T&T: We are, er, we think we are, superior

So much for The Oxford Voice.

Here's a lengthy and terrific essay by Kirk Meighoo; it's an attempt to explain T&T in relation to the rest of the Caribbean. He's got some interesting insights. I am tempted to agree with his conclusion simply because I know T&Tians regard our country as the America of the Caribbean. Ah, well. A few excerpts:

Trinidadians do concede that we are part of the Caribbean. Yet deep down inside, many Trinidadians perhaps feel more American than Caribbean. Certainly, many have far more knowledge of connection to the United States. (Earl Lovelace's very funny short story, "Jobell and America" is hilariously insightful.)

In many ways, we really are apart from the rest of the Caribbean: our oil and petrochemical economy is unique, geologically we are connected to the South American continent rather than the volcanically formed, beautiful Caribbean archipelago, Trinidad is not dependent on tourism and agriculture, our Hindu and Muslim presence distinguishes our sensibility, while our British and French heritage does not run nearly as deep as in the older islands.

(Tobago is much more like the rest of the Caribbean.)

With this feeling of difference, when we speak of problems in Haiti, Trinidadians condescend. We smugly think of ourselves as being far superior.
...
What distinguishes Trinidad-in the context of the political violence of Haiti, Jamaica, or Guyana-is the large number of people outside of the dominant Afro-Saxon/Hindu rivalry, who are ready to strategically switch allegiances, or simply ignore the rivalry and dismiss it as so much foolishness: the Garveyites, Butlerites, Tobagonians, Presbyterians, Muslims, French Creoles, and that large group of people which cannot fit neatly into any of the established groups because of mixed marriage, mixed race, education abroad, or other reasons.

They refuse to be drawn in any enthusiastic confrontation. It is impossible for demagogues to push their emotional buttons to incite ruthless acts against their opponents.
...
Interestingly, Eric Williams noted a stark difference between our countries: "In 1963 the alternatives for the Caribbean are either Castroism or something else. It is the claim of Trinidad and Tobago that Trinidad and Tobago is that something else." Perhaps Trinidad and Tobago does present another extreme.
...
We think of ourselves as so superior not only because we don't know enough about our neighbours, but also because we do know enough about ourselves.

It makes me wonder to what extent our laissez-faire, party animal mentality has affected our approach to politics and life. We'll argue down to the ground, but are not likely to take the argument all the way to an armed uprising. Case in point, the coup of 1990. Everybody who was supposed to support the coup, such as the unions, when the coup arrived, nobody showed. The law and the courts are our way. Now, the burning question is this: does the symbolic significance of Woodford Square have anything to do with how we are? I think so.