https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv "The Caribbean today is characterized by grave intolerance and mistrust at all levels" Exploring our history, society and concepts of identity, give your informed perspective on this statement. en-us 2019-11-28 04:24:54 UTC 2024-03-06 03:28:49 UTC hello@padlet.com daniel_ramroop https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417348786 From Caribbean History, the Caribbean can be distinguished as a discriminatory region stemming from the era of colonisation which helped shape the Caribbean identity.
 During the period of colonisation, several types of discrimination arose, such as:
 1)Racism 
 2)Gender Discrimination 
 3)Sexual Orientation 
 4)Ageism 
 5)Creedism

]]> 2019-11-28 04:27:23 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417348786 daniel_ramroop https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417351905 2019-11-28 04:51:04 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417351905 daniel_ramroop https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417351985 When the East Indians came to the Caribbean, they had a patriarchal type of family where men dominated over women as they were usually termed as the "bread winners." If a family faced financial constraints and was faced with the dilemma of choosing their daughter or their son to have a right to an education, they usually allowed their son to have this privilege as he would one day, become the "bread winner" of his family and their daughter would marry into a family and be taken care of.  Mohammed stated in her book, Caribbean Studies for CAPE examinations, " Patriarchy gives rise to several fairly stable sexist beliefs and attitudes which threaten social justice." Sexism is present today in the workplace where men are generally seen as "leaders" and therefore obtain managerial positions as compared to women as they are not seen "fit" for these positions despite their qualifications. Women are therefore experiencing the glass ceiling syndrome. Intolerance and mistrust is seen in the workplace where the lower paying jobs are usually reserved for women while men are dominating the jobs which offer a higher salary. To add to this,  under patriarchy, women are seen as inferior to men and as such, sexual harassment is experienced by women in the labor market. Women are promised higher positions and higher salaries for sexual favors. However, women today are striving to achieve social mobility by using education as a means to climb the social ladder. Another form of discrimination against women is domestic violence which includes a huge range of abuse such as:
. A male relative or spouse inflicting psychological, sexual or physical trauma to the woman.
. Financial abuse, which can be as a result of the male partner prohibiting his female partner from working or by simply taking her salary after she is paid. As such, she has no choice but to depend on her spouse and he has the choice whether he wants to give her access to his finances or not. 

While gender discrimination is predominantly geared towards women, men also experience gender discrimination. In society, men are stereotyped as "strong" and are not allowed to express their feelings by crying otherwise they are seen as weak and feminine. Another way in which Males experience discrimination in the Caribbean is seen in the court room after a divorce. Women are given preference over the men to have custody of their child/children after a divorce. Additionally, men are denied paternity leave to be with their newborn while women are usually granted maternity leave. As a result, men are seen to have no confidence in the justice system as they feel that the justice system favors women.]]> 2019-11-28 04:51:40 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417351985 daniel_ramroop https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417354635 2019-11-28 05:11:43 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417354635 daniel_ramroop https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417358289 2019-11-28 05:39:59 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417358289 daniel_ramroop https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417358734 Another example of intolerance when it comes to religion is that of discrimination against Rastafarians. Rastafarians face discrimination in the workplace as well as in schools because of their dreadlocked appearance and marijuana use.  Verma, 2018 posted an article that displayed the discrimination towards a 12 year old boy who was told to cut his dreadlocks before entering the school. In the article, his mother, Tuesday Flanders, said "As parents we place our trust in schools and teachers to help mould our children’s lives through education, but that should never place restrictions on their identity or their ability to express their religious beliefs.”  As such we can see the mistrust that is placed in schools and other organisations because of incidents like these. (https://rightsinfo.org/school-discriminated-against-rastafarian-schoolboy-over-dreadlocks/)]]> 2019-11-28 05:42:38 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417358734 daniel_ramroop https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417362393  Another form of intolerance is seen in the prejudice of sexual orientation of someone. One of the reasons why homosexuality is not accepted today is as a result of what the Bible says. When Christopher Columbus ventured upon the Caribbean one of his main goals was to promote and convert everyone to Christianity. The Europeans sought to Christianise the entire Caribbean so as to keep everyone mentally enslaved. The Indigenous People, under the Encomienda system and the African slaves were forced to learn the Christian faith. In so doing, the Spaniards were able to spread the Christian faith throughout the Caribbean despite being faced with some resistance. In the Bible it is stated, Lev. 20:13, "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death." While a church plays an important role in social welfare and is supposed to allow persons to practice good morals and ethics, many persons of homosexual relationships have no trust or faith in the church as they face discrimination by the church. Discrimination against the LGBTQ community is seen in many daily activities. They are faced with harassment, verbal and physical abuse.
Jamaica is said to be the most homophobic nation within the Caribbean. West, 2014 published an article in The Guardian stating, "Jamaica has a bad reputation for anti-gay prejudice. This small island in the Caribbean has become notorious not only for its anti-gay laws, political rhetoric and murders, but also for its broad societal acceptance of severe sexual prejudice and openly hostile music." (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/06/jamaica-music-anti-gay-dancehall-homophobia)  He also mentioned Jamaican Dancehall star, Buju Banton's song "Boom Bye Bye" which has a message to "shoot a gay man in his head" Consequently, many LGBTQ activists groups have arisen due to this discrimination against homosexuals and they fight for the rights and protection of the LGBTQ community ]]> 2019-11-28 06:07:41 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417362393 daniel_ramroop https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417364800 Mohammed, Jeniffer. "Caribbean Studies for CAPE Examination." Macmillan Publishers Limited 2007, 2015. 

Williams, Eric. "Capitalism & Slavery." Unisa Press, 2010. 

Verma, Rahul. "School Discriminated Against Rastafarian Schoolboy Over Dreadlocks." Human Rights News, Views & Info, 2018. 

Wrights, Simon. "After 56 years of independence racism still a major factor." Trinidad Express, 2018.

Boodram, Kim. "T&T has a cancer. It's called corruption." Trinidad Express, 2018. 

James, King. "Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments: King James Version." American Bible Society, 2010. ]]> 2019-11-28 06:22:59 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417364800 daniel_ramroop https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417494435 "Slavery was not born out of racism: rather, racism was the consequence of slavery." This is what Eric Williams had to say in his book, "Capitalism and Slavery." After the Europeans exploited the Indigenous people in the Encomienda System, the African Slave trade began. 
The Africans were brought to the Caribbean by force and they were also separated from their family. Unlike the whites, the African slaves were not allowed to have a family. As such, visiting type and single parent relationships existed and still does, to date. The Plantation System that existed was simply a means of exploiting labor from the blacks to maximize the profits for the Europeans. They were exploited in ways such that their working conditions were deplorable, they were not allowed to have a stable family life like the Europeans, they were denied the right to education and they were also forbidden from practising their religion. The enslaved Africans were also prohibited from playing their drums as the whites thought that this was a means of communication. In the colonial Caribbean, during slavery, social stratification existed and the members of each strata was based on pigmentocracy. The whites were at the top and were of a higher status as compared to the blacks who were at the bottom of this said pyramid. The middle class comprised of the coloureds and the free blacks, where miscegenation of races took place. The whites were therefore seen as superior to the blacks and hence they were more privileged thereby having greater access to wealth and resources, education and health care. As a result of this, the blacks were faced with poverty, lack of social mobility and till date the single parent and visiting type relationships still exist. 

]]> 2019-11-28 13:51:40 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417494435 daniel_ramroop https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417503568 Racism is a factor which has played a major role in the development of the Caribbean. For example, Trinidad and Tobago's election process is First Past The Post System which is an election process where the government of the state is democratically elected into office based on which political party wins the majority of constituents. While political parties were formed to move away from the British rule and allowed for the development of the region, the development was hindered because of the racism that segregates each political party from the main goal which is to further develop the Caribbean. However Wright, 2018 published an article in the Trinidad Express stating, "Independence day celebrations have come and gone in Trinidad and Tobago, but racism is still a factor in this country and seems here to stay.We may have made great progress as a nation over the past 56 years, but throughout T&T ethnicity is still a critical factor in elements of social importance and everyday activities and is restricting us from making further progress as an independent nation.We will never reach our full potential as a nation because racism has been deeply embedded in our thinking. It is a major factor in politics as some people vote and make their decisions solely based on race." (https://trinidadexpress.com/opinion/letters/after-years-of-independence-racism-still-a-major-factor/article_d8c89be4-afe4-11e8-b461-db5b17e9e449.html). The racism that exists which was as a result of slavery has caused great mistrust in the Government and members of the opposition from the Nation's people as corruption within the Government is quite evident. Boodram, 2018 stated in the Trinidad Express , “FIXIN’ T&T has consistently stated that corruption is the ultimate evil. Corruption destroys families, communities, economies and countries. The perceived ineffectiveness with which white collar crime and allegations of misconduct by public officials are treated, fuels criminal activity at every level." (https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/t-t-has-a-cancer-it-s-called-corruption/article_eca986a0-e365-11e8-8cbb-0b1c102b13c7.html)

]]> 2019-11-28 14:24:35 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417503568 daniel_ramroop https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417613666 Youth unemployment is a major problem that the Caribbean is experiencing as it has social implications since they are faced with poverty and therefore turn to other avenues to sustain themselves and usually depend on older persons to take care of them.  Trinidad and Jamaica for example has high crime rates as these unemployed persons turn to crime as a solution. Society has stereotyped the younger generation as lazy,  reckless and irresponsible. At the work place, they are turned down because they are told that they are not experienced. Not limited to the youths of the Caribbean but this discrimination is also experienced by the older population in the workplace. They are classified as slow, inefficient and are incapable of having innovative ideas. As such, the country is unable to achieve it's full potential in terms of development and productivity as society does not allow all it's members to contribute to the growth and development of the country and by extension, the region. Mohammed, 2015 wrote in her book, Caribbean Studies For CAPE Examinations, "Perhaps the greatest act of discrimination which is enshrined in law is compulsory retirement, usually at 65 years."]]> 2019-11-28 23:49:07 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417613666 daniel_ramroop https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417620990 Creedism is a form of discrimination against one's religious beliefs. This stemmed from the discovery of the Caribbean by Christopher Columbus. His main intention was to discover Asia in search of the three G's known as Gold, Glory and God. When he discovered the Caribbean, he did not find Gold but he interacted with many Indigenous people, namely the Kalinago (Caribs) and the Tainos (Arawaks). With instructions from the King and Queen of Spain, and the beginning of the Encomienda System, the Indigenous people were promised protection, food and care if they accepted the Christian faith. However this was not the case. If they did not accept the Christian faith they would usually be killed. During colonialism, the Europeans also prohibited the African slaves from practicing their religion and were forced to accept the Christian faith.  They were not allowed to play drums, dance or communicate with each other in any way. Consequently, African and Christian syncretic religions such as Spiritual Baptist, Orisha and Shango were created. Mohammed in her book, Caribbean Studies For CAPE Examinations, said, "In 1917 the Shouters Prohibition Ordinance was passed in Trinidad and Tobago and became law. It was quite simply an act of religious discrimination." ]]> 2019-11-29 00:54:24 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417620990 daniel_ramroop https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417636745 2019-11-29 02:39:10 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417636745 daniel_ramroop https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417641527 2019-11-29 03:06:32 UTC https://padlet.com/daniel_ramroop/qd4il2dav2xv/wish/417641527