https://padlet.com/shaunadowner/m3k4wcgoop7w A Student's Perspective en-us 2019-11-21 14:40:41 UTC 2019-11-30 03:30:53 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/434046730/cde2a17bab75ea094e984841d7326ced/20190806_175022.jpg shaunadowner https://padlet.com/shaunadowner/m3k4wcgoop7w/wish/414688055 According to the Cambridge Dictionary, Intolerance is the fact of refusing to accept ideas, beliefs, or behavior that are different from your own, for example racial and religious intolerance.  The Caribbean’s diverse language, ethnicity and cultural differences alone could account for a vast majority of intolerance.  The diversity of the Caribbean can be traced back to its history.  Christopher Columbus who in the view of many discovered Caribbean region, made the Caribbean region a magnet that seemed to attract a large sum of immigrants from Europe.  Though they were not the first on the islands, they came, they conquered and made the Caribbean what they wanted it to be.  A place for high yielding profits.  They brought with them their cultural norms which were imposed upon the locals who settled in the region at the time.  Cultural intolerance would have been around since then as it continues to live on.  The cultural practices brought to the Caribbean region have helped to shape the Caribbean to what it is today.

If one should ask what is the biggest problem that the Caribbean region have underwent, the most common response would probably be slavery.  The influx of European migrants into the Caribbean made it vulnerable.  The Europeans exploited the Caribbean’s resources and, in an effort to maximize on their profits, brought slaves from Africa who worked on the farms.  The importation of slaves from Africa introduced yet another group of people into the region.  By this time, the Caribbean would have met the indigenous people who were the first peoples, the Spanish, French, Dutch and English (Europeans), and the African slaves.  These enslaved people also brought with them their way of life.  The region at this time was marked by economic drives which resulted in the different people coming to the Caribbean.  All of these ethnic groups and the rest that followed after (which will be discussed later) have left a mark in the Caribbean and their cultural practices though some are dying, still exist in different parts of the Caribbean.

Humans are often characterized as boundary-bound people living in society.  Therefore, it is often argued that, while one lives and finds meaning and belonging within the bounds of ethnocultural groups, this membership casts in the “we-they” (in-group-out-group) phenomenon.  With this in-group-out-group situation, people usually reject the practices of those in the out-group.  The person identifies with the in-group based on a variety of different reasons, for example, gender, religion, and race.  People’s tendency to distinguish between in-group and out-group often leads to moral implications.  The Europeans did not accept the way of life of the African slaves, and so, forced them to practice the European culture.  The African slaves as you can imagine did not willingly accept these practices.  The language of the African slaves was highly scrutinized and forbidden.  The slaves, though they were forced to speak the language of their colonial masters formed their own language.  This gave way to the several creole languages, such as the English creole, French creole, etc.  This is one of the many examples of intolerance within the Caribbean at the time.  Today, intolerance exist as we still fail to accept the creole language as an official language, even if it is not named our first language.  Despite the various efforts made to recognize and de-stigmatize our creole language in Jamaica, for example, it is still met with deep intolerance.  Currently there is still an effort to make creole an official language in Jamaica through a petition that was started at the University of the West Indies, Mona.  Jamaicans, just like the average Caribbean people, do not merely yield to defeat, they utilize various means to show their disapproval; this is another evident of intolerance as it pertains to our language.

Caribbean people are often intolerant to new ideas.  Another evident of this can be seen in the internationally recognized same sex marriage.  The Caribbean region fails to accept homosexuality, what some people would consider to be the norm in other parts of the world.  The high level of disapproval is recognized even outside of our boundaries.  In a study of the world’s most dangerous countries for LGBT travelers to visit, Jamaica was ranked 18 out of 150 countries, the third worst in the Caribbean behind eight-ranked Barbados and 12^th ranked St. Lucia.  Other Caribbean countries in the study includes Turks and Caicos at 45, The Bahamas at 46, and Cayman Islands at 53 (as cited in Loop News, Jamaica, Published on November 16, 2019).  This level of intolerance may have arrived from the region’s heavily based Christian faith which highly rejects same sex marriage.  Homosexuals in Jamaica, for example, are usually thrown out of their homes and are then left to live on the streets as their way of life goes against what is widely accepted by the majority.  These homosexuals are sometimes beaten and killed by mobs.  Though the act of beating and killing them have reduced significantly, homosexuality is still not accepted as normal and is still against the law in the Caribbean.  

Another present-day crisis that can be characterized as marked intolerance is the rejection of the way of life of the minority groups living in Jamaica.  Even after the proclamation of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, there are many individuals, communities and societies continue to suffer from the injustices and stigma brought by racism.  While there had been progress in the fight against racism and racial discrimination, it still presents a clear danger to people and communities in all regions of the Caribbean.  Lasting peace can only be built on the premise that all people had equal rights regardless of gender, racial, social or other status.  Some will be quick to tell you that racism does not exist. But did this racism just disappear, or did it take on another form?  They say that energy never dies, it only transforms into something else.  In the same breath, racism if not present today like some proclaim, has transformed into what we call classism.  Yes Classism, because not all people have equal access to good health, education, food and other basic amenities.  Frankly speaking, the quality of education or even healthcare that you get will depend on your social class. The lower class people cannot afford to pay for the expensive medical care that is most often the best.  If you take a guess as to who makes up majority of the lower class then you will most likely be correct; the same people whose ancestors were plantation slaves.  So, did racism really disappear, of did it just take another form? While you think about this question, I’ll say this, the people whose ancestors were the colonial masters are today living the lavish life that was set for them the exploitation of these minority groups.   

Social Stratification which is still present in our contemporary society is a well- structured form of inequality.  Social groups are today ranked in order of power, prestige and wealth of their members.  The stratification system that existed during the plantation system was closed.  However, today, this stratification system is more opened as opportunities can move a person from one rank to another whether up or down, mainly due to education.  Though the contemporary Caribbean has an open stratification system, this system creates a high level of mistrust between people of the different ranks.  The lower ranking people have no confidence in the higher-ranking people as they believe that they are exploited by them.  This type of mistrust came from the exploitation of the slaves by the colonial masters.  The colonial masters were able to afford their prestige life at the expense of the oppressed people.  Therefore, it is not surprising that even today, the minority have no trust in these people who they consider to be self-serving.  The disparity between these two groups is vastly contrasting in their way of life, educational goals and attainment and even their beliefs.    

From political leaders to the media, religious leaders to the captains of the industry, there is a serious issue of mistrust in the Caribbean.  The low voter turnout in the last general elections in Jamaica could have had many meanings.  One such meaning being the lack of confidence and trust in the political leaders regardless of which party is in power.  It is the common belief of many people that voting these days does not make sense as it doesn’t matter which party is in power, it is the same.  The voter turn out was only 47.7% which offers a drill down into the deeper wound that may have been created, regarding the nature of political expectations, disappointments and cynicism.  With the recent upsurge of fraud in Jamaica among the diplomats, the mistrust of these leaders who are often found to be abusing public funds and fraudulently squandering these funds, the trust and confidence in them will continue to diminish. 

Similar to the loss of trust in the political leaders, the Caribbean people, and on a much smaller scale, Jamaicans, have lost their trust in the Security forces, especially in the Constabulary Force.  Abuse of power, fraud and criminal activities are just some of the many wrongdoings to which the Security Forces are usually called out on.  When an Officer stops a motorist for example, they can expect to either go left or right in Jamaican terms, which mean you either leave something with the officer, which is usually monetary or the Officer writes the ticket,  which in fact is what they should be doing as a part of their jobs and not exploiting citizens.  This continues to be a growing concern as the lack of trust in the security forces is one of the several reasons why persons do not come forward to give information concerning criminal activities.   

To sum up, the Caribbean today is characterized by grave intolerance and mistrust at all levels.  This mistrust and intolerance is rooted in our historical backgrounds and remains with us as do the memories of what we faced as a people from different race and ethnic groups arising from successive waves of migrants from Europe who then brought the African Slaves and subsequently invited different people after the end of slavery to fill the gaps and continue with the sugar industry.  The Caribbean continues to face the clash of the cultures even in the present day.  The level of mistrust created during slavery by the Colonial masters continues to progress as some of the practices during the period are still present but disguised and in some cases transformed into other things.  







 

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