We Barbados
BIM
Recent public protests in the United States in response to perceived police brutality should give onlookers pause for thought. Many may disagree about the reasons that have brought the societal tension to the fore, however, BU is sure an erosion of practices in the community which call for citizens to work together and in the process value cultural and ethnic diversity while showing respect is missing. What we have is a modern world which defines progress based mainly on economic considerations. Closer to home we all recall the village policeman who walked or bicycled his way through the lines in the villages on a frequent basis. He was not seen as just the enforcer of the laws but an essential actor in esprit de corps of the community.
There was the village doctor who was expected – and felt obligated – to make house calls as part of a social responsibility. The politician was usually from the area and had earned a record of community service, most oft than not it was a prerequisite to serve. The teacher, priest, pastor, there was always an intrinsic link to the community that was part of the rubric.
For the sake of progress we have had to dismantle the practices was the undergirding of the gregarious communities of the recent past. Our citizens earn more and enjoy a higher standard living if we measure by a material standard. The trade off is that we have shifted closer to being a more impersonal lot on the social index. Scary is the fact we [Barbadians] appear to have no issue with wanting to arrest the ‘drift’. Day by day the traditional values our forefathers laboured to define the brand Barbadian is being eroded and replaced by what?
The definition of the modern Barbadian is one who is or aspires to have a degree or equivalent accreditation, qualify for a $400,000 to $500,000 mortgage in a built up area, is able to travel with the family at least once every two years and have a car or two in the driveway. The same Barbadian is unlikely to be a member of a community group or some other civic group motivated by a desire to give back to the community. The inability to repel the ‘drift’ which has overpowered our tiny society should be part of a national narrative. Who we want to be as a people must inform all the other decisions. The ease with which we become consumed with the minutiae belies our investment in education.
Those of us who subscribe to nationalistic views are condemned as being dinosaur in outlook, jingoistic or some other uncharitable characterization. Those of us who want to preserve what is Barbadian like to believe we still live in a democracy that encourages freedom of expression and thought.
Barbados Underground 
well said
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The song by Captain Sawyer which have many in a stitch.
http://www.bajantube.com/play-audio.php?audioid=168
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Cricket whether we like it or not brought people together.
Wendy WalcottWest Indies Cricket Fans
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@ David,
LACK OF Radio, television and phones brought people together.
The more we acquired those items the less we got together.
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@ Hants
There is no correlation there..
Run the SPSS check again…. 🙂
Left to ourselves, ordinary Bajans naturally get together and share and care….It that not what Hopi mean by ethnic intelligence?
What changed us is the incessant exposure to the culture of greed and affluence …admittedly via radio, TV, phones and now the internet..
Unfortunately, the ethnic folks that control these communications are basically white…and THEIR ingrained ‘ethnic intelligence’ is about materialism and self.
It is about getting more and more ….and more, while caring less and less about how this impacts others – even those close to us.
This is why most businessmen in Barbados can have NO hesitation in buying items from Timbuktu …if it is a bit cheaper that from St Thomas…. profit comes FIRST.
Think of it… if you don’t give a shit about your neighbour in the next parish we know how much you care about the supplier in Timbuktu.
Charity BEGINS at home….then perhaps it can spread outwards…unless other factors come into play…
What we really need is for some BLACK visionaries to develop a set of alternative communications based on our natural ‘ethnic intelligence’….
Music that is UPLIFTING about communities …rather than the annual shiite about bumpers, winding down, jucking and wukking…
Our current local music is a clear reflection of the brass bowlery that pervades the damn place…with clear idiots like Sawyer being allowed to set the (low) level….
We need ideas that seek to look BEYOND the present…and BEYOND the materialistic…to relationships, social engineering, spiritual ‘upliftment’ etc
We need strategic thinking that looks beyond GDP and physical (fiscal) growth
Steupsss
But that is beyond brass bowls….
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We have all become too materialistic, an incident happened to us a few weeks ago. A neighbour saw a man jump over our garden wall, walk through our garden, jump over our fence, and never said a word about it until the person run off. It was only sometime after the daughter came & told us these people were jumping over our wall ad-lib, so we really don’t have any community spirit for each other anymore, was told don’t want to get involved, and the sad thing about this the family are Christians, and Pastors, so there we are.
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just asking June 1, 2015 at 12:34 PM
Last Whit Monday, a man done a similar thing at a home in Lodge Road Christ Church, where he jumped over the wall and hid in the yard. This man more than likely was carrying a firearm, after being involved in a shooting at a nearby function. . Calling out to the householders immediately could have placed them in direct danger,as the man was looking for an escape route,and if felt cornered, might have reacted how he knows best. As the Colonel said in Rambo, diffuse the situation, and let the police pick up the intruders later,
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