As Chinnimad celebrates its unique position as a law entirely unto itself, a realm in which all norms are suspended, disregarded, delightedly flouted or simply ignored, it's amusing to read of our latest tiff in the rumshop. A police ossifah (sic) who despite the demands of his job, supports the culture by way of calypso, has had his offering on the highly-topical topic of False Papers banned from the Kalypso Revue Tent by no less than the maestro of bile, Sugar "Bitter" Aloes, on the grounds of its "racial undertones."
This truly has to be the land where "everyting is everyting" and memory is nothing. The golden butcher who used to warble on one side of our ethnic divide, is now so apparently strapped for cash, that in his capacity as manager of Kalypso Revue he has banned Roger "Bodyguard" Mohammed's False Papers on the grounds that the calypso is "divisive because it was unfairly attacking Indo-Trinidadians" and more to the point: "As a businessman, I cannot pay somebody to insult my audience."
Aloes' conflation of morality and economic expediency perfectly illustrates our current culture. There are no values beyond that of the almighty dollar and the immediate present. What was cultural identity, respect for heritage and tradition, or more scary, respect for human life and the fundamentals of any society claiming developing status (truth, accountability, integrity) can be thrown out the window with all the thoughtlessness of a litterbug.
On and off the road, we is in a rush, so we is more Rushian than Trini, ent? But it seems obvious to all but the most deaf and blind that we done reach already–nowhere.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/digital/new-members