..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

[bajanyardie]

Re: ..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

Oh and re: ur comment about UWI- offa UWI! :verymad: Nuh bodda wid it! Nuh touch it- UWI has its many flaws (then again, can I be considered an expert having 'only' gone there a few years) but it has and is serving the Caribbean and I tired of people always trying to pull it down. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

Da is one ting used to puzzle me, why people like to offload pun UWI so and nuh mention damn instigating, s**t disturbing Mutty Perkins wid him snide 'I.G.' comments.

Furthermore, bringing in Mutty just undermines fi you owna argument cos he is de first one always have criticism fi every damn ting inna Jamaica. If u want to hear what and what wrong wid de island, just listen to him show. Honestly I could never understand why Jamaicans used to leh dis man abuse dem so pun de radio, criticise and tear down and talk over people and belittle. You ent like my comments re: Jamaicans... u ent want nutten wid Mutty then! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

[CeaBee]

Re: ..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

When I moved to the States I was surprised at how unfriendly people were...but bigger city..more hustle and bustle less chance that people were going to take time out to put forth that much effort

Moving back home to JA..its amazing to me how polite all my co-workers are "morning" etc. from every jack man..

And personally I don't like calypso, soca etc..just a personal preference (and maybe the preference of the majority of Jamaicans)- does it make us insular and insulting- because we *prefer* our home grown music? ...

[REGGAEMAN]

Re: ..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

Well said Coolbeans. I coudn't have said it better myself.

[bajanyardie]

Re: ..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

exactly coolbeans... but did u like it? [img]/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] was it not off-putting?

I myself didn't take it on much after the first couple times and just getting back blank stares. I just reason I was going to continue greeting people whether they responded or not.

But not everyone takes it that way at all...

[Tigrrr]

Re: ..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

bajanyardie,
you had the courage to post a provocative subject and be honest about your feelings.

It would be wonderful in someone, anyone, on this board could help change things for the better. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]ray:

[CeaBee]

Re: ..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

Well I just stopped saying good morning to everyone..i'm no glutton for punishment and figured that while in rome...

Then I came back to Jamaica, and was branded the arrogant, unfriendly American [img]/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[X]

Re: ..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

well sweetiepie hunny bunch, mi cullumpendumplin (since yuh decide fi call mi dawling)..

1. "We" allow people like Mutty Perkins on the air ways because of amuch talked about, but rearly practiced thing called Democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of choice..
Me mentioning one of Mutty's remarks, does not make me a "Perkinite".. Just as someone metioning something Hitler says, doesnt majkes that person a Nazi. Even stupid people have flashes of genius sometimes..
Perkin's branding of UWI as an intellectual ghetto has some merits.
See the diffrence with me is that I can listen to stuff objectively. I'm am not Zombified by stuff I read and hear.

My take on many UWI collegues.. It depends on what they study there.. Nat Sci people tend to be a bit more open minded, and are world class in thier brilliance, Sco sci people seem to be aloof, opinionated and narrow minded. They all seem to be saying the same thing, and anyone who says diffrently is villified. But thats just my experience.

Soca may never be as accepted as Reggae, that just the way it is, there is little we can do about that./ I for one dont mind it, but like all type of music, I can just bear so much of it and then I need to switch. Reggae (not dancehall) music tends to have a message, and sometimes its medicine to people's soul. Its as simple as that.

As for friendliness.. I stand by what I said.. You get what you put out, and its isolated to where you are at. Its stupid to imply that all Jamaicans are unfriendly based off your limited exposure. My experience living in Jamaica was totally diffrent, you could look a man in the eye and greet him. If a one dont like yuh, yuh know rigththere and then, if not, a one would do anything for yuh like a brother or sista.. but that just my experience.

As for being an expert on Jamaicans.. huh??!! Show me a true expert on any nation of people and I'll show you an arrogant fool. NOBODY is truly an expert on anyone people.


To each his own, and until we stop treating people with negative perceptions, we'll be in the spiral. Sad thing is, our perceptions tends to become our reality.. If you treat a man like a brute, dont be surprised if he starts acting like one.

Anyway "SWEETNESS".. mi gone nyam some Chineese food. (see mi embrace other cultures.. even if a wid mi bellie)

[Tigrrr]

Re: ..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

What I wouldn't give for some good Chinese food right now... [img]/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Coolbeans and bajan, a similar situation happened to me right here in Waterloo, Iowa.

When I worked in Components Manufacturing, everybody I passed would smile and say hello. Some people I got to know quite well based on a simple hello.

When I moved to Transmission Assembly (same company, same town, different building) I was treated like a leper. It totally threw mw for a loop, because I have never had problems getting along with people I meet in real life. It took almost a year before people became comfortable with me.

Then guess what? I was moved back to Components.

My first day back in Components everybody was so nice to me I almost started to cry!

My point is this - even in a small community, the reception you get from people can vary from area to area, person to person. I am Black, most of these people are White. Yet a simple smile and "hello" varied from building to building.

[Wahalla]

Re: ..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

Originally posted by bajanyardie:
[qb] Oh and re: ur comment about UWI- offa UWI! :verymad: Nuh bodda wid it! Nuh touch it- UWI has its many flaws (then again, can I be considered an expert having 'only' gone there a few years) but it has and is serving the Caribbean and I tired of people always trying to pull it down. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

Da is one ting used to puzzle me, why people like to offload pun UWI so and nuh mention damn instigating, s**t disturbing Mutty Perkins wid him snide 'I.G.' comments.

Furthermore, bringing in Mutty just undermines fi you owna argument cos he is de first one always have criticism fi every damn ting inna Jamaica. If u want to hear what and what wrong wid de island, just listen to him show. Honestly I could never understand why Jamaicans used to leh dis man abuse dem so pun de radio, criticise and tear down and talk over people and belittle. You ent like my comments re: Jamaicans... u ent want nutten wid Mutty then! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [/qb]

I was with you till you touch Mutty....... Mutty is someone for the most part Jamaicans get... He is the kid who cries the Emporor has no clothes... too often Jamaicans rationilise their own failure into acceptance.... Mutty says failure is not acceptable.....We must dow better... And Mutty has earned teh respect of Jamaicans the hard way.... He has stood teh test of time... (Anmd by the way you can get sense out of Mutty... And you better have the information correct and the guts to give as good as he gives..... He and I once had a verbal clash on country road over a quater a centuary ago!!!!! I think I came out ahead of the encounter on points! i stunned him by using self deprication and provable facts)))) [img]/forums/images/graemlins/704555_dwl.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/graemlins/704555_dwl.gif[/img]

His claim that UWI is an interlectual Ghetto struck me as a good sound bite.. Had he said what is normally said UWI is a ivory tower... it would have been debated as genteel manner.... Without the heat... Or the had he said that the education it is producing though good was not entirely relevant to rel;ity that is the corporate area much less the rest of Jamaica....

Any way ha mi know ??? Mi is not one of the a select minority who were deemed to have the fulfilled the criteria to enter.... Mi was the small man intimidated by acedemic fear of its occupants.... Thus is not unfortunate enugh to enter its hallowed halls... As it caters to a minority excluded the majority by means of interlectual and acedemic criteria... then indeed it is a ghetto... and teh criteria for selection for entry is interlectualism!!!!

[Tigrrr]

Re: ..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

Wahalla,
Pardon my old lady's memory, but weren't you one of the people who detested their experience of high school in Jamaica? Forgive me if I have you mixed up with summadi else.

However if it was you, how big is the chasm between the haves and have nots when it comes to college education?

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: ..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

Originally posted by Juss plain ole B_P:
[qb] What's this thing about Jamaicans and Haitians anyway? Why do boat people from Haiti make Jamaica their destination when they are not wanted there? [/qb]

BP if Jamaicans in general didm't want Hatians there,they would't land there in the first place,because most of them have to be rescued,by Jamaican fishermen.
Where do you get the unfounded idea that Jamaicans don't like Hatians?
When was the last time you visited Jamaica?
Do you think that the Jamaicansa that you come in contact with represent Jamaicams living in Jamaica?
Remember,it Jamaica the Hatians go,so the Jamaicans that matter is the ones that they comes in contact with.
If you read the Jamaica local news on the net on the subject you will se how erroneous your statement is.

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: ..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

Originally posted by bajanyardie:
[qb] Leh me preface dis comment wid a likkle background.
I think I have a both-perspectives answer to this, cos I'm both- Jamaican and 'other West Indian'- Barbadian.
To be honest, I've lived in Barbados most of my life, but I went to university in JA and it was the best time of my life. I loved it and I love JA- my wonderful, dreadful, schizo other island. :love:

But! Jamaicans are bloody arrogant.
No lotta long talk, no sugar-coating it, I telling wunna plain. Jamaicans can be very arrogant, tend to be condescending, especially of the other smaller islands and they tend to be insular no rhatid. The insularity is not neccesarily Jamaicans' fault, because geographically they are far from the rest of the English speaking C'bean. It ent like here in de E.C. where we can hop a plane and reach another island in half hour and there is a lot of back and forth between the islands.

But! Jamaicans still tend to look north before they look south- even reading the Gleaner and the Observer, one of the things that used to frustrate me was how little C'bean news there was compared to what I was used to 'back home'.

Jamaicans tend to be woefully uninformed and often close-minded about the culture of the other islands in the Caribbean and it galls the rest of us (or dem) because we are in tune with JA culture. Dancehall music does be licking down every day in we part and then when we go a session in Kingston, if u hear de yardie dem cuss and gwan bad if soca play for 2 seconds. It's insulting.

Another reason why many other West Indians are not thrilled by yardies- you have to admit it is true that almost as much as Jamaicans make the Caribbean 'look good' by their accomplishments, they make it 'look bad' by their misdeeds... and more yardies out deh misdeeding (i know it ent a word) [img]/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] than other nationalities, but people 'up north' will categorise all West Indians as Jamaicans... and often it ent in a complimentary way.

And last of all...Jamaicans can be damn unfriendly. Not all, especially not country people, but Kingstonians especially I find dem hard man! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/70361-embarassed.gif[/img] Perhaps it is that the reality of Kgn has made them unfriendly and cold, but when I came from the E.C. and I walk pun de road and say 'good morning' to people and dem look me back in my face and pass me like a full bus... I was shocked. Coming from smaller islands, we're used to people making eye contact with you on the road so they can greet you. In Kingston, people just... look pon yu, but dem nuh say NUTTEN!

I say this with all the love, because I have many Jamaican friends and family but it is all true, true, true and that is why a lot of other West Indians tend not to like yardies.

Just look at some of the comments on this board- they are so typical. 'Dem jealous a we cos we have fame and reputation' and rae, rae,rae... When I used to get this in JA, I used to just bite my lips and hold strain cos if mi did leggo pon dem bout why mi coulda neva jealous of JA as a Barbadian and why it should be the other way around, it woulda come off as cruel. Cos de things Jamaicans tell other West Indians they should be jealous of are essentially superficial- the cultural/athletic accomplishments of others, not the social/political accomplishments of the society on the whole like... say, Barbados. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

awoah! dis lang... [img]/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] [/qb]

What nonsense!!

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: ..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

Originally posted by coolbeans*:
[qb] When I moved to the States I was surprised at how unfriendly people were...but bigger city..more hustle and bustle less chance that people were going to take time out to put forth that much effort

Moving back home to JA..its amazing to me how polite all my co-workers are "morning" etc. from every jack man..

And personally I don't like calypso, soca etc..just a personal preference (and maybe the preference of the majority of Jamaicans)- does it make us insular and insulting- because we *prefer* our home grown music? ... [/qb]

It is OK for them to love their own music,but for us to love ours,it is 'insular'
Why they think we developed our own music anyway?
Do They think that it is because we loved theirs as much?
I wonder what they must be saying about other nationalities,that loves reggae,more than Calypso,and Soca.
Possibly terrorists!?!

[caribelle]

Re: ..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

Originally posted by bajanyardie:
[qb]
But! Jamaicans still tend to look north before they look south- [/qb]

This is true. A lot of Jamaicans don't seem to know much about the Caribbean and other Caribbean islands. The focus tends to be more towards North America.

Bajanyardie, I enjoyed your post. Funny thing is, I always used to hear to how Bajans are arrogant and condescending..but when I went to Barbados I found everybody to be so friendly and warm. Lovely place. I would live there - kind of reminds me of St.Kitts.

Maybe some of it is just stereotyping. Some of it might be true. I don't know...

I do think, though, that Jamaicans tend to be more insular than other CAribbean islands - and geography probably has a lot to do with it.

Re: the music, nothing is wrong with loving your own music, but if it's to the point that you don't want to hear anything else..that comes across as close-minded and insular. WEst Indians love soca yes, but we love dancehall just as much.

[Guest]

Re: ..reality check.. does other west indians really despises Jamaicans?..

Good thread - interesting and honest views being presented without fighting! Wow!!

What I can conclude from this is that we shouldn't let other people's preconceptions define us. We are not all insular, arrogant, criminal types. Just as people from the EC are not all cosmopolitan, modest, law-abiding citizens.

On the other hand, we do have a lot to learn from places like Barbados, where the crime rate is much, much lower and they are more successful in running the economy and public policies in general. Saying Bajans (or Trinis or Grenadans) are jealous is damn foolishness.

BTW, coolbeans*, I am so with you on the preference for reggae. Soca gives me a headache.