https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706 en-us 2019-11-27 15:04:21 UTC 2019-11-29 04:55:25 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f334.png selenamarie_christian https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417169915 There is the popular opinion that the Caribbean today is characterised by grave intolerance at all levels. According to Oxford dictionary,"Intolerance is defined as the unwillingness to accept views,beliefs and behaviours that differs from one's own." This is seen through the various injustices in our society. Examples of intolerance in the Caribbean are racial discrimination, ethnic discrimination and gender inequality.]]> 2019-11-27 15:18:39 UTC https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417169915 selenamarie_christian https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417189128 The late Dr Eric Williams in his book Capitalism and Slavery said that,"Slavery was not born of racism but rather racism was the consequence of slavery.".Racism in prominent in Caribbean society today. This is due to colonisation of the Caribbean by European powers in their persuit to increase their wealth and power. Lance Selfa wrote in an article entitled The roots of racism,"Racism is a form of opression which stems from discrimination against a group of people based on the idea that some inherited characteristic makes them inferior to their oppressors." In order for production to take place, a labour source is required. This is where slavery and indentureship came into play.
After emancipation in 1834, the Apprenticeship system was used. The African slaves were required to work for fifty hours a week with no pay, food rent and clothing were withheld by the planters and they were sometimes whipped by the planters and Stipendiary Magistrates. This resulted in large numbers of ex-slaves leaving the plantation to form free villages and some migrated for higher wages. Thus the planters were left without a labour force once again.
The planters therefore resorted to the Indentureship Scheme.This scheme was the beginning of tension in the region between the blacks and the immigrants. According to an article by Cheddi Jagan and Moses Nagamootooo, "The African genrally had an African as a driver and it was common for a Chinese to have a Chinese but the Indian immigrants had an African driver." The African driver was therefore seen as superior to the Indian immigrants. The Africans were given cane cutting jobs for 60 - 85 cents a day whereas the Indian immigrants had to weeding for 20- 45 cents a day. The Indians were also excluded from jobs such as engineering and sugar boiling. However when the land settlements were created for the Indian immigrants, the Africans were excluded and this fueled the tension between the two groups.



]]> 2019-11-27 16:09:41 UTC https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417189128 selenamarie_christian https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417323851 Although Caribbean society is no longer characterised by the rigid plantation system of the past, race still plays a major role in the social mobility of Caribbean people today. This can be seen in the workplace where two persons applied for a position, one of African decent and the other of white decent.Most likely the person of white decent would be given the position. Racism is also seen on social media. In an article entitled, 'Silent Racism' Still Plagues Caribbean,Antigua's Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer expresses his disgusts with racist comments he read on the Bernews website. He singled out one comment where the person said that white people were not the blame to the hinderance of black advencement and that black people were offered opportunities to return to Liberia and they did not go.Spencer said that this type of stereotyping reminded him of the bad old days.]]> 2019-11-28 02:04:39 UTC https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417323851 selenamarie_christian https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417332356 Another form in which intolerance is seen in Caribbean society is in ethnic discrimination. This, like racism, was due to colonialism as any culture that was not of the planter class was considered to be inferior.The Europeans used their culture as the benchmark in which they judged the cultures of the labourers. Through this eurocentric view, the labourers were seen as uncivlised.The enslaved were banned from practicing their religions on the plantation and forced to adopt the culture of the planter class. ]]> 2019-11-28 02:47:31 UTC https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417332356 selenamarie_christian https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417339396 One particular group that faces a lot of discrimination in today's society is the Muslims. They are assumed to be terrorists. Due to this stereotypre people act nervously around them and employers refuse to hire them.Ethnic discrimination is prominent in Suriname. Suriname is a plural society. A plural society, according to M.G Smith, is defined as a society that consists of different ethnic groups that do not mix or share their institutions. In these plural societies racism is high especially around general elections. This is also seen in Trinidad where political parties are divided by race. This leads to minority groups not having a voice and hence are neglected.However on Friday 13th October,2017, Trinidad and Tobago celebrated its first First Peoples' Day to recognize the Amerindian group and their contribution to our rich diversity and culture but it has not been celebrated since.
Religions such as Shouter Baptist and Orisha are refered to as 'obeah' in Trinidad. They are seen as inferior to Christianity, Hinduism and Islam.Another instance of ethnic discrimination is in an article written in 2016 when 11 major Indo-Trinidadian cultural events were excluded from the Ministry of Community and Development,Culture and the Arts of Trinidad and Tobago's calendar of the arts,culture and community events. The East Indians make up 35.43 percent of the population of Trinidad and Tobago most of which are Hindu and the second largest religious group in the country. People began to wonder is there was ethnic equity within the hierarchy of the ministry as Christian events were listed but those of East Indian origins excluded.]]> 2019-11-28 03:22:29 UTC https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417339396 selenamarie_christian https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417573323 Gender inequality has been an issue in the Caribbean region since the beginning of time. For example with the Amerindians the women were expected to take care of the crops and the children. They had to prepare the meals when the men came back from hunting. African, white,Indian and chinese women all had similar roles. These gender roles still exist today.
Women in modern Caribbean society face problems acquiring the same payment as a man who has the same job. They face challenges in getting a position if a man applied for the same position and the list goes one. One example is in an article, entitled Gender Inequality in the Caribbean, a women asked the President of Haiti, Michel Martelly, in a campaign rally about what he planned to do with the electricity situation in her area and his response was for her to find a man to have sex with.
This perspective of males being dominant stems from religious manipulation where men should be dominant and women should be subordinate. This ideology is also responsible for a lot of gender based violence in our society today. Caribbean families consists largely of patriarchal families especially families of East Indian decent. However there is a large number of single parent families that are matrifocal due to the separation of spouses during slavery. In these families the woman is the central focus and organises everything in the family. This can be a plus for Caribbean society as the children will see how strong their mother is in going to her job and sacrificing to take care of them. They in turn grow up to be respectable men and women who understand the struggles of a woman and hence there is a chance of a better future for women.]]> 2019-11-28 19:11:35 UTC https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417573323 selenamarie_christian https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417585749 There is the popular belif that there is mistrust at all levels.According to Oxford dictionary misturst is defined as a lack of trust. In the Caribbean mistrust is prominent. There is mistrust in the governments, in schools, in the workplace and even at home.For example, in an article written in the Jamaica Observer in May, 2019, there is mistrust in the Jamiaican government regarding the sale of the Rooms of the Beach in Ocho Rios,as facts are missing. The Jamaican taxpayers do not see how this sale would be beneficial to them.Another instance of mistrust is in the Caribbean Court of Justice.In an article written in 2018,Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda were to vote on whether they wished to adopt the Caribbean Court of Justice as their final apellant court or to continue using the Privy council as their final apellant court. There was a low voter turn out and those that did go to the meeting voted against the Caribbean Court of Justice. Lawyer Mark Wignall of Jamaica said in a Facebook post that he would have voted against the Caribbean Court of Justice reason being that judges in the region know each other and would exchange social and political views which would lead to prejudices being used in the court whereas the Privy Council is "way ova dey so" and hence not being invested in matters of the Caribbean. A third instance of mistrust is in an article written in the Jamaica Gleaner in 2017, which discussed the mistrust of the citizens of Jamaica. There was an 88 percent mistrust in the politicians, 78 percent mistrust in the police, 60 percent did not trust church leaders while 68 percent did not trust business leaders. This is evident that mistrust is at all levels in the Caribbean.
Mistrust was seen even in our history. An example of this is the ex-African slaves did not have confidence in the Stipendiary Magistrates as they were suppose to protect them but insetad most of the Stipendiary Magistrates failed to do so and they even punished them. In the case of the Amerinidians, there was mistrust in the encomenderoes that were meant to protect them but they did not do so and this lead to the near genocide of the Amerindian people.]]> 2019-11-28 20:12:09 UTC https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417585749 selenamarie_christian https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417634161 However there are some instances in which there was tolerance and trust. In 1958 the West Indian Federation was formed in an attempt to promote free trade. However Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago were the main contributors and felt like they did not benefit and pulled out resulting in the West Indian Fedration ending in 1962. Six years later the Caribbean Free Trade Association was formed to promote free trade but this too collapsed in 1974. Another example of tolerance is the celebration of holidays such as Indian Arrival, Emancipation, Divali and many others which commemorates the different groups, their religious beliefs and cultures.Tolerance is also shown in the celebration of Carifesta, which is a festival that highlights the diversity of the Caribbean islands.
Tolerance is also seen in the Caribbean with the concept of creolisation which is the mixing of ethnic and racial groups to form something new.This is prominent in Trinidad and Tobago such as soca parang and the miscegenation of an African and an Indian to give a dougla. This is also seen in the segregation of religions. For example Orisha which is a combination of Christianity and African origns.]]> 2019-11-29 02:22:17 UTC https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417634161 selenamarie_christian https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417653448 In conclusion, there is intolerance and mistrust in the Caribbean to a greater extent. This is a result of our history and hence our present is modeled from what we experienced. Intolerance can be seen in matters such as racial discrimination, ethnic discrimination and gender discrimination and mistrust can range from mistrust in politicians, protective services,judicial systems and even religious leaders. However the Caribbean has started to mend thid through the celebration of holidays and festivals such as Carifesta.]]> 2019-11-29 04:33:38 UTC https://padlet.com/selenamarie_christian/qnseaq3zq706/wish/417653448