tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10415667.post113941892708877180..comments2023-07-18T05:41:20.210-07:00Comments on Alien In The Caribbean: Black On Black Racism In ParadiseJessica Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00918518641443769144noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10415667.post-18642061842952967262012-02-23T05:33:25.049-08:002012-02-23T05:33:25.049-08:00You will find racism almost everywhere, even in pl...You will find racism almost everywhere, even in places that boast exceptional tolerance. <br /><br />If you make it the sole deciding factor in where you go to enjoy a visit, you will cloister yourself at home. <br /><br />I suggest trying to apply a spiritual and intellectual filter of love, understanding and empowerment that makes it possible for you to shake it off your back when anyone tries to lay their hang-ups on you.Jessica Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00918518641443769144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10415667.post-25672894812355100902012-01-22T15:59:14.290-08:002012-01-22T15:59:14.290-08:00Great article Jessica. This world is so screwed up...Great article Jessica. This world is so screwed up and there is no fix. I often tell people that fascism, hatred, and racism proliferate in non-diverse cultures. In 1968 Martin Luther King preached about solving racism through non-violence and he preached he had a dream of races coming together. The dream is realized but the nightmare continues. I wish I could wake up to a different reality. Its 2012 and the systematic psychological brain washing generation after generation, remains a badge of slavery! I was in court one day talking to a sister at the lawyer's table (we are both black lawyers.) We were having a casual conversation. She is of West Indian descent and so am I. Both of us are raised in America. Then two white male colleagues came to our table and she commenced having an intellectual conversation with them to the exclusion of me. I don't think she was even conscientious of it. I found her conduct to be insulting but never shared this with her. On another occasion I met an African American female attorney conversing with a white male attorney in the lobby of a courthouse. When I struck up a hello to the both of them, a conversation commenced but then the black female attorney turned her back to me and leaned forward as if to have a serious conversation with our white male counterpart. There was nothing confidential in the nature of the conversation for her to try to steer me away, nor do I think she was conscientious of it. I am conscientious of it, because in high school I was beaten up by a group of black girls for thinking I was better than them because I had a best friend who was white. This incident took place on the grounds of a middle-class and upper-class school which was predominantly Irish and the blacks were minorities. When I was in elementary school I would get beaten with a yardstick by my white male teacher or a black teacher or a white nun, for disobedience like talking, to the exclusion of light skin children or white children who were equally disobedient. Unless you experience these types of discrimination, personally, you can easily rationalize that the nature of the problem has some other causal factor than racism. The root of these incidents is always historical racism and prejudice. It not sexism or any other factor though both may co-exist in any given situation. <br />My family is from Haiti. In Haiti the color of your skin dictates your economic status and respectability. When the Catholic Church set up shop in Haiti, the priests taught the Haitians that they were inferior to whites. Ask anyone from Haiti who went to a school run by the Christian Brothers and you will find this to be a fact. Many middle class Haitians had enough respect for themselves to know that this was bullshit. Nevertheless, some believed it to be true. As to the rest of the Caribbean, I can only speak about Jamaica. I use to be married to a Jamaican and visited that country often and hated going there because the colonial stigma still endures. Native blacks are not allowed in the resort hotel unless they are on duty. I found your post while researching St. Lucia to see if there is such a stigma there. Well, I won't be visiting St. Lucia anymore! Do you have any suggestions world traveler? I just want to go somewhere and relax, not having to be concerned about color. JJAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10415667.post-3301580486243710822009-08-10T03:31:09.201-07:002009-08-10T03:31:09.201-07:00Just found your blog today it's wonderful. I j...Just found your blog today it's wonderful. I just reading this blog nice very nice. This is a great and <br />interesting post. I am a fan and enjoy your post. Black's racism towards white is often called reverse racism because of the oppresion that blacks suffered from whites over hundreds of years. However, I consider it just plain racism.Alima Bellhttp://www.asiarooms.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10415667.post-1140825735464590962006-02-24T16:02:00.000-08:002006-02-24T16:02:00.000-08:00Thanks for the tip, Alien. I'll start working on m...Thanks for the tip, Alien. I'll start working on my "I'm a Tourist" t-shirt asap.Elspethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08818240263719381120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10415667.post-1139927062236211702006-02-14T06:24:00.000-08:002006-02-14T06:24:00.000-08:00Hey taran, your point is well taken and I do agree...Hey taran, your point is well taken and I do agree the issue of two men beating on a woman is all about power abuse and similar to rape. <BR/><BR/>I imagine you CAN look at the incident as just a matter of how "locals" are treated v.s. how "tourists" are treated. But I do not think it is enough to leave it there. <BR/><BR/>I always ask WHY. So the question is WHY are locals treated that way by their fellow locals? How did this devalued treatment come about? In this case, race is also closely tied into the situation because the local population is in fact predominantly black. So it does beg the question WHY do black people treat their fellow black people in such a manner? <BR/><BR/>Remember, it's the same people who sing along to songs of African pride and solidarity not to mention Bob Marley when Emancipation, Independence and Jounen Kweyol holidadys roll around and then turn around and ill treat each other with impunity. <BR/><BR/>I imagine a black person will have to indeed wear that "I AM A TOURIST" t shirt just to get some respect. In fact, it is ironic that right now in preparation for Cricket World Cup, we are helping the population improve their hospitality and one of the key messages is, BE NICE TO EVERYONE because you cannot tell who is a visitor and who isn't. Not all tourists are white.Jessica Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00918518641443769144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10415667.post-1139520583134491902006-02-09T13:29:00.000-08:002006-02-09T13:29:00.000-08:00You know... in this case it may be more complicate...You know... in this case it may be more complicated than racism. I think it's more of a 'local ting'. <BR/><BR/>Because the woman was black, she may have been mistaken for a local. And the way locals are treated is *always* different than the way foreigners are treated. In some places, locals get treated better. In other places, locals get treated worse.<BR/><BR/>And then there's the sex issue - any 2 men that beat a woman are obviously not doing it out of self defense. That's the stuff rape is made of. It's a matter of power, of authority... having power over another person. <BR/><BR/>And THEN... there's the whole issue of plain clothes police *drinking on duty*. <BR/><BR/>And THEN... if you're a plain clothes police officer, it means that the 'cover' was blown just to beat up some poor woman...<BR/><BR/>I've been down there. I rode the bus to Anse La Raye by myself (despite warnings to not go by myself) and had a pretty good time. <BR/><BR/>Maybe everyone in St. Lucia should wear "I'm a Tourist" t-shirts. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com