https://padlet.com/eduardofuetes1/cjylsp3mlyzv Caribbean Civilization en-us 2019-11-29 16:58:18 UTC 2025-11-25 12:03:07 UTC hello@padlet.com eduardofuetes1 https://padlet.com/eduardofuetes1/cjylsp3mlyzv/wish/417812918 There is a belief that the Caribbean today is characterised by grave intolerance and mistrust at all levels. In this reflective paper, this statement will be discussed through the themes of race, religion and gender and sexuality with respect to history, society and concepts of identity. Mistrust is defined as being suspicious or having no confidence in something or someone. Intolerance is defined as unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, or behaviour that differ from one's own. In terms of Race, our history of Colonialism, plays a large role in the Caribbean, due to its introduction of the concept of racism and its blatant use by those of European descent. This mind set continues to take root in today’s Caribbean society and affects the mixing of races, political decisions etc. Religion is also affected by Colonialism in relation to the religions brought by each of the diverse races, from their mother land to the Caribbean. As in many cases, when the customs of one religion doesn’t coincide with another, while both practises have to co-exist in the same environment, this leads to a certain amount of mistrust and intolerance. Gender and Sexuality is by far the most dominant theme regarding the formerly mentioned themes. Once a person’s sexual orientation differs from the norms of society, they face discrimination and may even be outcasts in society and religious organizations. At this point, even one’s identity may be in question, leading to not only the formerly mentioned themes, mistrust but intolerance of one’s sexuality may also lead to the person becoming depressed, which is one of the primary mental health issues on the rise, in the Caribbean and the world at large. The theme Race, Religion and Gender and Sexuality will be further analysed with respect to its intolerance in the Caribbean how it causes mistrust in various aspects and the impacts of history, society and the concepts of identity on each theme.

The Caribbean is a multi-cultural society with a wealth of races. The majority being East Indians and Africans. Others that make up a significant portion of the Caribbean are Chinese, Caucasians and Spanish. With regards to the topics of intolerance and mistrust, Racism is a prominent factor that depicts this. This problem, however, dates back to the days of Colonialism. The entire concept, in fact, was introduces by the Europeans due to their Eurocentric beliefs and mind-set that regarded persons of a darker skin colour, which was the Africans and East Indians as inferior and in the aspect of African Slavery, as chattle or property. Due to this disturbing and deranged way of thinking that would dehumanize persons just because of skin colour, many of the descendants of East Indian indentured labourers and African slaves, choose to either stick to their own race, mix between East Indian and African to create a Dougla race, which is very popular in today’s Caribbean society. Many refrain from mixing of races with Europeans due to the ever-prominent history of cruelty and unfairness towards ancestors and the mentality that peopled of colour are inferior to them and are considered low class. There is mistrust that these ways of thinking are still present in the Caucasian race and the feeling of inferiority persists. Hence, the preservation of one’s original race or even the formation of mixed races which were born out of colonialism, gives the Caribbean citizen a sense of identity, one which gives pride and is not considered to be in relation to persons with a Eurocentric mentality. On the contrary, a small percentage of the population do mix with Europeans, bypassing these issues, viewing it as irrelevant or are simply indifferent to the Colonial past. Racism is also present within Caribbean society, maybe not to a large extent but it is significant, though discouraged. For example political parties are sometimes voted into Office by vote of race rather than the actual tasks carried out for the betterment of the country. For example in Trinidad and Tobago, it is often said that the “UNC is the East-Indian party”, while the “PNM is the African party”. The truth of this statement is unknown since each individual has their respective reasons to vote for a particular political party, many of which are unknown, race being a probable reason but not necessarily the main reason. Racism may also be seen at Cultural events, for example, at Diwali programmes, the majority of supporters are East Indians while at Emancipation festivals, Africans are the dominant supporters. On the contrary, one may argue that even though the numbers may be fewer for the opposite races in each festival, both comprise of a mix of supporters including both Africans and East Indians at each event. A bit contrary to these views, festivals like Carnival, which is a trademark of the Caribbean and is a form of culture by which the Caribbean is identified on an international scale, brings people of all races together and unified as one. Yet another speculation may arise from the topic of employment. Many conquer that the Africans tend to dominate the Armed forces and Protective/ Essential services of Trinidad and Tobago, for example the Police, Army, Customs, and Fire service, while a greater percentage of the East Indians tend to lean more towards the Agricultural sectors. However, it must be noted that these are only speculations of observations made by Caribbean citizens and may not represent the views of the general population. These particular examples depicts probable racism but not intolerance, and only partial mistrust, with respect to the governing bodies and persons in authority for recruitment of workers, due to the fact of it being merely speculations, nevertheless quite probable ones.
The Caribbean also has a wealth or religions. This may be considered another product of colonialism. During the periods of Slavery and Indentureship, the practise of one’s native religion was prohibited and Christianity was the major belief system introduced and encouraged, more of an attempt of population control, rather than religious instruction for self- fulfilment. This intolerance of the native religions of the races led each group to put up various forms of resistance to these attempts at the abolition of their native religions. This caused the retention of the African religions; Vodun, Shango, Oresha and Rastafarianism as well as the East Indian religion Hinduism. Hence the reason for the mistrust associated with Christianity, since it was used to gain an unfair advantage over an enslaved people which resulted in harsh treatment, if one deviated from it. However, despite this, Christianity is still one of the most dominant religions in today’s Caribbean society with the number of believers in the faith increasing every day. However todays Caribbean society has religious holidays, for example, Eid-ul-Fitr for Muslims, Diwali for Hindus and Easter for Christians. These add to Caribbean identity and culture and promote a sense of pride in Caribbean individuals with respect to their native religions. An example of intolerance of religion is the fact that student face discrimination for religious practises that do not conform to the rules of schools that are run by religious organizations. For example a student who chooses to follow her religion and grow her hair due to her religion being Rastafarianism is told she has to cut it. Hence, it is intolerable in that school environment, which is unfair since one shouldn’t be restricted by the rules of a religion that one does not follow, regardless of the institution and everyone should be free to express and follow their respective religious practises. Another example would be a Muslim teacher who was denied a job at a school that was run by a Hindu organization due to her wearing a hijab. These intolerance of each other’s religion adds to the grave mistrust that is being experienced in Caribbean society today.

Gender and Sexuality is quite a debatable topic in the Caribbean. Persons whose sexual orientation deviates from the norms of society, are sometimes discriminated against or frowned upon in society. Also, gay marriages is currently illegal in Trinidad and Tobago, which means that the religious associations display intolerance regarding this situation. However, not only religious organizations, but a significant portion of society in general doesn’t approve of homosexuality. Men who are homosexuals are sometimes not regarded as masculine since, they do not subscribe to the traditional hegemonic masculinity. For example, in terms of dress, hairstyles, sensitivity, jobs etc. Traits such as sensitivity and showing emotion are considered feminine traits by this perspective. In this regard, mistrust is created since homosexuals may be faced with the problem of not being able to express themselves fully for fear of ridicule or being judged by society. This can lead to problems such as lack of self- confidence, shying away from confrontation about the topic and eventually being sad or confused about their sexuality since it is a form of identity. The percentage of mental illnesses is on the rise in the Caribbean and the world at large. Teens and young adults who are faced with this problem at an early age is often faced with problems like depression and anxiety if they do not receive the support needed in this situation from parents, friends, and peers. In cases of neglect or ridicule to the individual, the person feels abnormal and ashamed, and sometimes most times religious organizations who are supposed to uplift individuals and be a safe and nurturing environment for its members, may be quite critical of this and in some cases forbid homosexuals from attending services. All of this, leads a person who is struggling with the acceptance of their sexual orientation to feel even more isolated and unaccepted as a part of society that some may resort to  drastic measures like suicide, which all stems from grave mistrust of immediate family or friends, for fear of being ridiculed or judged unfairly. However, homosexuality is becoming more common and prevalent in recent years as compared to the past where it was considered a sin without question and people were even put to death for it in certain countries.

This paper analysed the themes of mistrust and intolerance in the Caribbean with regards to the topics race, religion and gender and sexuality, in terms of society, history and identity. Racism is present in the Caribbean today as it was in the colonial past, which shows much intolerance between races and causes mistrust which affects the mixing of races, influences political decisions etc. Intolerance of each other’s religion is ever present in the Caribbean and leads to a significant amount of mistrust. Gender and Sexuality is by far the most significant source of grave intolerance in the Caribbean which causes ridicule and unfair judgement leading to mistrust, especially among adolescents whose sexual orientation are in question , thereby contributing to the rise in mental illnesses like anxiety and depression in the Caribbean.

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