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The_Honourable wrote:It seems the outrage is more that an indo said it even tho some afros call Rowley terms that have the same definition or worse. You hear it on talk radio weekdays but no outrage.
teems1 wrote: comment towards KR skin colour.
meccalli wrote:teems1 wrote: comment towards KR skin colour.
You didn't do literature in school did you?
teems1 wrote:Got a distinction, why?
Calling someone an Oreo implies black on the outside, white on the inside.
Black on the outside directly pertains to one's skin colour.
rspann wrote:That is the same explanation David Mohammed gave on radio today. He even said the ones who brought it to the forefront are damaging Growlers more by putting that accusation in the limelight.
Kamla hurting her image by doing this stupidness. You want support but alienating a very important part of society, just to attack Growley? You saying things that does not become a prime ministerial candidate. Talk issues leave the bacchanal for others, try to redeem the little goodwill you still have left. Another mistake she's making is pushing Ramdeen to speak on behalf of her party. That is not the ideal poster boy for honesty and morality in public office.
eliteauto wrote:they jumped the gun making accusations of naked racism, it's not even derogatory, it's simply insultive and only if you feel insulted. Dr Rowley should own that comment, with pride. BTW I wonder if Jerlean John applauded when it was said?
Kams knows what's in her heart
Dan where u does come out fromEFFECTIC DESIGNS wrote:It have a PNM driver in my wuk who told me that there was nothing wrong with the gorillas pulling out the woman sari at the family day and that furthermore the baby grant was a conspiracy to breed more Indian for votes even though somehow it mainly benefited people from laventille.
Kamla responds
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
Sean Douglas
OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said her description of the Prime Minister as an “Oreo” was not racist but may have been insensitive.
“I do take note of comments by some that there may have been some insensitivity, but there was not an iota of racism in my statements. My track record in public life speaks for itself. I acknowledge that relevant truths can be spoken with less sensitive words in future.”
She vowed to not be drawn into a desperate attempt by the PNM to shift public attention away from real issues. “The PNM’s history has always been to distract the public attention away from their incompetence and the hardship that they inflict on poor suffering people in our country.”
She spoke of a quiet revolution world-wide where citizens no longer let themselves be used as gatekeepers and doormats. “Whilst the old guard desperately seeks to maintain control, we are fighting to change the status quo so there can be equality of treatment and opportunity for all.
“The old guard or the one percent is not confined to any one race or ethnic group. It is a group of persons of various backgrounds, races and ethnicities whose only concern is the accumulation of wealth at the expense of the wider society.”
She said this alleged failed government is desperately resorting to race baiting to distract from pressing issues such as closure at Petrotrin, joblessness, a high cost of living, crime and the upcoming budget.
“My comments on Monday were about Rowley’s duplicitous nature. His choices seem specifically aimed at benefiting the elite, his friends and financiers, while the rest of the population suffers.
“He is not a man who cares for the average person.” Persad-Bissessar said the PM had last week threatened to jail and sue workers for protesting retrenchment. “This takes us back to colonial 1937 when the British colonial elites terrorized the Butler labour movement with threats of violence and jail.”
She likened the Rowley Government’s behaviour to that of the colonial masters towards the workers and the poor, causing severe social and economic destruction.
The great Oreo battle
PNM claims racism, UNC says it’s a distraction
Sean Douglas
OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s characterisation on Monday of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley as being an “Oreo”, was condemned as racist by the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) in several statements yesterday.
However, a United National Congress (UNC) group has accused the PNM of trying to create an uproar so as to distract the national community away from pressing national concerns such as violence against women and the Petrotrin refinery closure.
Black Agenda director David Muhammed also weighed in by saying the “Oreo” comment may be inappropriate but is not racist and is actually an allegation that a person was not black enough. The PNM’s Arouca/Maloney Constituency hit Persad-Bissessar’s remarks as “racist, vile and disgusting” and showed her “sinking to the lowest of her lows.”
“It is a highly derogatory and offensive term used to refer to someone of African descent as being ‘black on the outside, white on the inside,’ including persons who speak proper English, attain high academic achievement and having a diverse group of associates.
“The implications of the use of such a term by Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar, a former Prime Minister herself, are deeply troubling and speaks to someone with a mind-set who only sees and judges people by the colour of their skin and ethnic background rather than the content of their character.”
MUST BE CONDEMNED
The PNM group said her words must be condemned by all right-thinking citizens and the Opposition Leader, by her words and perilous stewardship of the country’s affairs, had shown her unsuitability for any position of public trust.
“We call upon Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar to apologise unreservedly to the Honourable PM, all persons of African descent and the country by extension for her latest racist rant and we call on her to exercise some sober judgement by resisting the urge to divide the country along racial lines.”
The statement said political desperation is no excuse to act irresponsibly by uttering such divisive and polarizing words.
Recalling Persad-Bissessar’s attendance at the Independence celebration wearing national colours, the PNM urged her and her party to live by the words of the national anthem “Here every creed and race, find an equal place.”
The Ministry of Communications hit Persad-Bissessar’s remarks as “despicable and nakedly racist.” It said, “Whilst this Government has been guiding and leading the country in a stable, inclusive and productive way, through a number of difficult and demanding situations, including, the financial contagion effects created by Petrotrin, Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the United National Congress (UNC) have once again attempted to destabilize the country by consciously and intentionally utilizing race to divide and destroy TT.”
The ministry said the Government will not condone the use of race or class to attack any citizen, and rejected attempts to stir up racial tension in the country.
MINISTRY A PNM
PARTY GROUP?
One Opposition activist, in a Facebook comment, asked, “Is the Ministry of Communications a PNM party group now?”
The UNC National Women’s Arm expressed its “displeasure and disappointment” at what it called the PNM’s desperate attempt to distract from issues plaguing the country by creating an outcry over the use of the word “Oreo.”
The group said the PNM had failed to acknowledge an upsurge in domestic violence, women going missing daily and the upcoming refinery shutdown, which will have a ripple effect nationwide of joblessness, domestic violence, suicide and depression.
“The UNC National Women’s Arm will not allow these issues to be swept under the carpet.” It urged the PNM Women’s League and the Government to address the refinery shutdown, the ferry fiasco, the increase in crimes against women and the displacement of families at the Curepe Interchange. “As we await the budget... we once more call on those in authority to place the people first and do not engage in distractions and deflections to conceal the incompetence of this PNM Government.”
FB WEIGHS IN
The Oreo issue lit up Facebook yesterday. Steven Cadiz, former trade minister in the Persad-Bissessar administration, said, “What in God’s name got into the LOTO (Leader of the Opposition)? The ‘Oreo’ statement was downright racist like the ‘Calcutta Ship.’.Two wrongs simply do not make it right!”
Arima Mayor in the former government Ghassan “Gus” Youseph hit, “When she links ‘Oreo’ with the stupid destructive talk of the so-called one per cent her statement (is) not only racist but a statement of hate. She is speaking Roget language. Maybe she is making overtures there at the expense of the welfare of the country.”
However, former attorney general Garvin Nicholas was unfazed, saying there is a difference between a racist comment and a derogatory comment.
“Being described as an Oreo is derogatory. It’s a derogatory description of behaviour. It’s not an attack on his ethnicity. It is important that we understand the difference. “It is not to say that it is appropriate. I have always found the term to be stupid.”
teems1 wrote:KPB ... just created a giant smokescreen whereby the issues with Petrotrin/Galleon's Passage/Venezuela oil contract are now overshadowed by her dumb comment towards KR skin colour.
Instead of letting KR continue to use the rope he has been creating to hang himself and fall even more out favour with the public, she threw him a lifeline. Serious political rookie move by KPB.
boxy wrote:Dan where u does come out fromEFFECTIC DESIGNS wrote:It have a PNM driver in my wuk who told me that there was nothing wrong with the gorillas pulling out the woman sari at the family day and that furthermore the baby grant was a conspiracy to breed more Indian for votes even though somehow it mainly benefited people from laventille.
I quit holding out for this. As the saying goes, "In a democracy, the people get the government they deserve."Rory Phoulorie wrote:I long for the day when the voting population would throw both the PNM and UNC in the rubbish bin. Both of them are full of corrupt, racist politicians. I need to bump up that corruption thread.
I could throw in a lot more adjectives in there to describe them, but I am mentally tired right now.
Did he though? I heard him defending it. That skit should have never happened.j.o.e wrote:Kamla can’t throw around Oreo and complain about sari skits. Also Growley apologized for the skit. So the ball is in her court. He apologized for the actions of supporters. Will she apologize for her own words uttered ?
whizzard wrote:Did he though? I heard him defending it. That skit should have never happened.j.o.e wrote:Kamla can’t throw around Oreo and complain about sari skits. Also Growley apologized for the skit. So the ball is in her court. He apologized for the actions of supporters. Will she apologize for her own words uttered ?
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It's front page because a former prime Minister and opposition leader said it. It is a big deal in a way. Especially since the sari thing made the front page and she championed the cause first hand everyday till he apologized If was fuad khan or moonilal or Padarath it would not have made front pagewhizzard wrote:I quit holding out for this. As the saying goes, "In a democracy, the people get the government they deserve."Rory Phoulorie wrote:I long for the day when the voting population would throw both the PNM and UNC in the rubbish bin. Both of them are full of corrupt, racist politicians. I need to bump up that corruption thread.
I could throw in a lot more adjectives in there to describe them, but I am mentally tired right now.
Trinis deserve them both. We complain about corrupt, disregard for the population, the 1% puppet masters, the cabal, robbing of the treasury, creating a racial divide, etc., yet can't wait to stain our finger for them every election, waste valuable time in rallies and being their social media defenders, while continuing the cycle of accepting the poorly rationalized lesser of evils.
With regards to the oreo topic, the phrase itself is racist, it's almost like calling someone a house nigg, but I can see someone like him wearing it as a badge of honour. He probably calls himself that. But like the N-word I guess it's only cool if a black person says it. Why is this headline news with everything else that's going on goes back to the racial divide, its we versus them BS, just like the police ethnicity BS.
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