# data[].attributes.body
Though we are indeed characterized by grave intolerance and mistrust, we are a lot better off than we were in the beginning. There have been many movements toward more acceptance across the Caribbean in all spheres of life. Laws have been changed and people have protested. People are becoming more tolerant over time. We see more interracial marriages and more people voting based on facts instead of their race. Though we are separated by many of these factors we are still joint by the fact that we are all Caribbean people. We may be separate in many aspects, but we are still one.

# data[].attributes.body
In each instance of intolerance and mistrust there is some aspect of our identity, the Caribbean identity, tied into it. Our history has shaped us in many ways. It has shaped the way we look at race, religion, education and politics. For the English-speaking countries, the British people have defined many parts of our culture and identity. The way that we live can, in many ways, be attributed to our colonizers. This includes our levels of intolerance and mistrust. This includes the way we look at people who are different from us and people who we deem less worthy. The way we treat our men and women and the way we treat the people of different races and religion can all in some way be attributed to our colonizers.

# data[].attributes.body
In politics there is a great deal of mistrust. Many people do not believe that’s the government is capable of running the country. It does not matter which party is in power, there are always people who are in opposition of the party. This may be for reasons rooted in race among other things.

There is also mistrust in the sales industry of the Caribbean. This mistrust came to be during the time periods of the plantation society and industrialization. Caribbean countries have been forced into a state of dependency during these periods. This is because of the fact that the Caribbean was only used as a place to reap the raw material which was always sent away to be made into a product that would later be purchased by the same Caribbean islands that provided them with the raw materials. Examples of these products are chocolate and oil.

# data[].attributes.body
Apart from in schools, there are many other instances where people of certain religions are treated poorly and given close to no trust.

Since our Caribbean was built on colonization the main religion is Christianity and many adaptations of it. Though Christianity is at the top of the hierarchical order of religion in the Caribbean, it is still criticized along with the other religions in the region whether they be syncretic religions or religions brought from one region to the other.

For some religions, there is an undertone of mistrust from all directions. To demonstrate this, we can consider the Divali festival. For many it is perfectly fine to participate in the cultural celebrations of Divali, however, the problems begin when you try to indulge in the sweets prepared by Hindus. Many do not part take in these treats because “they pray dover these so we can’t eat it.” Many even go as far as not participating in the celebrations in any way, shape, or form.

# data[].attributes.body
Mistrust has been a factor of the Caribbean’s education system from the time it was first instituted by the British colonizers. It was used as a way of control and not truly to educate- the education was merely a disguise. This mistrust, though it manifests itself differently, is still a part of our Caribbean education. There have been countless instances where the integrity of major exams such as S.E.A, C.S.E.C and C.A.P.E have been compromised; many of the exams were leaked before time by people who were paid for these releases. The mistrust also exists between the teachers and parents of the students. Many teachers cannot truly be trusted with their students’ education. These teachers are only there for the pay and have no real interest in the children’s lives or education. There have been instances where teachers refuse to teach at an acceptable standard in school, only to have lessons classes where they teach perfectly and the same students in their classes at school must now join their lessons class and pay extra for something that they are already intitled to.

Along with the mistrust in the education system there is the intolerance. There are many rules in schools, some more blatant than others, that demonstrate intolerance in some way. Some examples are as follows; students of African descent are not allowed to wear their hair out in an afro, many schools even go as far as banning certain hair styles and placing restrictions on hair styles- braids must not pass a certain length and hair must always be in one. These rules are, in many cases, only implemented when it comes to black people while people of other races are left alone because their hair is considered to be ‘neat’. There are also rules that restrict students from wearing religious symbol. There are many primary schools in Trinidad that prohibit the wearing of henna in school even though the wearing of henna is a big part of religion and Caribbean culture.

# data[].attributes.body
Cases of mistrust with respect to gender relate to issues such as sexual division of labour, family affairs and homophobia. According to the oxford university press, sexual division of labour refers to the specialized gender roles of males- breadwinners and females- housewives. It is usually associated with the separation of work which is the public sphere from home which is the private domain. This practice of separating the ‘gendered tasks’ has been around from as early as the neo-indian civilization. Though it was not always seen as a negative thing, this separation has become a boundary that cannot be crossed by men nor women. This has resulted in cases of both intolerance and mistrust; intolerance because when one crosses over into the sphere of the other, they are discriminated against and treated poorly. If we look for example, at the workplace, we can see that in the case where a woman becomes the head of a company, she is still subjected to incidents of sexual harassment, and degrading remarks and behavior. This is as a result of her crossing over from the private sphere of a house wife and home maker to the public sphere of the breadwinner. The divide caused by sexual division of labour has also caused mistrust in areas such as family life. For example, in custody cases where a mother and father a fighting for the full custody of their child it is very rare for the father to be granted full custody. This is because it is believed that a child needs a mother because she is nurturing. According to society, men cannot be trusted to raise a child on their own. They need the help of a woman or else the child is in danger of developmental issues.

Another instance of intolerance and mistrust is the case of homophobia which, according to combined definitions from planned parenthood and Britannica, is the fear, hatred, discomfort with, mistrust or prejudice against homosexuals that sometimes manifests itself in legal restrictions or, in extreme cases, bullying or even violence against homosexuals. The Caribbean is one of the most homophobic regions in the world. This homophobia is rooted in the gender ideals and norms created by the society and the separation set between men and women. This separation, as mentioned before, means that no man should have what is deemed as feminine qualities and vice versa. The crossing over of these two spheres lead to the actualizing of many people’s intolerance and mistrust leading to abuse in many forms. Some forms of abuse are physical abuse and verbal abuse. In terms of mistrust, it can be said that homosexual people are deemed by the public as unfit to parent or have a family. It is significantly harder for a homosexual couple to adopt a child than it is for a heterosexual couple. Homosexual people are also put at a disadvantage in the workplace- for many of them their sexual orientation prevents them from getting a job. This translates across the board. Many homosexual people are refused simple things like housing or even service in certain business places.

In the Caribbean, homosexuality is illegal in nine countries. Trinidad was once a country in which homosexuality was illegal but the 25-year-old law was removed as of April 2018.

# data[].attributes.body
There are many instances of intolerance that are caused because of race. The root of these instances in the Caribbean are linked to major parts of history and labour systems employed throughout history such as encomienda, slavery, colonization, indentured labour and the plantation society. If we look at each of these systems, we see the same underlying theme- the major power at each specific time in history infiltrated a land with a culture that was not their own, uprooting its people, and deeming them uncultured and therefore undeserving of respect.

The first infiltration occurred in the year 1482 when the Spaniards found their way to the Caribbean in search of gold. What they found instead was land occupied by the neo-indian civilization. The Spaniards destroyed the neo-indians’ civilization and culture. They forced the neo-indian people to change their way of life or die. The rest were forced to change their religion, the way they dressed and the way they spoke. These Spaniards were so intolerant and ignorant that they considered this invasion to be a gift to the neo-indian people who later died at the hands of the very Spaniards who invaded their land. The African people suffered a similar fate as they too were forced to change their way of life because of the grave intolerance demonstrated by their colonizers. The east Indian people who migrated to the Caribbean after slavery also faced their fair share of intolerance. They suffered the same way the neo-indians and the Africans did but they also experienced intolerance from the African people who worked on the plantations. Since the Africans were forced to change their ways of life, they believed to a certain extent, in the way of the white man- the way they dressed, spoke and worshiped. This meant that the very Africans who were raped of their culture now judged the East Indians in the same way the white men judged them. They also discriminated against the East Indians because they believed that they came to take their jobs and lower their wages.

There was also extreme mistrust in these times. This was as a result of the very same Spanish, British, French and Dutch colonizers. They spread many rumors about the people whose land they took and the ones they enslaved. Rumors such as these; the Taino people were cannibals and the Africans had no souls and were less than people. Though these statements were untrue and founded on Eurocentric views, they still had lasting effects on the Caribbean. These effects show themselves in places such as the education system where the rumor about the Taino people is still taught as part of the curriculum today.

# data[].attributes.headline
Factors that are affected by this intolerance and mistrust

# data[].attributes.subject
Factors that are affected by this intolerance and mistrust

# data[].attributes.body
*RACE *GENDER *EDUCATION *RELIGION and * OTHER FACTORS

# data[].attributes.body
According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary:
A feeling that you cannot trust somebody/something

# data[].attributes.body
According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary:
The fact of not being willing to accept ideas or ways of behaving that are different from your own

religious intolerance

intolerance of somebody/something intolerance of minorities

intolerance for somebody/something a basic intolerance for other people and their culture