?

You might not want to have sex for whatever reason, maybe as mentioned above you are saving youself for someone special, or you might just not want to give in too early in the relationship and have him lose respect for you. So why are there so many girls who are refusing to have intercourse with a guy, but feel no way about letting him perform oral sex on them?

Oral sex is sex, isn't it? Isn't that why they have the word 'sex' follow 'oral'? Is the girl who saves it for her wedding night but has had oral sex performed on her still virtuous? Will giving a man oral sex instead of intercourse preserve your virtue? Will he think you have self restraint because you didn't let him 'hit it'?

I've heard a man liken the vagina to heaven. According to him, it doesn't matter to a man whether you had intercourse with him or you allowed him to eat it. He says once the man has been given any access to that 'heaven', he will count it. According to him, if you have oral sex, you may as well have sex. If he would have lost respect for you because you were too easy to bed, he will still lose respect for you for allowing him to perfom oral sex on you. The theory is that you have already allowed him access to that most sacred of places....your 'heaven'

So are you really preserving your virtue by not letting him go all the way? Will he see it as self restraint? Will he understand that you only did it to please him?

You see many girls justify allowing oral sex but not intercourse by saying he was pressuring her and she thought that was the best compromise. You don't want to lose your virtue by having intercourse, but you don't want him to lose interest and move on because you were playing hard to bed.

But will he really be satisfied with just giving you oral sex? Won't he think that he's got his foot inside the door, on step closer to being inside that heaven? You see, most guys are depending on the sexual feelings to overwhelm you, sweep you up, build until you start begging for him to enter you, to fill that most sacred of places. He thinks it's just a matter of progression, that you are just playing hard to get because you really want to do it. He just needs to hit the right buttons to speed it up and assure you you're doing nothing wrong. You're just doing what every girl does and your nos are really "yes, please! don't listen to me. I just have to do this but please, please, #@*& me!"

So, no sex...but you let him eat it?

Rape of Jamaica

2008-12-09T13:34:00.000-05:00

Mother of us all
Place of our birth
How can we stand aside
And watch the rape of the world

This the beginning of the end
This the most heinous of crimes
This the deadliest of sins
The greatest violation of all time
Mother of us all
Place of our birth
We all are witness
To the rape of the world

That excerpt from Tracey Chapman Rape of the World fully expresses how I feel about what's happening in Jamaica today. My beloved country is crying out, Criminals are taking over and this land of wood and water has turned to the land of bloodstains and tears.

Been wanting to write this since yesterday when I first saw pictures of policemen helping to move almost 200 residents of a St catherine community out of their homes because they were branded as INFORMERS by gunmen and told to move that very day. Seeing it on THE STAR front page just ressurected that sadness I felt when I first heard the story.

Why were policemen helping these people who had worked for years to finally own a home to move out? Why were they helping the criminals to win? Shouldn't policemen be helping people to feel safe in their homes? Or are they afraid too, so they tell the people "better unuh flee cause we caan help unuh'?

But you see that's what happens when policemen start to witness area leaders signing peace accords and so called cease fire pacts. Mark sheilds being in August Town to witness such a pact being signed between criminals just highlights the fact that the police can't stop crime. It's as if we are at the mercy of criminals and that unless they decide the war will stop, then they cannot be stopped and we have to stand helplessly by and watch them overrun our country. But what else do we expect?

What else can we expect when just today two more policemen were charged for corruption. What can we do when more than 70 cops have been charged for corruption since the start of the year...and these numbers i'm sure in no way reflect the number of corrupt cops in the force.

I tell you, we all are witnessing the rape of Jamaica, our children are being raped, killed and discarded like garbage, everywhere men and women are being gunned down in the worst way. Everyday our hearts become more hardened, it's getting to the point where people will walk past a dead body on the road and just go about their businesses without batting an eye. I am guillty too, because leaving North Stree one night after work I didn't even turn a curious look down the road even though I knew a body was still on the ground, the bullet still warm inside the wound. Who cares? Just another dead body.

Mother of us all
Place of our birth
How can we stand aside
And watch the rape of the world

That's what my current facebook status means, we wait for some god or super power to save us when we don't realise it's each of us who has to do our part to save ourselves and our country.

THERE ARE NO SAVIOURS THAT ARE GOING TO COME AND RESCUE US, WE ARE OUR OWN SAVIOURS.

Fat is contagious

2008-03-12T22:24:00.008-05:00

This is a fictional book cover done by Kimberly Brittingham. She is an overweight woman in New York who designed the cover as an experiment to explore discrimination against obese persons. The story she tells of people's responses is very shocking, not because these persons reactions were somewhat peculiar, but rather because it highlights how common they are. You can read Her Account of the experiment for yourself.

Comments on the experiment can also be found on this site.

I believe the fact that we are having this conversation points to the fact that discrimination will continue to flourish in one form or another. People like to alienate anyone who is not like them or appears to be an oddity. While it is true that being overweight presents numerous health risks, the motivation to criticize does not originate from concern.

From my own experiences I find people tend to be critical of anyone who is not like them. For example I'm quite a skinny girl and people might think slim people have life easy, but it's not so. People still say mean things about your weight without even stopping to check their facts. If I got a dollar for every time people made comments about me being anorexic or starving myself, I would not have time to write this blog cause I'd be too busy spending my money.

This is not to say I can relate to a fat person's experience especially, experiences which involve people scorning you just because of your weight. At the end of the day it's up to each person to cultivate an acceptance of themselves and try to move past other people's negativity.

Anyway just had to make this post after hearing the story about the experiment...you go Kimberly!!!

Feminism Destroying Society

2008-03-12T22:12:00.004-05:00

“In their battle to erase sex differences in every facet of modern life, feminists have squared off against Mother Nature, and she's no feminist. All of these women who make the world worse by waging a destructive war between the sexes are at war with Mother Nature." Kate O'Bierne

I sat riveted by a television programme on the cable station EWTN this week. Kate O'Bierne, author of the new book Women Who Make the World Worse purported that the feminist movement has hurt (American) women far more than it has helped them over the last 40 years.

O'Bierne's interview cited examples of how feminism has devastated American society: fracturing families; indicting little boys as oppressors and potential rapists; making American schools and workplaces into battlefields to advance feminist causes; and criticisng working mothers who afford their children "a soulless" daycare upbringing.

O'Beirne suggests that the feminist agenda is, at its core, not pro-female at all; it is instead anti-male, and she dismisses the prevailing feminist's line that men are the enemy of women's progress, suggesting that it is the professional feminists (Sen Hillary Clinton, Jane Fonda, Germaine Greer, Gloria Steinem and even "Carrie Bradshaw" of Sex and the City et al), that are most harming America and the rest of the world.

This article can be found at:
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/html/20060114t200000-0500_96574_obs_feminism_gone_wrong_.asp

Thought this article was quite interesting and was wondering what others thought about teh premises presented in the piece. Withholding my opinion for a later post.

Grills and styling gel

2008-03-10T14:32:00.004-05:00

Grills and styling gel are fighting to be number one on my list of things that that black people could do without.

Styling gel I just hate cause I really don't know why so many people have to use it to make these ghetto fabulous hairstyles that not even a hurricane could mess up. No really, why do we hate our hair so much as black people that we have to subject it to bondage...thank god the jerri curl is gone...now can we do away with the styling gel?

Now onto grills...people find all kinds of reasons to look down on black people, now come on do we really need to give them more? Why would you want to cover up your pearly whites with something that looks like cavities in your mouth, is hard to speak with and I'm sure causes saliva to accumulate in your mouth? Come on, having grills on your teeth is not any sign of being hip, cool or rich, just a sign you will pay any amount of money to make yourselves look like poppy show.

People stop embarrassing me, especially you rappers...I'm tired of being associated with such stereotypes of blackness and tired of feeling embarrassed when I see you with your metal teeth on my tv.

Carnival vs Passa Passa

2008-03-10T13:09:00.009-05:00

If you are a Jamaican or a Caribbean national then chances are you have heard of Passa Passa and carnival. This article is not specifically about the parties themselves but about how ideas of class and decency are dealt with in relation to the two.

Now I'm writing from my own biased point of view that I've tried to justify for sometime (unsuccessfully I might add) but to which I still seem to hold determinedly.

If you've ever watched any dancehall related clips (on youtube, the dancehall channel or where ever) that show women and men dancing together you will notice the dancing seems to be a little (well a lot) degrading to the woman. there appears to be no respect for the woman's body. She is thrown all about the place, the men jump on top of her and she performs all kinds of sexually explicit moves to get "the video light". I'm usually disgusted seeing these women allow themselves to sink to such levels. I'm especially appalled when I see women go to Passa Passa (a street dance) and other such events without panties on. These women will then proceed to dance exposing themselves to all and sundry, even going as far as to ensure their pubic area is captured on film by whichever videographer is present.

But my boyfriend has carefully pointed out to me how hypocritical I am because I am a big fan of carnival. catch me at any soca fete and I'll be wining away on whoever is near. According to him carnival is even worse because at carnival every and anyone has licence to come wine up on you and usually you and these persons are wearing almost nothing. I once participated in a carnival road march while at university and thinking on it for real i was basically prancing around on the road in panties and a bra because that's how small the costumes were, and I definitely wasn't being bashful about bending over and wining and jiggling. After all carnival is a time to get mad and lose my inhibitions.

Looking at both scenarios I have to admit even in my biased state that they are quite similar. why then do I look down on one and not the other? Apparently the whole class dynamics is at work even in matters of entertainment. therefore, it's ok for uptown, rich people to jump and prance in the streets in their underwear but not ok for downtown people to do the same?

Link to see a passa passa clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABjg4stSVNU

And a link for a carnival clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MYYzyoIdYs&feature=related

Watch and decide for yourself if I'm biased or one is more degrading for women. Maybe neither puts women in a good light.

ciao

The Value of Education

2008-03-09T03:38:00.000-05:00

Growing up adults and everyone for that matter always say "Education is the key to success." lately I've been feeling this isn't true. Case in point, I'm 23 with a degree from a recognised university, and will soon finish my masters degree yet it's almost impossible to find a job.

I mean a real job, not any dead-end, paycheck to paycheck job (not that those are easy to get either). Granted this is not a rich country and the job market is a bit saturated, but still I see other people getting jobs I know they aren't qualified for...so why can't I get a job that I QUALIFY for? That's because education doesn't matter, being able to do a job doesn't matter. Who you know is what matters. I can testify, that's how I got my first job.

That's why sometimes I sometimes wish (foolishly some may say) that I had been born twenty years earlier, when education was a truly liberating achievement. Today you slave and study and cover yourself in debt (student loans) before you even reach twenty and at the end of the day for what?

You may say I should value education for the sheer joy of learning and not just as a tool for getting a job and a better standard of living. However I don't think anyone borrows money to go to school just for the intrinsic benefit of knowledge. Hell! we would all just cram into public libraries or stay on the internet and Google all day if we simply wanted to learn new things. But we go to university so we can get that piece of paper to prove we are "smart" so we can get a job and money.

So if we can't get the job after all that...What the hell is the value of a university education?

WELCOME TO ME!!!

2008-03-09T03:24:00.001-05:00

New to the blogging scene but I have been reading some blogs and find the debate on some of the pages to be very interesting. I'm an opinionated person who loves to hear other people's opinions as well, so I'm hoping my page will one day grow to be a lively forum for discussions.

I have no idea how I'm going to sustain these blogs, hopefully ya'll will help me out. Most of the blogs I've read are written by Americans therefore I was hoping I could use this space to give some other viewpoint...a Jamaican one. (Don't misunderstand me, I wont claim to speak for all Jamaicans...just this one.)

Welcome to me and to you!!!!