Public Service Announcement

It's already been said, but it bears repeating, so listen up fellas:

Women are people too. We have thoughts, feelings, concerns, priorities, and rights just like men.

I say that to say this:

We owe you nothing.

Racism: It Is What It Is

In the wake of the appalling comments by journalist Darryl Heeralal, I've taken a lot of flack for:

a. daring to deem the statements racist, and

b. daring to ask how someone who has claimed such racist sentiments as his own can then be said to -not- be a racist.

Hysterics or Hilarity?

(from The New Yorker)

Once upon a time, the blatant lies and pathetic attempts of misdirection by T&T's politicians caused me great upset.

A single headline quoting Jack Warner, Anand Ramlogan or any number of other local politicians was enough to cause a spike in my blood pressure as I struggled to fathom the audacity required to insult the population with such boldfaced doublespeak. My loved ones feared that I'd eventually keel over and die of an aneurysm while reading the morning paper.

A Sad State of Affairs

So... I just stumbled across a Jezebel piece titled "How to Get Out of a Hook Up When the Guy Is Already in your Apartment". I was pretty sure it'd raise my blood pressure before I clicked the link, because I just knew that the odds of the first sentence being "Tell him it's time to go" were slim to none. 

Sometimes I hate being right.

I'm not African

I was chatting with someone a few weeks ago, when I made reference to the politics of various ethnic groups in Trinidad and Tobago. When I used the word "black" to describe the group to which I ostensibly belong, she stopped me and - ever so politely - corrected me to "African."

I paused for a second, but I gave in. I did this for two reasons:

1. We were talking about something else and didn't want to get side-tracked in the little bit of time that we had.
2. I didn't think an explanation of why I don't identify as "African" would be appropriate at the time and in that setting. 

I've noticed that people who do identify as African tend to become offended by that revelation. So, just this once, I went a long to get along. Always with the intention of correcting the misconception at a later date. I haven't had the chance to do so yet, though, and it's crossed my mind a few times since, so I figured I'd write it out.

So, here are the four reasons that I don't identify as African:

Tall Tales

After Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh announced his intention to go on a hunger strike, it became painfully clear how much nonsense was floating around in the public domain about the Mon Desir to Debe section of the San Fernando to Point Fortin highway.

It was only after watching the Prime Minister address the matter for the first time today, that I realized how much the People's Partnership Government is responsible for the fact that some of the most intense commentary on the issue is coming from people who have no clue what they're talking about.

In the spirit of the Communication Ministry's 12-point Fact Sheet aimed at refuting Kublalsingh's claims, please allow me to cut through just a bit of the b.s.:

Trini Commitment

There's a lot of debate about whether Highway Re-Route Movement leader Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh is really on a hunger strike, whether he's being childish, whether he's trying to prey on public sympathy to manipulate the government, etc.

I'm interested in none of it.