PeterOConnor On Trinidad and Tobago Emancipation August 1
"Slaves were forcibly Christianized and “culturalized” to be black
Europeans. By the time of Emancipation, few might have had
any memory of Africa, of their forefathers, and of their life and
rituals. They were deemed “lazy”, and “shiftless”, but to me, it
would have been their duty to have been so. Born into
generations of violent oppression, that would be the most
obvious reaction—work as little as possible, sabotage as much
as you can. I would see that as “duty”."
"Stripped of every aspect of their own being, “freed” slaves were
a people without a history. How then could they embrace the
present—Emancipation? In what terms could they plan a
future? To most, except in dire terms of survival, staying on the
plantations would have been totally repugnant."
i now realize: is it the bible that says we, as Black people are destined to destruction and demolition? in other words of course. It never hit me before but by the words of this creole in Trinidad. not novel words. repeated oft times. but only now making sense. at certain times things click and never before. sometimes it is the litany and order of the way things are put across that make each line be a coded sequential click that unlocks all wisdom
the quotes about black african people and work and land makes our condition the global diaspora over very clear. a related but different dynamic obtains in continental africa i imagine.
the two things my life toil has been heavily planted: the former quote relating work and the creation of ideas into empires, business models, the summoning of internal energy to apply to a vision and an intention beyond petty profiling and pretense. the latter from my background, interest, origin, training and preference in agriculture. i saw in two land masses: here in trinidad and mostly in the US, black african people abandon land like old t-shirts and that has always boggled my mind. i somehow knew the reason in the back of my mind, but the way Peter writes I see it as sinew now, inextricable to the black body being, almost.
apart from the land as all that the black enslaved body would have though, in terms of access, ownership and skill, with what else do you build?
and i have always been disappointed that we as a people were not more shrewd and strategic toward our own interest: suck it up and get past it. work the land, that is our comparative advantage. incidentally and interestingly enough, my field as a development economist, its foundation theory is that of transformational steps starting from agriculture, growing and producing surplus that then is split into manufacturing and subsequently service, from innovation, creating and the development of free time from the use of technology. you cant get around it. so if you suspend and stop all those processes, what do you have? and where are you going? it is set up like a chess board. no where. all the pieces are blocked. there are no squares beyond where the pieces stand, each individual piece. they stand alone
"chasms to explore"
"Slaves were forcibly Christianized and “culturalized” to be black
Europeans. By the time of Emancipation, few might have had
any memory of Africa, of their forefathers, and of their life and
rituals. They were deemed “lazy”, and “shiftless”, but to me, it
would have been their duty to have been so. Born into
generations of violent oppression, that would be the most
obvious reaction—work as little as possible, sabotage as much
as you can. I would see that as “duty”."
"Stripped of every aspect of their own being, “freed” slaves were
a people without a history. How then could they embrace the
present—Emancipation? In what terms could they plan a
future? To most, except in dire terms of survival, staying on the
plantations would have been totally repugnant."
i now realize: is it the bible that says we, as Black people are destined to destruction and demolition? in other words of course. It never hit me before but by the words of this creole in Trinidad. not novel words. repeated oft times. but only now making sense. at certain times things click and never before. sometimes it is the litany and order of the way things are put across that make each line be a coded sequential click that unlocks all wisdom
the quotes about black african people and work and land makes our condition the global diaspora over very clear. a related but different dynamic obtains in continental africa i imagine.
the two things my life toil has been heavily planted: the former quote relating work and the creation of ideas into empires, business models, the summoning of internal energy to apply to a vision and an intention beyond petty profiling and pretense. the latter from my background, interest, origin, training and preference in agriculture. i saw in two land masses: here in trinidad and mostly in the US, black african people abandon land like old t-shirts and that has always boggled my mind. i somehow knew the reason in the back of my mind, but the way Peter writes I see it as sinew now, inextricable to the black body being, almost.
apart from the land as all that the black enslaved body would have though, in terms of access, ownership and skill, with what else do you build?
and i have always been disappointed that we as a people were not more shrewd and strategic toward our own interest: suck it up and get past it. work the land, that is our comparative advantage. incidentally and interestingly enough, my field as a development economist, its foundation theory is that of transformational steps starting from agriculture, growing and producing surplus that then is split into manufacturing and subsequently service, from innovation, creating and the development of free time from the use of technology. you cant get around it. so if you suspend and stop all those processes, what do you have? and where are you going? it is set up like a chess board. no where. all the pieces are blocked. there are no squares beyond where the pieces stand, each individual piece. they stand alone
"chasms to explore"
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