Crypto Racism in Barbados EXPOSED

This video raised its ugly rh head in Barbados last evening.

The more discerning among us are aware racism and bigotry are unwelcome human characteristics present everywhere humans exist. We accept human beings are imperfect creatures. However, it does not mean when these unsavoury qualities show its ugly head that civil society should not promote relevant policies and other measures as requires to nurture tolerance and educate fellow citizens in the interest of growing a wholesome society.

The mouthings from the person in the video is the result of many things which Barbadians have known and been tardy to addressing over the years. Crypto racism has been discussed often enough in this forum- for years. It must be addressed in a structured way. Spouting balderdash is easy for some but it will take much more to excoriate the scourge of racism and bigotry that has metastasize over centuries.

#primeministermiamottley

#civilsociety

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Ahmaud Arbery: Blacks NOT Worth More Than SALT in the Eyes of Some

 

It seems Blacks living in the USA cannot catch a break. In recent months the Black community has been under attack from the marauding COVID 19. This week we learned that in February 2020 two White men shot a young Black man as he was jogging through a White neighbourhood as if he were a target at your neighbourhood shooting range. The fact it has taken two months to gather public attention can be attributed to COVID 19 but are there the usual factors to consider?

There is no doubt that the USA harbours a racist system.

We are quick to point to China, reluctant to do same to the USA.

– David, blogmaster


The Killing of Ahmaud Arbery and the Justice of God

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I turned off the video the first several times I tried to watch it. I couldn’t bear the thought of what I knew would be pictured. Many people, from what I hear, had a similar reaction. The violence was so raw that it was painful to watch. And so many other videos and images, showing similar bloodshed, have emerged over the past several years.

I’m referring, of course, to the video that has emerged in recent days of the killing of 25-year-old African-American man Ahmaud Arbery by two white men in a south Georgia neighborhood. This case will now, with the urging of the governor of Georgia, go to a grand jury to seek justice in this matter. From what reports tell us, Arbery was jogging through the neighborhood and the two men thought he seemed suspicious and took off after him, ultimately shooting and killing him. This was not a case of an interrupted home invasion, nor was it the case of law enforcement personnel involved in an escalating crime situation.

In almost any breaking news story, I usually ask myself, “What sort of information could emerge to make this the opposite of what it seems to me right now?” In this case, I am stumped to think of what that could be. The video seems to show us exactly what we have seen so often in human history: the violence of armed self-styled vigilantes against an unarmed man.

The justice system will proceed, of course, and evidence will be marshaled by the prosecution and by the defense, but there’s little question as to what the investigation will be—into a question of murder.

The system of temporal justice is important here—crucially important—but I am perhaps even more concerned about the sort of weariness that has come upon the country, when we use the word “again” about such a case, as if any happening like this should not immediately shock the conscience. The temptation will be to, as I did at first with the video, just avert our eyes.

Whatever the specifics of this case turn out to be, we do know several things. The first is that the arguments, already bandied about on social media, that “Arbery wasn’t a choirboy” are revolting. We have heard such before with Trayvon Martin and in almost every case since. For all I know, Arbery was a choirboy.

But even if he were the complete opposite (let’s suppose just for the sake of argument), that is no grounds to be chased down and shot by private citizens. There is no, under any Christian vision of justice, situation in which the mob murder of a person can be morally right. Those who claim to have a high view of Romans 13 responsibilities of the state to “wield the sword” against evildoers ought to be the first to see that vigilante justice is the repudiation not just of constitutional due process but of the Bible itself. And, of course, the Bible tells us, from the beginning, that murder is not just an assault on the person killed but on the God whose image he or she bears.

Sadly, though, many black and brown Christians have seen much of this, not just in history but in flashes of threats of violence in their own lives. And some white Christians avert their eyes—even in cases of clear injustice—for fear of being labeled “Marxists” or “social justice warriors” by the same sort of forces of intimidation that wielded the same arguments against those who questioned the state-sponsored authoritarianism and terror of Jim Crow. And so, they turn their eyes.

Now, again, these two men will get their due process, and their day in court. But ought we not to grieve for the family of this young man who is dead at just a quarter-century of life? And should we not lament the fact that there are so many names and faces—from those lynched by domestic terrorists throughout much of the 20th century to the names and faces killed much closer to our own time? Yes.

And, whatever the facts that are offered up in this case as the process moves forward, we ought to be reminded of the threat of violence that has raged inside of humanity since Cain. The courts will decide whether these men will be punished as murderers—and we can pray the courts are right and just in their verdict—but we also ought to remember that many of our black and brown brothers and sisters were killed by mobs or individuals where there was no video to show anything.

The memorial sign marking the murder of Emmett Till had to be replaced with a bulletproof marker because too many people were shooting it up, delighting in the lynching of a man by a bloodthirsty mob. And, like Cain, those who do such things always think no one will ever see. But God says to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” (Gen. 4:9).

And, similarly, Jesus said, “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known” (Lk. 12:2). Whatever is ruled in this case, we know that the blood cries from the ground in countless matters of violence and bloodshed. And God sees and knows. That’s a word of promise for those weary in seeing justice done. And it’s a word of warning for those who would avert their eyes.

 

Guyana, Spawned by Racism

Rickford_burke

Commentary by Rickford Burke

What has the PPP done for Guyana other than spawn racism, civil war, decadence, carnage, corruption, death squads, a narco-state and Roger Khan? 
The PPP was formed in 1950. The party won the elections in 1953 during British rule but was promptly removed from office by the British  government because of its radical, communist ideology and bad governance. Elections were held again in 1957. The PPP won. Shortly thereafter the party experienced a racial split.  Afro-Guyanese accused PPP leaders of neglecting their interests and left the party. The PPP narrowly won the subsequent 1961 elections. However, its racist and discriminatory politics led to racial violence and civil war in Guyana. This is know as the 1964 disturbances or civil war. The party lost the 1964 elections to a coalition of the People’s National Congress and United Force.
After a 28 year hiatus or banishment in the political wilderness, the PPP won the 1992 elections. Again racial tensions and violence ensued because of the PPP’s doctrine of racial triumphalism. Crime and corruption plagued Guyana. The PPP government was involved with death squads. A United Nations investigation verified that they were complicit with the murder of over 400 Afro-Guyanese citizens. The international community estimated that Bharrat Jagdeo’s PPP regime stole over US$20 billion from the treasury. International corruption watchdog, Transparency International, ranked Jagdeo’s PPP regime as one of the most corrupt governments in the world.
The PPP government became ensconced with drug lords including Roger Khan and murder for hire drug gangs. They enabled Khan and his gangs to import drugs from Columbia, Venezuela and other parts of South America, which they shipped to the United States, Europe and the Caribbean with impunity and assistance from PPP government officials. Just like that, the PPP turned Guyana in a narco-state and international drug transshipment center. Functionally the PPP drove Guyana into failed statehood.
Amidst this crescendo of decadence, carnage and national implosion, Bharrat Jagdeo and his PPP government were working give away part of Essequibo to Venezuela to settle the border dispute. We are still to find out if they were to derive financial gain from this give away of our country to our enemy. The nation gasped and breathed a collective sigh of relief and elation when the people voted the PPP out of government on May 11, 2015, and bit them good riddance!
The most objective of analysts will conclude, as is patently obvious, that historically, every instance of PPP governance of Guyana has been catastrophic for our nation. From radical communist policies that led to its expulsion from office, apartheid, racism and civil war; to torture and genocide against blacks, monumental corruption and state capture,  destruction  and conversion of Guyana to a narco-state and eventually failed statehood. All the PPP has left is its tattered, sordid history of atrocities and murder, corruption and destruction.
I challenge anyone to examine Guyana’s contemporary history and inform the Guyanese people what the PPP has done to advance Guyana’s development; particularly during its last 23 years in government. Its single accomplishment is building the Berbice River Bridge, with a 1940s design. They structured this bridge project expressly to curtail commerce in New Amsterdam for the benefit of its ethnic base on the Corentyne. They had the audacity to construct this bridge with money from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) pension funds of hard working Guyanese taxpayers, but which they disguised as private investment. This criminal rape and a rip-off of hard working Guyanese could have only been perfected by con artists at Freedom House.  It is no wonder, therefore, that the PPP presidential in on trail for 19 fraud charges in connection with another fraud scheme.
Pregnant with unrestrained avarice and greed, the Freedom House mafia is now acting like a bull in a China shop to once again corruptly wrest the governance of our country away from the people. They are desperate to get their dirty hands on Guyana’s oil money. We Guyanese; especially our youth, must build a resistance. Stop these thieves from grabbing our oil money. Repel this evil force that spits fires of hate, bigotry and destruction. Resist this same evil force that drove our nation into civil war in 1963. Every youth, who wants to Guyana develop and not destroyed, must join the resistance against the evil PPP.
We must be organized to win. This is why everyone must register and everyone must vote. Voting is the weapon an indomitable generation used to defeat the evil force that caused the 1964 civil war. Voting is the weapon we used to defeat this evil force in 2015.  Voting must be our weapon of choice to defeat the PPP in 2020. The resistance begins anew. Rise up and register. Rise up and vote. Our lives, our country depend on it!

The Real Race Issues in Barbados

Submitted by the Secretariat of the PEOPLES  EMPOWERMENT  PARTY

David Comissiong

David Comissiong, President of the Peoples Empowerment Party

The issue of race is ever present in Barbados, and surely underlies the amazing  public furor that has arisen over the recent crowning of a white Miss Barbados beauty queen.

And so, we now take the opportunity to revisit the issue of racism in Barbados, and to share with the public a number of pertinent questions that Mr David Comissiong, President of the Peoples Empowerment Party, posed to the government appointed ‘Committee On National Reconciliation’ way back in the year 1999.

These questions – as relevant today as they were seventeen years ago – are as follows:-

  1. To what extent does the false notion of Black or African inferiority still infect Black, White,  and Asiatic Barbadians? If this is the case, how do we correct this state of affairs?
  2. Are there Churches, religious practices and theologies in Barbados which foster and / or perpetuate the false and discredited notions of Black inferiority, subordination and dependence on non-Blacks?
  3. To what extent is the distribution of land in Barbados racially skewed and inequitable? If this is so, are specific governmental corrective measures required? Is there a need for “Alien Landholdings legislation”?
  4. Is the education system doing an adequate job of imparting to our students information about the history and achievements of the various racial and ethnic groups which make up our population? Is the news media of Barbados doing an adequate job of providing the majority Black population with news and information about Africa and peoples of African descent?
  5. To what extent are there racially segregationist regulations and/or practices in place in the clubs, beaches, hotels and social institutions of Barbados? Are governmental corrective measures required?
  6. To what extent do businesses in Barbados indulge in racial discrimination in their employment and procurement policies and practices? To what extent is there evidence of race-based business monopolies and unfair race-based business practices designed to eliminate competition?
  7. What is the precise state of the distribution of wealth in Barbados across race and class lines? Is there a need for new re-distributive policies?
  8. To what extent is there evidence that the lending policies and practices of banks and other financial institutions are based on racial considerations? Is there a need for governmental intervention?
  9. To what extent do the major secular institutions of Barbados – the law courts, police force, office of the Governor General, etc – still retain elements of an institutional culture that is alienating to Black and/or working class Barbadians?
  10. To what extent are the foreign films, videos and music coming into Barbados propagating racially demeaning notions and sensibilities?
  11. To what extent is the racist historical tradition of the stigmatization and criminalization of the business activities of small black business-persons still in evidence?
  12. To what extent do we have a sense of consciousness of the great moral wrong of slavery, and of the inhuman cruelties and disabilities that were inflicted upon Black people? Are we prepared to support a campaign for Reparations?
  13. Is there the need for a conscious effort to rectify the imbalance deliberately built into our national culture by investigating, re-evaluating and re-appropriating aspects of African culture?

If the current storm-in-a-teacup motivates us to address our minds to these vexed yet very relevant questions, then something positive would have been achieved!

The Black Caps Versus the Black Lackeys

Submitted by Pachamama

President of the West Indies Cricket Board Dave Cameron

President of the West Indies Cricket Board Dave Cameron

We watch a boring cricket test match as the cultural dead-endedness of Caribbean societies is demonstrated through cricket. Cricket as a cultural expression of the British was never going to be susceptible to the radical transformation, in the Caribbean, it faced after the cultural revolution in North American, giving them baseball. For the Blacks with White masks at the WICBC and amongst the elites in the Caribbean are even more protective of this traditional British game than even the very British themselves.

Former players, administrators and newly minted Black lackeys get to trot out their knighthoods when cricket is playing. For them it is in the service of Queen and Empire that a nonsense of a rule could prevent Sunil Narine, the world’s top spinner, from playing for the West Indies but there is no problem for Corey Anderson, who was at the same IPL semi-finals, to be playing for the Black Caps. So a Black Cap can play while a West Indian player is to be sanctioned by the over-zealous plantation overseers of cricket in the West Indies. The WICB(C) will allow an Englishman to be a third empire. A man who has a personal interest in promoting English cricket. So West Indies bowlers could be outing people and all the marginal decisions go against us. All this for the love of pound and crown by Black and Indian Caribbean lackeys from Jamaica to Georgetown!

Nowhere in the world are people particularly interested in test cricket. And it must be allowed to meet its long awaited death. Nobody goes to watch it. TV audiences are never very impressive. It cannot attract pay-per-view revenues. The marketers at the WICB(C) must be infantile to allow such a strategy to take root. So much so that even when test cricket is aired free of cost only the diehards show any sustained interest.

And this is the strategic vision a backward Board can now come up with. The brains cannot be on the Board! What would it take for Caribbean peoples to run these nutters out of town, absent their heads?

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Soccer and Global Racism

Submitted by Pachamama

...A time when Blacks have made some progress but where the majority of peoples of colour, throughout, the world are still largely dispossessed...

A time when Blacks have made some progress but where the majority of peoples of colour, throughout, the world are still largely dispossessed

The World Cup is just around the corner and as Brazil prepares for this signal event of soccer, Brazilian players, of distinctively African origins, continue to face the leading edge of racism in all of Europe. In fact, all Black or African soccer players have been facing, increasingly, incidences of overt racism in the seat of the White race. When we say racism we mean the system as scientifically defined. We are not particularly concerned about personal likes or dislikes, we are here defining racism as the recent and historic power of White people to enforce social, legal, economic; cultural systems; which are anathema to the interest of peoples of colour. It is a system, or a set of systems which attaches more value to White people based entirely on the colour of their skin. This is the vast phenomena that we are interrogating, in broad terms and as it relates to soccer. We shall use Dani Alves as a case but there are tens of thousands with similar import.

This galloping rise of racism in Europe is associated with the rise of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, ultra-rightism, and White nationalism. It comes at a time when the economic circumstances are getting worse for large numbers of White people. Black people are more used to these deprivations which Whites are now starting to feel, in greater numbers, for the first time in many years. It continues to appear as though White people in much of Europe see hopelessness as the order of the day. It comes out of the long pretence that we were moving towards a colourless world.

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RACISM Lingers On

Submitted by Looking Glass

Not in Barbados!

First congratulations to the newly appointed Governor General and Madame Loretta: another tribute to location.

Yes there is and will always be racism even among Whites. For some Whites it is a reaction to their lower class status especially after being given a title by a Black government. Blacks too are in practical terms most guilty of racism. For us it is a convenient excuse that enables us to blame others for our shortcomings. Some Whites who did not marry Blacks passed on financial and other inheritance to their black mistresses and their offspring. It led to the Black Class System (Re Comments To Rescue and Rebuild) within which those with brown-skin were considered not to be “One uh We”, treated like Whites and discriminated against. But no one talks about black racism which in many ways was more vicious than white racism.

Some left high school with a birth certificate, worked for a mixed-race owned company and never reached management level. Now one low class White soul pontificates about white racism. Does marriage to a high-brown render one anti racist? His observations suggest he knows nothing about our history, less about socio-political and economic dynamics and is very untruthful.

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Must We Face The Truth?

Submitted by Charles Knighton

Sir Roy Trotman

When Epicurus wrote “Any philosopher’s argument which does not therapeutically treat human suffering is worthless” he showed, like Sir Roy Trotman, that even the very wise sometimes say foolish things. The purpose of all serious intellectual inquiry is surely to enable us to see things more truthfully, whether that soothes or disturbs us. As unfortunate as Sir Roy’s comments were however, according to some they provide another opportunity for Barbados to intelligently discuss the subject of race and truthfully deal with an issue that erupts geyser-like from time to time, occasioning brief comment before subsiding once again to simmer just below the surface.

But why place such a high value on truth? For sure, sometimes the truth might set you free, but on other occasions it might destroy you, shattering comforting illusions that make life tolerable. As T.S. Eliot memorably put it: “Humankind cannot bear very much reality.”

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Slaver Monument of John Newton To Be Setup In St. Kitts : Open Letter To Prime Minister Of St Kitts

John Newton

Petition launched to stop the set up of a monument to John Newton who visited St. Kitts to sell slaves and later turned Christian abolitionist  – Reproduced from email received from Gilbert Léonard

A small Baptist church in St. Kitts has been convinced to set up a monument to John Newton who came here to sell slaves and later turned Christian abolitionist.  This is happening at the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Sandy Point.  An English couple convinced them to do this after the Anglican and Methodist churches in Sandy Point turned them down.  About 3 years ago I tried to convince them that this was not a right thing to do in an independent black Caribbean country.  Much of the information is being supplied by this couple whose name I cannot remember and they are using the film Amazing Grace as a way of convincing people with no concept of their own history.  I thought the whole thing had died down but I heard that the English people are coming here next week to put things in place.  I am convinced that Newton abandoned the slave trade because his ventures in it had failed.  He took up the priesthood as a means to a regular income.  His association with the abolitionists may or may not have been heartfelt but his association with the Caribbean and with Sandy point in particular was as a slaver.

Open letter to PM of St Kitts about Slaver monument in St Kitts.

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The Recent UK Riots: A Different Perspective

Submitted by Yardbroom

Mark Duggan - Photo Credit: UK Guardian

A 29 year old black man Mark Duggan travelling in a mini cab was stopped by the Police in Tottenham.  In the ensuing confrontation Duggan was shot by a member of the Metropolitan’s Police CO 19 Unit.  This incident is being investigated by the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission) but there are allegations that a weapon converted to fire live ammunition was found in the mini cab.

As is often the case rumours spread quickly; however Duggan’s family decided that adequate information was not forthcoming from the police and a march was organized.  Within this peaceful march, elements of society who consider themselves disadvantaged decided to confront the police. It should be said at the outset that the family of Mark Duggan have condemned the subsequent riots as has the black Tottenham member of Parliament David Lammy who appealed for calm.

Over a period of four days riots spread across the UK, where young people hoodie attired and faces covered, broke into properties, stole goods, burnt buildings to the ground and there were the inevitable fatalities.  The resultant court appearances confirms the fact that both white and black were involved in the riots and theft in the main, were in areas with  sizeable black populations.

Why the confrontations with the police?

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Did Gline Clarke Make A Racist Statement?

Mindful of all these opportunities, and as part of Government‟s programme to diversify its economic sectors to assist in further GDP development, we have decided to partner with authorities in the motor racing sector to set out a programme for the further development of the sport in Barbados.

To this end, Government will shortly approve an agreement to lease the Bushy Park Facility to the Barbados Rally Club to facilitate a full upgrade of the race track and adjoining facilities to international racing standards. Resources for this upgrade work are expected to come in part from the International Racing Federation (FIA). It is my understanding that Barbados is already the first country to have taken advantage of the FIA Institute‟s grant for facility development funding to improve race track facilities.

Extracted from the Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposal for 2011

The above government proposal was listed in the just concluded budget presentation to which Gline Clarke, the member of parliament for St. George North had a surprising reaction which has evoked public comment. Clarke’s comment forced his colleague George Payne MP to issue an apology on behalf of the Barbados Labour Party. Tiredness was cited as the reason for the comment by Clarke .

Listen and be the judge.

Restitution For Colonial Era Is Due


© Raimond Spekking / CC-BY-SA-3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Barbadians celebrate National Heroes Day today. A time to celebrate those who significantly contributed to the foundation for advancing Barbados. The following article (reproduced) is meant to provoke thought and awareness given the new challenges which have emerged in our new world.

“Mahatma Gandhi, with no weapon but truth, brought England’s Indian Empire crashing down. Another man of peace, from a small island off the coast of India, is now committed to an even more ambitious task. He would restore what he sees as the equilibrium upset by Western Europe when it set out 500 years ago to conquer the planet.

As if that were not enough, he wants the Christian churches to recognize that as legitimators and beneficiaries of those wars of conquest, they are obligated in justice to return the unjustly acquired benefits. Wait a minute. Didn’t the colonial era end shortly after World War II? Hasn’t the number of sovereign nations more than doubled in 50 years to 185?”

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Evidence Of Bharat Jagdeo And The PPP’s Racism Is Profound And Unassailable

Submitted by Rickford Burke


PPP General Secretary Donald Ramotar and President Bharrat Jagdeo, the PPP twin devils of racism and deception

Since the PPP government took office in Guyana in 1992, it has systemically promoted racism and ethnic division, and has established an ethnocracy which has an insidious noose around the neck of African Guyanese population with which it attempts to subjugate and render it servile.

They have opposed every African-Guyanese former PNC government official who has been nominated for senior international and/or local positions, but has without reservation supported and embraced East Indians who have been similarly nominated – a manifestation of an entrenched, congenital belief in ethnic and racial supremacy.

Here are a few examples: Jagdeo and the racist PPP opposed Carl Greenidge for Secretary General for the ACP as well as Caricom Trade Negotiator and Clarence Ellis as Director of the World Bank and IDB.

To the contrary, Jagdeo and the racist PPP have supported Sir Shridath Ramphal in every international or regional undertaking and appointment. They have also supported the appointment of Dr. Mohammed Shahabuddeen to the World Court and the War Crimes Tribunal.

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The Judeo-Christian Matrix: “Simon of Cyrene” and the “Cross of Humanity’s Shame” – The “White Religious Lie” Which Sought To Undermine the Pivotal Role of the Black Man in Biblical Literature

Submitted by Terence Blackett
The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color lineW.E.B. DuBois

Today the Black man still bears the Cross of Jesus Christ as Simon of Cyrene did on that most fateful day in earth’s history. As those Caucasoid Roman soldiers whipped, beat, insulted and spat upon my Lord and as those who called themselves Abraham’s children (Jews) and are not (crying vociferously, “let his blood be upon us and our children”) – but are of the Synagogue of SATAN* heckled, cajoled, laughed, maligned, jeered and scoffed as Jesus wobbled, stumbled and fell under the weight of the cross. Simon (the 13th Disciple) bore His burden up the hill.

And so upon the back of the Black man fell that cross of shame – a symbolic, archetypal reminder to Black folks everywhere throughout the ages that upon their shoulders rest the long arduous process of salvation for humanity. What Simon of Cyrene accomplished in the flesh for our beloved Lord and Saviour – we as the progenitors of that fulfilment would have to carry for mankind right down until the end of time.

Yet many still ask, but are not Black folks “the least in their Father’s house”?

What constitutes greatness can largely be a matter of opinion. Jesus reminds us that the least is oftentimes the greatest amongst us and MUST* be a “servant” to all – and the “first” will be the “last” and the “last” will be the “first”.

Do we consider a man’s greatness in part due to the degree to which his life and actions affect humanity for generations?

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Dead-Men Walking: Postmodern Slavery And The Psycho-Social Symbology Of Black Self-Hatred – The Mis-education Of The Black Man, And Jewish Control Black Wealth And Resources

Submitted by Terence Blackett
It does not take a majority to prevail… but rather an irate tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men. – Samuel Adams

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – murdered Civil Rights leader and social justice modernist prophet in one of his memoirs, “STRENGTH TO LOVE” under the subheading – “The Answer To a Perplexing Question”, p.128 states:

“The first calls upon man to remove evil through his own power and ingenuity in the strange conviction that by thinking, inventing, and governing, he will at last conquer the nagging forces of evil. Give people a fair chance and a decent education, and they will save themselves. This idea, sweeping across the modern world like a plaque, has ushered out God and escorted in man and has substituted human ingenuity for divine guidance…”

Dr. King’s argument, though cited 46 years ago emerge in a prophetic window, painting an ominous picture of the cult of inevitable regression hanging around the necks of Black folks like the Albatross in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

The history of ‘The ‘Middle Passage’ of the 1600’s bear a malevolent inconvenient similarity to a ship manned by dead-men, inimical to a version of “Pirates of the Caribbean”, while bearing a stark resemblance to that frightening poem by Coleridge where the souls of the dead sail perpetually through the mist of primordiality to some unknown destination.

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White Controlled Wealth v Black Financial Discrimination And Exploitation: A Historical Legacy of Intergenerational Economic Subversiveness And Dehumanizing Racists Stereotyping

Submitted by Terence Blackett

In a jaw-dropping research study carried out by psychologists at Stanford University, Pennsylvania State University and the University of California-Berkeley reveals that many white Americans still subconsciously associate Black folks with apes based on a centuries old malevolent concept of Darwinian indoctrination.

For those who would have you believe that after two centuries of slavery; a century of Jim Crow Laws; oppressive apartheid; 4 million dead in the Middle passage; one million dead under the genocidal regime of Leopold in the Congo (based on conservative estimates)- with the ongoing blight of racial, economic and spiritual oppression and exploitation of Blacks in Africa; subjugation and relegation of the Aborigines of Australia and peoples of color anywhere on this forsaken planet – if anyone assumes that the Black man has walked away unscathed is a liar of the tallest order, a stranger to the truth and a demon from the lowest regions of Hell.

It is undeniable that the most damnable blight on the history of the white race has been slavery, where men and women were reduced by a stroke of Protestant moral abnegation to the lowliest common form of subhuman creating an aberration in time and space which has not been rectified or healed in 400 years. This shameful act of Biblical proportions continue to reverberate as a transgenerational phenomenon creating anger, resentment and hatred in Black folks which still has not been properly addressed – as we continue to sweep these issues under the carpet.

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Barbadians Warned To Safeguard Barbados Against The Ethnic Invasion

Submitted by JN (as a comment)

Sir Garry Sobers

I don’t normally write on blogs but after reading some of these comments I had to intervene because I feel the same way!!!

I  am a young Trini man and I can tell you that you should get rid of those Indo-Guyanese and Indo-Trinis before they try to dominate your country! They work in stages and it must be said they don’t and never will like black people. Bajans you must understand this so don’t be fooled by their smiles and stuff…that’s how it started in TNT all throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s, they smiled and befriended black Trinis because we had control of the economy and government and then after the UNC was given two seats by the NAR (because of ANR Robinson’s hatred for the PNM) they got power and that’s when TNT went into racial tensions…for the first time the rest of the population saw their true colours they would call black people niggers almost constantly, saying is “we time now!” and stuff like that the population was really shocked that they were so racists after all they were so nice and cool before 1995…but after reading books about race relations and politics in TNT I discovered that Indo-Caribbean people hate black people and are very resentful of us because our culture dominates…calypso, steelband, music etc and they always felt slighted they call the “fear of creolization (aka becoming assimilated into black culture) So they smiled and laughed with us until they established themselves.

Then they started the cleansing process, Panday fired Manning’s wife who had a high post job in the government I think…they put themselves in the important areas to gain control of the economy….this is a warning to you Barbados if you see them doing this be very very afraid and get them out!! They fired all the blacks in areas of health, medicine, education, business and law and placed their own kind….and over the years the Indians would employ only Indians and not blacks…I remembered they even took black children off the list for colleges in common entrance and put their own it was horrible! and it was easy for them just look at the surnames if its Indian leave it if not delete…health they made sure the heads were Indians so that the newly graduated blacks would be denied from getting jobs and passing exams to start practicing..same thing occurred in law…and the worse was education UWI became completed Indian dominated and lecturers would boldly discriminate against blacks however thanks to the current PNM tertiary education for all now there are a sizeable amount of blacks and other black students from the Caribbean.

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Police Harassment, Racial Profiling And Human Rights Violations In Brazil And Guyana

Submitted by Mark Jacobs (Voice of Guyana)

The Takatu Bridge opening last September saw Guyanese and Brazilians celebrating but for different reasons. It signalled that Guyana was finally on its way in fulfilling its ‘continental destiny.’ Brazil on the other hand is happy to have finally opened up access to the Atlantic and Caribbean for it’s landlocked territories.

Brazil has tremendous resources to assist Guyana in achieving our highest potentials. There are but few of our imports that cannot be fulfilled by Brazilian industries. With all that said, there’s another side to Brazil many refuse to acknowledge much less discuss. And I speak of the plight of the 90 plus million Afro-Brazilians.

We need not discuss how these Africans got to Brazil, but to understand
the magnitude, it’s four times larger than the African American population. Nigeria is the only country in the world with more Africans than Brazil. (I prefer the term African as opposed to Black since Africa indicates a place of origin) I point these things out because I visited Brazil last year and became a victim of police harassment and racial profiling less than twenty four hours after arriving in Boa Vista.

I was in a tourist zone when three City Police (Guardia Municipal)demanded that I turn around and put my hands up. I objected as is my right. I had done nothing but take photos of the Rio Branco. These police weren’t having any of it and forced me around and began aggressively patting me down and kicking my legs apart. My passport was checked out so they had nothing on me there as I had legally entered Brazil. In the end it may have been my Guyana passport that saved me as Afro-Brazilians are routinely rounded up beaten, killed, framed and imprisoned. The current and historical record speaks to this.

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Fourth Estate Surrender

Recently Mr. Richard Cox, Head of News and Current Affairs at the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) passed away. Last week BU learned that veteran Nation newspaper journalist Albert Brandford was put out to pasture and is currently freelancing at the Nation (seems a little strange). Despite BU’s disagreement with many Brandford’s positions on political matters, we concede that his ineffectiveness over the years may have been caused by the lack of support from his colleagues. Wow, if David Ellis were to exit the profession next, the talent level of the Fourth Estate would be less than mediocre. As if to support the point BU read a story which was reprinted by the Nation from the Associated Press (AP) which questioned Tiger Woods proclivity for fraternizing with White women.

For sometime BU has been discussing race issues and we have been labeled racist by some. It is interesting the Nation newspaper would highlight the Tiger story verbatim from the AP wire, but would hesitate to publish local stories which highlight the hypocrisy around race relations in Barbados. The conspiracy to prop up the status quo maybe?

Our journalists today seem happy to run with stories which appeal to the fast food diet of readers. Recently, a caller to a talk show made the analogy of patients doing research before visiting the doctor and consequently keeping the doctor’s diagnosis honest. The same is occurring within the media sphere. A knowledgeable and discerning public now has access to news and information on the Internet more than ever before. There is the current readership who will continue to prop up the membership of the local media but BU sees it declining overtime with a changing demographic.

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Race And Slavery: The Behavioural Conditioning Of A People

Submitted by Yardroom

slavery_maryland_0327“The first step, advised those who wrote discourses on the management of slaves, was to establish and maintain strict discipline…they – slaves – must obey at all times, and under all circumstances, cheerfully and with alacrity, affirmed a Virginia slaveholder…

The second step was to implant in the bondsmen [slaves] themselves a consciousness of personal inferiority.  They had to know and keep their places, to feel the difference between master and slave, to understand that bondage [slavery] was their natural status.  They had to feel that African ancestry tainted them, that their colour was a badge of degradation.” [Plantation and Frontier, pp108-11, De Bow’s Review V11, 1849]

The third step…”We have to rely more and more on the power of fear…we are determined to continue masters, and to do so we have to draw the rein tighter and tighter day by day to be assured that we hold them in complete check”. [The Pecular Institution, Kenneth M. Stampp p146]

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Former President Jimmy Carter Fingers The USA For Racism

Less than one year after the world basked in the euphoria of the USA electing a Black President, it now confronts the spectre of racism rearing its head across the country. BU has read with interest the Obama taunts of the cartoonists, Rush Limbaugh and his wide right wing buffoons et al vitriolic behaviour. What about the gross disrespect shown by a congressman Joe Wilson to President Barack Obama as he addressed  a joint session of Congress last week? How can we ignore the extreme reaction of America to President Obama’s Healthcare Plan? Let us not forget the tea part protest by a group of Americans who believe President Obama is turning America towards socialism.

What has provoked such extreme and hysterical behaviour on the part of Americans?

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Slavery: A Somewhat Specious Disputation

Submitted by Looking Glass

slaveryImagine a man born in Ethiopia, raised and educated in Puerto Rico presenting slavery as an epithet for Negroid in a three-piece suit. What Irony. He forgot the briefcase and brolly. Dr Yosef Jochannan’s specious disputation is a convenient distortion of reality. Yes slavery (and attendant atrocities) has existed and will continue to exist. However, to present slavery as an epithet for Negroid is an over-characterisation. Negroes were not the first human beings to be enslaved. Slavery is not and never was unique to the Negro. There was white slavery going back to at least Roman times. Later other ethnic groups were also enslaved. The implicit assumption that slaves everywhere endured the same treatment is unsustainable. Today slavery is rampant in Africa, India and elsewhere. He forgot that Africans also sold their brethren into slavery both yesteryear and today

Regarding Africa Cecil Rhodes in keeping with the prevailing sentiment candidly stated that “we (the mother country and other colonists) must find new lands from which we can easily obtain raw materials and at the same time exploit the cheap slave labour that is available from the natives in the colonies…The colonies would also provide a dumping ground for the surplus goods produced in our factories…..” The sentiment was also echoed by Nigerian governor, Lord Lugard and former French president Jules Ferry (Goldsmith, Development & Colonialism) This suggests that the primary purpose was not enslavement/slavery as such but economic progress and ‘development.’ Workers including slaves were consumers just as they are today. Then as now progress was measured by the value of what consumers consume and their contribution.

Also then as now progress and economic development required an ongoing supply of an array of human resources—political, organizational, management and technical. The Cecil Rhodes Foundation and ‘associates’ directly and indirectly contributed substantially to the economic development of much of the world. Africans may not have won Rhodes Scholarships but they benefited substantially in other ways.

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Purging The Psyche Of The Black Man

Submitted by ROK

Above is a clip about Dr. Yosef Ben Jochannan’s perspective on the race card. Should we stop trying to be Rhodes Scholars? Hear who was John Rhodes. Also Dr. Ben spoke of our pregnant women being split open using horses so that the babies dropped out of their bellies.

My problem with those who would say that we are using this kind of information to spread hate should understand that these are facts. They are part of the historical record and if the white man did not inflict such atrocious acts on the black man, we would have nothing to talk about today. In the circumstances, the hate started with them. Yet our attempt to get it out of our psyche is being resisted by them. What does that tell you? It isn’t over yet!

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Peter Wickham Should Apologize To All Barbadians

Peter Wickham

Peter Wickham

The controversial Peter Wickham is at it again. He continues to use the studios of the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), a media house which is subsidized by the taxpayers of Barbados to propagate the message  Barbadians are xenophobic.

BU has identified in previous blogs the great irony concerning Peter Wickham. He uses quantitative techniques and analysis in his line of work as a leading pollster in the region. Yet without hesitation he continues to bellow across the national airwave his opinion that Barbadians are xenophobic.

In the same way Peter Wickham agrees Shridath Ramphal crossed the line when he used his now infamous intimation of ethnic cleansing reference to Barbados’ new immigration policy, so too Wickham shoulders a similar responsibility.  He needs to be more guarded when sharing his opinions given his prominent regional profile as a leading regional pollster. He should be sensitive to the fact his profession relies on the use of quantitative analysis and decision making.

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The Race Card

reparationsBarbados Underground (BU) is thankful for all the complaining we hear about our blog because it means we have freedom of speech. Thanks to Nancie .J Carmody who made the following quote famous: “I am thankful for all the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech.”

The evergreen race debate like immigration, homosexuality and topics of this tenor which BU is driven to blog about will always evoke passion. It is the nature of the beast. How can we debate the issue of race in a manner which is acceptable given the strong views likely to be provoked? The fact that we have people from different backgrounds whether influenced by race, education, socialization among other factors will make the race dialogue interesting.

BU finds it difficult for a Black person to be accused of being racist. It is our belief the word racist is often used interchangeable for ‘bigot’ or ‘prejudice’ by some. The BU household is always willing to learn from the BU family and welcomes feedback on our position.

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CGID Condemns Arrest Of Lewis, Benschop and Witter As Political Thuggery

Submitted by CGID

Commissioner of Police Green (l) President Jagdeo (r)

Commissioner of Police Henry Green (l) President Bharrat Jagdeo (r)

NEW YORK: The New York based Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID) has harshly condemned the July 15, arrest of Lincoln Lewis, General Secretary of the Caribbean Congress of Labor; Norris Witter, General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress as well as journalist and former political, Mark Benschop, by the Guyana Police.

The three high profile Guyanese were protesting against human rights violations and atrocities by the Guyana Government and Police, during a Police Awards Ceremony outside of the Guyana Police Headquarters.

They were subsequently arrested and taken into custody. They are being held at the “A” Division Police Headquarters, Brickdam Police Station, Georgetown, and have been denied access to their Attorneys. The Police Station was immediately besieged by supporters and well wishers, who commenced a massive impromptu vigil outside the compound.

Guyana’s Police Commissioner, Henry Green, while addressing the ceremony, mocked the three and referred to them as “the three Musketeers,” and made special mention of CCL General Secretary, Lincoln Lewis.

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Commonsense And A Firm But Measured Response By The Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson And His Minister Of Health Donvile Inniss…And Then The Knighted One

Submitted by Yardbroom

Sir Shridath Surendranath "Sonny" Ramphal, OE, OM, GCMG, ONZ, AC, QC, FRSA

Sir Shridath Surendranath "Sonny" Ramphal, OE, OM, GCMG, ONZ, AC, QC, FRSA

An article in the Nation News by Wade Gibbons published 6-29-2009 attributed the following comments to Mr Inniss: “Minister of Health Donvile Inniss disclosed that public health facilities were under mounting pressure as a result of having to deal with the high number of undocumented immigrants. However, he told the Daily Nation that Government would not change its policy of not seeking to know people’s immigrant status before providing them with health care”. The Prime Minister David Thompson had previously made the Government’s position, direction and focus abundantly clear in an interview.

In the many articles now prevalent in the Guyanese Press and other areas, it is unlikely that this report will be given “top billing”. The reason being it does not demonise the Barbados Government enough, and has not got the illegal immigrant being preyed upon component, to wet the appetites of some who denigrate us from abroad. However, facts accurately presented will always reduce the lies and deceit now pedalled into convulsions.

I was pleased with the measured tone used by Minister Donvile Inniss; no “vitriolic exhibitionism” as recently used by a “supposed West Indian heavyweight”, but those words he – the supposed heavyweight – used…will come back to haunt him. A knight errant – in days past – often wandered and sought deeds of courage and chivalry to perform; now we have the “wandering” but alas nothing else with which to engage. The knighted one tried to obfuscate on the ground reality by introducing terminology synonymous with people been burned out of their homes; children being wrenched apart from their mothers and taken away in the night, leaving behind the smouldering embers of their dwellings, and fathers never seen again, having been taken to secluded places.

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Guyana Government Is The Biggest Violator Of Guyanese Human Rights, Not Barbados

Submitted by Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID)

President of Guyana Bharat Jagdeo

President of Guyana Bharat Jagdeo

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: Guyana’s President, Bharrat Jagdeo, in his address to the 30th Meeting of Caricom Heads of Government, which began in Guyana yesterday, appealed for the rights of Guyanese to respected by Barbadian Immigration authorities. But Jagdeo himself is not getting a pass from the New York based Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID). The Institute is demanding that Jagdeo heeds his own words.

CGID President, Rickford Burke, said Friday that although he agrees in principle with the Guyanese leader, Jagdeo has no honor on the subject of human rights and must be heed his own counsel. Burke added that “Barbados is not the chief abuser of the human rights of Guyanese – the Jagdeo government is. The lack of respect the Guyana government demonstrates for its own citizens and its mediocre, despotic governance, invite the mistreatment of Guyanese in the region,” Burke observed.”

On May 5, 2009 Barbados Prime Minister, David Thompson, implemented a controversial new immigration policy of deporting undocumented Caricom nationals who entered Barbados after December 2005. Since then, immigration officials have conducted early morning raids on the homes of suspected undocumented Caricom nationals, and have “deported” or “removed” them from Barbados. Guyanese constitute the largest immigrant block in Barbados. Over eighty percent of the Barbados deportees have been Guyanese.

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The Fear Of The Growing Ethnic Factor, Real or Imagined?

Submitted by Yakubu

ethnicityWhile we must be a tolerant society, Bajans must understand that Hindu immigrants, with their high fertility rates, and their dislike of miscegenation with the Negro, have already destroyed the social cohesion of two Caribbean territories–Guyana and Trinidad. Now they are invading Barbados.

We will have no-one but ourselves to blame if we are unable to defend our island from the upheavals that have occurred elsewhere–and not just in the Caribbean. In Fiji, society has been fractured by Indian immigration. In East Africa, there have been decades of turmoil, although Uganda chose to bite the bullet and deport much of its Indian population when they rejected the government’s efforts to integrate them into African society.

A single labour market for the Caribbean will, over a historical period, lead to the political, social and cultural subordination of the Negro in the entire eastern Caribbean. Our politicians, businessmen and academics must be persuaded to abandon this ruinous project.

Summit of the Americas Must Focus On Guyana’s Failing Democracy

Submitted by Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID)

President Bharat Jagdeo

President Bharat Jagdeo

[Port of Spain] The New York Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID) is calling on the Obama administration to “strengthen relations with the Caribbean region and resolve outstanding issues that stand as barriers to good relations, and to focus on Guyana’s failing democracy”

In a statement to leaders attending the 5th Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, CGID said it hopes that they will devise strategies to alleviate poverty and developmental disparities affecting poorer countries in the Americas; bring about a more peaceful, democratic hemisphere, and engender human prosperity, energy security and environmental sustainability.

In a swipe at the Guyana government, CGID published a full page ad telling summit participants that “There is a crisis of governance in Guyana which has burgeoned from unparalleled corruption, bad and despotic governance and the abrogation of the rule of law. Guyana’s democracy is tenuous at best and the nation stands at the threshold of failed statehood.”

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When Peter Wickham Weaves A Web

Submitted by Yardbroom

Peter Wickham

Peter Wickham

I can’t speak for Norman Faria, but I am inclined to believe that there is evidence of racial discrimination against Afros there [Guyana] at present, in the same way there was evidence of racial discrimination against Indos there during the Burnham – PNC era – Peter W Wickham April 12, 2009 at 6.25pm

The BU family can succinctly address your core argument.  You agree that there is evidence of discrimination “now” in Guyana against Afro Guyanese, which is exactly what Dr. Kean Gibson said, that there might have been discrimination against Indos during the Burnham-PNC era does not negate this “present truth”.

Permit me to quote you again: My thesis is not that there is no discrimination, but that discrimination is not caused by the mere presence of large numbers of Indos and moreover that Indos are not genetically or culturally inclined to discriminate because of their Hindu beliefs.

There are two core elements to your thesis: Continue reading

Canadian Government Right To Ban Sizzla, No Place For Homophobic Lyrics

Submitted by Noman Faria (Guyana Consul to Barbados)

Sizzla

Sizzla

Last weekend, Jamaican-born reggae star Sizzla was supposed to headline a concert at the Paramount Theatre in Toronto, Canada.  He didn’t even  pack his bags. The Canadian Embassy in Jamaica had denied him a visa, apparently  because of  his songs inciting hatred and violence against homosexual people.  They were quite right to do so.

Sizzla whose real name Miguel Orlando Collins was known to Canadian authorities. He and  another unrepentant homophobe   at the time, Elephant Man, real name O’Neal Bryan had another concert in  the same Canadian city  in October 2007 cancelled after protests from community groups. A homophobe  has an irrational  dislike for homosexuals.

As a spokesperson for the  Stop Murder Music Canada Coalition  correctly noted: This (stopping of this show) was not about censorship or artistic freedom. That stops when hate propaganda is involved.” The SMMCC referred to one of Sizzla’s songs “Log On” which urged people to “stomp” on homosexuals (or “gays” as they are commonly referred to). If  that crude, distasteful and insightful  message wasn’t enough, read what Sizzla says in another  song “Pump Up

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What Is Your Agenda Mr. Peter Wickham?

Peter Wickham

Peter Wickham

Political Scientist and the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Talk Show Host Peter Wickham continues to display emotional outbursts directed at UWI lecturer Dr. Kean Gibson. We find it strange that Peter Wickham a political scientist who earns his daily bread by performing scientific analysis would depart from his training when dealing with the matter of racism in Guyana and the real possibility that these learned behaviours can be imported into Barbados given the significant number of Guyanese on the island, legal and illegal.

Dr.Gibson’s response to Wickham in yesterday’s Nation newspaper shows that she is very capable of defending her work and reputation. We have to disagree with Dr. Gibson when she opines that there are not enough Indo-Guyanese in Barbados to destabilize Barbados. The exact number of Guyanese resident in Barbados has been a mystery which has straddled two administrations. The closest we have gotten to a figure from an official source was when former Minister Maxine McClean who had responsibility for immigration matters exclaimed that the government’s best estimate is placed at twenty five thousand. The uncertainty in the number exposes our flawed immigration framework which has been a legacy of the former government. Continue reading

Can We Ever Put RACE To Rest In Barbados?

Submitted by Yardbroom

There is an argument that the nature of this submission will polarize, but I would contend that is only because the issue has not already been satisfactorily addressed.  That possibility is all the more reason for an intelligent debate.  I believe that race appears to be always just beneath the surface as evidenced in some debates.  It is only fair to state this issue of race has not been helped by a “few” in positions of authority – when it is convenient – seeking to exploit race to their advantage.  When we can discuss race in an open debate, without fear of victimization or denigration of each other, the process will start to put race to the sword in Barbados.

This is an attempt to start that process by asking simple questions on a “specific issue.”

Why are there so “few” and I mean “few” medium and large size businesses managed and “owned” by indigenous black Barbadians?  I will further make the point that business opportunities are not possible to all races in equal measure commensurate with their percentage of the population in Barbados.  If I am wrong there will be hard evidence to refute my statement.

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On The Issue Of Black Trash

Submitted by BAFBFP

raceActually there is no issue but let’s create one shall we?

Many decades ago White Americans set a standard of acceptance for their race that went beyond the one drop rule which of course mirrored the British notion of “a touch of the tar brush”. Concerned with always portraying an image of sophistication they found it very convenient to define Whiteness as a qualification. Not only was one required to be pure, one’s lifestyle and standard of education had to be top draw.  In fact it was necessary for one to be a couple generations removed from one’s impoverished roots to be considered acceptable. White people who did not qualify were Trash. And boy did it work. Even Blacks referred to offensive Whites as Trash, thereby serving to protect this created idealistic image of what being White is all about.

So here is the thing. As Blacks should we not try to set criteria for Blackness that goes beyond colour of skin? Already Blacks (anthropologists Peter Simmons included) accept the White defined ‘one-drop’ initiative and that is fine, after all Black people are not as hung-up about purity as is the case with other species of man. We welcome the mixed breeds as a historical prerogative. But what about the other attributes that should determine whether or not you qualify? Continue reading

Barbadian Slaves, Masters And The Atlantic Journey: People In A Ship

Submitted by Yardbroom

Recently a Barbados Government Official said that slaves and their masters travelled the Atlantic to Barbados on the same ship – or words to that effect – in essence they had the same experience; he was castigated…some would say with good reason. I understood what the official wanted to say, but he put it so clumsily that the message was lost.  There was interference in transmission; as a result the message’s deeper meaning was sidelined into a tributary of sand.

That we – whites and blacks – came from different lands and have found ourselves on the same rock is true.  That we should try to accommodate each other, and try as best as we can to make Barbados a better place in the 21st century is also true.  That we should be able to debate or discuss slavery without seeing a slave master in every white face is also true.  However, it should also be true that the interaction between whites and blacks in Barbados should not be a few rounds above a slavery relationship; and blacks should not be seen as slaves in remission.

Slavery should not be an unmentionable word; we will only have put the demon of slavery to rest when the issue can be freely discussed.  You cannot dismiss “history” as if it never happened, there is no reason to be uncomfortable about it.  One of the reasons why slavery is not openly discussed in Barbados is simply because some of us have not mentally adjusted to the transition.  We like to think we have, but honestly we have not. Continue reading

Guyana Consul Norman Faria Forced To Do Damage Control

Letters to the Editor
KAIETEUR NEWS Newspaper
Georgetown, Guyana

FIVE ERRORS IN KAIETEUR NEWS EDITORIAL ON GUYANESE AND BAJANS

To whom this may be presented editor@guyanatimesgy.com, news@guyanatimesgy.com, kevin@caribbeannetnews.com, ngmirror@guyana.net.gy – inserted by Barbados Underground

I refer to your recent editorial entitled Bajans distain for Guyanese (KN,30 July 2008) . The paper must be commended for expressing concern for Guyanese nationals abroad. The Editorial made some good points. But the sometimes confusing opinion piece had a number of errors which if gone unchecked could make things worse for the sensitive subject matter..

FIRST ERROR: Relatives of a dead Guyanese man and wounded Guyanese woman in recent robbery at a bar in Barbados claim it is hate crime against Guyanese. It must therefore be true and in fact can be generalised to the whole situation in the island.

REALITY: We sympathise with the relatives. We understand their anguish.We respect their feeling that Guyanese were specially targeted. Consul Faria’s description of the original report in Kaiteur News as ‘speculative nonsense’ was not directed at the grieving relatives but at the paper’s overall sensationalist and poorly researched thrust which tried to paint the horrific incident as a hate crime against Guyanese. Evidence and facts, including from Barbados police and other intelligence (information) sources reaching the Guyana Consulate, do not support a hate crime scenario.The entertainment establishment is in an area where several other businesses, the majority owned and operated by Bajans, have been hit over the years by armed robbers.

SECOND ERROR: “It is a fact that anti-Guyanese sentiments are on the rise in Barbados…They are rampant ” Continue reading

Dr. Randy Persaud Is Peeing On Our Leg And Telling Us It Is Raining

Submitted by Max Hinds-Caribbean Institute for Democracy

Dr.Randy Persaud

Dr.Randy Persaud

Dr. Randy Persaud, a man of letters I am assured, uses the opportunity of the tragic shooting of two Guyanese immigrants in Bridgetown to make the presumptuous claim that it is racism as instigated by Dr. Kean Gibson and Rickford Burke and BARBADOS UNDERGROUND, more so than anti-immigrant sentiment or garden-variety crime that is responsible. (He examines Freddy Kissoon participation also, but decides to absolve him.)

The police investigators in Barbados may want to study Persaud’s allegations for clues as to who the perpetrators are. Better yet, the Guyana authorities could employ Persaud’s line of reasoning to the task of solving the dozens of murders that traumatize that benighted country. But in all seriousness, this Persaud article is as Goebells-like as any that has ever issued from the pens of the special breed of sycophants that prop up the crooks who run Guyana.

Persaud must be familiar, as I am, with the hate-filled Blogs and Chat-groups such as GUYANA UNDER SIEGE and ‘OurGuyana@YahooGroups‘, Guyanafriends.com, etc, that entertain certain Guyanese communities in North America. He would also be familiar with some of the purely ethnic organizations like the INDO CARIBBEAN COUNCIL of New York that vigorously promote and defend the Guyana government, even to the detriment of those of us who may not be avid supporters of the ruling party nor belong to the ruling race. Continue reading

Norman Faria Calls For Blogs To Be Censored While Attending Annalee Davis Rookie Attempt to Capture A Serious Topic on Film in Just 30 Minutes

Annalee Davis

Members of the BU household attended the viewing of a 30 minute documentary titled On The Map produced by Annalee Davis at Solidarity House tonight (15 July 2008). The night’s proceedings was moderated by the ubiquitous Peter Wickham. The viewing although not a full house attracted a cross section of Barbados. Before we comment on the actual 30 minute ‘piece’ we should clarify a few matters which have been given rise by tonights proceedings. Norman Faria, Barbados Guyana Consul during the feedback segment of the night’s event launched a broadside at the blogs, we believe he meant BU given our persistent blogging on the Barbados immigration issue. He called on the authorities to censor us. He referred to the vile, racist and xenophobic positions taken on the blogs regarding the issue of migrant labour with a focus on the Indo-Guyanese.

Norman Faria we hope that you are reading very carefully what we are about to write:

All of our blogs to date on the immigration issue are built on two positions 1) the lack of a managed immigration policy in Barbados and 2) the socio-impact of large inflows of Indians on a predominantly Black host population. We have reread many of our blogs on the subject of immigration and we have struggled to discern any xenophobic meanings on our part. We must admit that some of our commenters have sometimes crossed the line by engaging in racial rhetoric. However Faria, Ricky Singh and others should not mistake the comments of a few commenters to represent the views of the BU household. We believe in free speech and while we don’t condone all the comments on BU we will always seek to protect freedom of expression. We believe that Barbadians are educated enough to filter racist and xenophobic nonsense from the real fears and concerns of Barbadians. The fear was very eloquently expressed by Caribbean Broadcaster Corporation broadcaster Jewel Forde and Sydney Simmons, now retired. The issue of migrant labour is a topic which is currently occupying the many countries in the world, the developed countries being no exception.

To respond to Keith Nurse who we understand is a lecturer at the UWI and who sought to scare Barbadians by referring to the Dominican /Haiti experience by mentioning the word genocide, it will not work! Continue reading

Spike Lee & Clint Eastwood In War Of Roads Over Race In America

Clint Eastwood and Spike lee

Clint Eastwood (l) Spike Lee (r)/Source: UK Telegraph

Thanks to BU family member for alerting us to the war of words currently taking place between two famous American film directors, Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood. At the centre of the dispute is the accusation by Spike Lee that Clint Eastwood has not portrayed the role Blacks played in two of his movies which tell the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima. The Battle of Iwo Jima was a famous battle between the Americans and the Japanese for possession of the island of Iwo Jima somewhere in the Pacific during World War II.

Here is what Spike Lee had to say about the effort by Clint Eastwood to depict the roles of Black soldiers in the battle of Iwo Jima in his latest movie Flags of Our Fathers:

“We’re not on a Plantation, Clint.” Spike Lee hits back in war of words over black Soldiers.Clint Eastwwod made two films about Iwo Jima that ran for more than four hours total, and there was not one Negro actor on the screen. If you reporters had any balls you’d ask him why. There’s no way I know why he did that…But I know it was pointed out to him and that he could have changed it. It’s not like he didn’t know. He did two films about Iwo Jima back to back and there was not one black soldier in both those films. Many veterans, African-Americans, who survived that war are upset at Clint Eastwood. In his vision of Iwo Jima, Negro soldiers did not exist. Simple as that. I have a different version.”

Clint Eastwood was quick to retort: Continue reading

Gauging The Impact of Growing Ethnic Groups Living In Barbados


I refer to a letter from D. Ramprakash entitled ‘Statistics are essential in the marginalisation debate.’ Ramprakash is of course correct; it is a difficult accusation to define or to quantify and so we have to establish marginalisation another way, ie by looking at the perceptions of people, since if perceptions are not reality, they certainly point to what is reality for our people.

Source: Stabroek

racismOn January 31, 2008 we published the blog with the title Indian Racism Against Afro Guyanese In Guyana which referenced a scholarly work (Racism and the degeneration of Guyana) by Dr. Kean Gibson, a lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. To the surprise of the BU household the academic’s research was dismissed by individuals who offered no research of their own, but instead operated on high levels of biase and emotionalism. Leading the charge was our decorated pollster Peter Wickham, who is still drowning in the accolades from being proved correct in the just concluded Barbados general election. In response to the aforementioned blog, Peter Wickham was inspired to submit to BU his article titled, Peter Wickham Says It’s All About Racism & Xenophobia. We said then that the BU household was disappointed Peter Wickham who is a professional pollster, and whose reputation and performance is built on using solid quantitative analysis would have resorted to mere words to refute Dr. Gibson’s effort.

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Should Mormons Be Sent Packing From Barbados?

American cable TV has been flooded with the news in the last 24 hours of 52 young girls who range in ages from 6 months to 17 years old, who were held on a retreat somewhere in Texas. For the BU household this story gets more macabre when we read who was behind this abuse of young people. According to a CBS report the retreat was built by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), located near El Dorado, Texas. We are unable to comprehend how a denomination which worships God and many of the prophets Christians hold dear would engage in such an act as reported.

We have grown up with the memory of those ‘White boys’ who are to this day seen are walking or cycling through Barbadian districts peddling the word. Our research through the years has unearthed many accusations of the Mormon’s negative view of Black people. This revelation has always raised confusion in our minds because of the Black Mormon boys who to this day can be seen walking or cycling through our neighbourhoods.

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Angela & Gary Cole Respond To Anti-Semitic Charge

diana.jpgYes my mom may seem that there is an international conspiracy of wealthy Jews controlling the world.

Yes you know but the Mossad did not burn your house, turn your partner into an animal, kill his friend, send agents to befriend you etc etc you know: you really don’t know my mothers world so I wont even try to explain it. But I thought we were two different people (apparently not – though the joint writing nothing remotely anti- Semitic – you know I don’t think the reader knows that Errol was a very close friend and confident of my mother and talked to her of his opinions of the Arab – Israeli conflict – check out our work – does he even know Carlton my mom’s partner worked for the Mossad and Israeli military people(and South African) came to our house/compound at HARP – please you are mixing classes – you think you know me and my mother and Barbados but you don’t)- have you ever thought the Mossad might send you someone to fall in love with to monitor your movements .. you don’t know – there is a lot of good story here because its true parts of it already in the press here in England…

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Indian Racism Against Afro Guyanese In Guyana

hands.jpegFrom time to time Barbados Underground (BU) will highlight comments which we feel will further the debate in a particular topic. From our inception, we have attempted to deal with the hard issues arising from the impact of immigration on small countries like Barbados. In the process, we have had to deal with the abuse from people who have misunderstood our position, in the case of some we have no doubt it is deliberate. We did not make the decision to tackle controversial issues like immigration, homosexuality, a passive Fourth Estate, corruption in politics, obsolete government systems and others without expecting to attract criticism. We remain committed to bring these issues out of the closet so that all sides of the arguments can be exposed for public comment. It is the only way to demystify and educate the PEOPLE if we are to progress as a society.

In Barbados we have perfected the art of avoiding certain issues in the hope that they will fade away. We thank the commenter who submitted the note below.

David

This was copied from The Caribbean Impact – Jan 2008

Racism and the degeneration of Guyana
PART I
By Dr. KEAN GIBSON

I am on a one-year sabbatical from my job at The University of the West Indies, Barbados so most of my time is spent in Guyana which is my research area. I have done research on the Creole language, African-Guyanese culture (Comfa and Kwe-Kwe), but more recently I have been interested in the racism in the society and the political, social and economic consequences of a racial power structure. In the past I would spend my summer vacations and have occasional short visits to the country.

Whenever I return to Barbados it takes me a couple of days to recover from the trauma of the society. Now that I am in Guyana on a more or less continuous basis, I feel that I am living in a pressure cooker, and like many Guyanese, I just want some relief from the tensions in society. The problem in the country is inequality and the consequences of it with respect to differential distribution, rights and duties (which is what racism is about).

I was particularly concerned with a report in the Stabroek News (”Five ERC reports presented to Parliament,” October 19, 2007) where it was stated that studies conducted by the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) show that discrimination against African-Guyanese was a ‘perception’:

“The Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) says studies on five important areas of concern in the country found no real evidence of discrimination but a perception that certain ethnic groups are discriminated against.”

A subsequent notice appeared in Stabroek News (October 28, 2007) where the ERC was inviting African-Guyanese to a forum to discuss their “perceived needs.” The use of the term “perception” implies that nothing needs to be done since discrimination is just a figment of the imagination of African-Guyanese. The discrimination must be a perception because no laws are broken. In South Africa during the apartheid era, and in the Southern United States in the pre-Martin Luther King, Jr. era, laws were passed prohibiting people from living or sitting in certain areas; and if these laws were broken, punishment could then be inflicted. Also, it is in the laws of Guyana that Guyanese cannot own lands in Amerindian areas, but Amerindians can own lands in other areas. So if members of other ethnic groups seek to purchase lands in Amerindian designated areas the discrimination would be very clear since a law would be broken.

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