2016 has dawned. A Happy New Year to all followers of Pepper’s blog, wishing you happiness, health and success.
For my first blog of the year, I reflect on a (disturbing) development on the retail landscape and the psyche of the people of Trinidad and Tobago. This anomaly is the appearance of the Black Friday Sale which has been introduced to us in recent years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnho6hcr41A
I could not believe my eyes when I saw the video of the stampede at PriceMart MovieTowne on the morning of their Black Friday Sale. I also heard that Nigel R. Khan Booksellers had such a sale. I am sure that there were other merchants that also took part in the new trend. I heard some voices complaining about the infiltration of the American culture, just as they do when Halloween comes around. I have become mum on the subject as we willingly brought this upon ourselves.
I remember when at the first advertising agency I worked at, in the early 2000’s, I was fussing about the use of the word, “summer” which was becoming commonplace in our advertising. I was hushed and even ridiculed somewhat with the question, “So what you go call that period? The long holidays?” I was told that “summer” was the best word to use. For years my argument against using “summer” continued, from agency to agency, to no avail. It evaded the minds of many that acceptance such as this is a threat to heritage.
Sadly, there is a Trinidad mindset (I deliberately left Tobago out of this) where we think that foreign is better than local. We think less of our own. How often have we heard the arrogant line, “I don’t look at local TV”? This statement is made with a sort of pride that suggests being more sophisticated than the poorer locals who cannot afford cable television. The false pride we possess is our weakness and the source of our downfall.
In 2010 France was embroiled in a heated government-led debate about national identity. A group of self-styled guardians of the French language cited a poll that 80% of the French see their language as crucial to national cohesion. They saw the invasion of the English words into their language posing more of a “grave threat” to French national identity than the imposition of German under the Nazi occupation. This is how seriously the proud people of France see the effect on the bigger picture by something as simple as foreign words becoming accepted into their language. What a grave difference to us.
So, today, we dress up our children for Halloween having them wander the streets for candy (the word Americans use for sweets), not only in Victoria Gardens, but in Chaguanas and I heard recently, even in Maloney Gardens. Do these children have any idea of ole mas? I would love to ask every one of those children personally. I remember when I was a child and on carnival Monday morning, the Jab Molassie would scare people and to get them to leave us in peace, you had to give them money. This was our “Trick or Treat.” Do our children know about this? In fact, does it exist anymore and if not, why not?
Halloween, Black Friday sales and summer have nothing to do with our culture, climate or history. This is but a symbol for the bigger truth of us killing our intrinsic qualities and embracing the alien. How is this affecting the national psyche? Could some of our social challenges be traced back to this actuality? The questions are many.
I conclude by saying that after gaining independence in 1962, where the dream of breaking away from the colonial master and being self-governed was realised, we are today sadly under a new colonial power; that of the United States of America, at least mentally. Is this a good thing? No! A population without a cohesive mind can easily be manipulated and divided. However, who am I to make such a statement? After all, fifteen years ago, I was silenced when I complained about the word, “summer.”
