We Divide Our Own.....But Welcome Everyone Else

What if the biggest thing dividing Trinidad and Tobago isn't race, politics or religion—but the way we choose to treat each other?

This week, I reflect on the response to our Dominic Hadeed interview before exploring the conversations that dominated the Emancipation weekend. From the Indian High Commission controversy and the Emancipation Village to politics, identity and national discourse, one question kept coming back:

Why do we so often extend grace to strangers, yet struggle to show that same grace to our own people?

Along the way, we discuss:

• The response to the Dominic Hadeed interview
• Emancipation, identity and national pride
• The Indian High Commission controversy
• The Emancipation Village experience
• Politics, race and public discourse
• Why supporting culture also means supporting business
• What it means to build a country where everyone belongs

These weekly conversations aren't about telling you what to think. They're about slowing down, looking beyond the headlines and making sense of the issues shaping Trinidad and Tobago.

I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Transcript

Long Weekend And What’s Brewing

Corie 1:34

Listen, listen, listen, listen. I know I thought it was a long weekend. I know the people in the office tell me Friday was a holiday. I don't know in the office's thing. I really have a fat time. Welcome back to the Crush Shepherd Podcast. Welcome back to everybody who's been listening. Thank you for all the new people tuning in. I wasn't gonna. This was a long, long weekend. If it wasn't a long weekend by the standard of holidays and so on, it was a very, very long weekend in my life. It looked like it's only one thing to talk about this week. We can talk about our one and a half about Dominic Adidas again. I I I I I'm so I've never been so happy in my life for an episode to be published. Let me talk about this one time. I so glad that episode comes. I glad people enjoying it. I watching all the comments that call me this. They call my PM. They say I reset, that's elect button, the whole thing. You just think about it and they say all the different things. It takes a long time, maybe. Everything is happening, it's right timing and everything is prepared for every step is prepared for the next step. So I just want to give a little backstory behind this Dominic thing before I jump into how my week went and what it is happening any place, right? Everything happened in the place heavy, so we just come here

Patreon Schedule And Why It Matters

Corie 2:40

to play music and enjoy ourselves. Just keep reminding me. Let me remind everybody, number one, that this episode is coming out every week on Patreon. You could become a patroni, subscribe, help the cause. You know what I mean? Help the financial cause, and you get these episodes every week. Every now and again, when I as kind of gauge, I'm a producer behind the camera, right? I was kinda gauge. When she faces looking too frightened, I'll put her behind Patreon too because they're not going to PDO me. I ain't gonna PDO I hear the stay free. So if this episode ends up being short, it's because it's too much thing, and I don't tell her it's going on YouTube already. So we know you're playing certain games, you're gonna stay free. But you could go on Patreon to hear what the full version of this podcast songs like and what it always used to sound like outside of the interviews. We're gonna talk about it. So we're getting to what happened in the country and all these nice things, right? And maybe twice a month they will come out on YouTube, and it depends on how it had to be benign. It had to be we talk about you see when we sat back talking about sports and kaiso and thing, only we'll get it on YouTube and on Apple Music and Spotify and all them kind of thing. I know, other than that, I ain't sure. Only people who listen into Dominic and think on all the new to this platform. Welcome. It's nice to have Oli here. You know what I mean? Don't forget we have other episodes. We have other episodes with people of all races. All races, all different backgrounds, all different colour, all different creed, all different gender. We balance, you know, don't judge me by the one episode and it's all about why you talk to the thing anyway. Imagine a man telling me in the comments, why you don't go and get a businessman who actually starts from scratch. We have dozens of those, dozens, dozens, dozens. We have them every week. So I glad you're new to the channel and I glad your opinion's very, very strong, but all you're wrong like hell. So let me go to the backstory with Dominic Hadid thing, right? We spoke to Dominic Hadid about coming on this podcast in 2025. Let me start to um we just call it break the fourth wall, go behind the curtain. Let me talk about the um they say inside baseball, locker room cricket. Let me talk about it now. Let's talk always happen when only watching West Indies making runs on them kind of thing. That's some men bowling some spin like they can't stop him. But for that man to bowl that spin is about as I hear him say he went to I think it's St. Jago High School in Jamaica, and he turned out to be another young West Indian bowler that go be problems like the likes of Sundan Ryan and so on, right? So we're glad to see that, we're glad to see West Indies winning test cricket again. Again, resist to the great Garfield Sobers. But for that man to bowl like that, plenty things had happened. And I'm not sure what is giving people the impression, maybe we just drink too much in these recordings. Drink and a line will talk too much. So people feel we just show up here and record episode. We spoke to this gentleman in 2025. The timing wasn't right. I don't think the timing was right for us because as I told them, I said, boy, listen, I don't want to it would be a very big episode for us because of who he is and what he's accomplished in life. And I say, the timing ain't right. Like we continue to build the channel and stuff and bring him on when when the time rights, you know, not me for its time. So those conversations were happening since then. We eventually set a date and he was very excited. I want to say that I I not here to comment on no PDO, at least not that PD, right? I just commented and comment on my absence of a PDO, which will remain that way. And any detention of anybody, right? But I will say that most guests, I don't really talk too much before they come here. Because I'm a little socially upward, too. I feel like it's only good when they say record and I say welcome, then I just find things to talk people about. You see, before we start to record, I'm not sure that I have a whole lot to talk to people about because I also want everything that they say to be recorded for your benefit, for everybody to see and understand a little bit about who this person is, right? So inside baseball, you could tell a lady behind the scenes, since everybody has opinions. I spoke to Dominic maybe more than I have spoken to any guest before they come on the podcast. And one of the things that I respect about that conversation was the conversation was always about how he could add value to what we're doing. Now, I want to say here for people to understand that Dominic does not have he has no obligation to us, he does not owe us anything. He does have to show up here if he doesn't want to show up here. That is the truth. About the hundred and how much of our guests we have, these people are highly successful in their own right, all different levels of success. They don't want to come and sit down and listen to my buffoonery and stale joke and laugh and they don't have to do it. And to not have to do it and accept, I always appreciate it. I just be surprised still when people say they're willing to do it. But to come and be concerned when we set up our pre-call, because most of the pre-callers just ask people, like, where you're drinking? to see how my liver can handle the week in front of me. Because sometimes we're recording three in a week. I drink in wherever the guests drinking, eh? True training. But his main concern was, Quarry, I want to add value to it to your listeners. I want I want people to do better. I want people to understand about business, about my mindset. And we had several conversations about that to determine what we will talk about and how we'd approach it. He'd show up on the day he was here before me, you know what I mean? As a managed trying to have a few guests, embarrassment on this thing. Dominic Khalipa sad, Saki. I remember all the people who are coming and meet here. Lou Lyons, Kenny Phillips, and there are some people who just be here earlier. Shea dragon coming in. And Dominic was one of them here early again. Very, very respectful of our time, making sure that he came to add value and thing. And he came and we had a little quick chat and ready to go. And as far as I concerned, and everybody else on the team concerned, when we were finished with the episode, we knew we had a real solid business episode. They have a few that you walk out and you know. And as I say a few, I can tell you the few too. When I walk out with Junior Lee, I know we had things. I say, alright, we have something here. With Wendy Fitzwilliam, I say, alright, we have something. You feel it, you know that people are going to receive it well. Especially when people just come and they just be the self and we laugh and talk and them kind of thing. Uh special mention to the great Krokro,

How We Book Guests And Prep

Corie 8:30

right? Well, if I feel if I call me a PM, they call her all the worst kind of PM at her bringing Krokru on the platform. As if Krokru don't have a contribution. So I was impressed that he took that angle and he could have come and talked about anything, it would have been a good episode. But he was very, very willing to give of himself. And more inside baseball and more thing for you to consider. When we come and sit down here, it's a long conversation, right? The people behind the scenes, like the last episode we recorded, I remember the guests didn't take a drink. We gave water wherever he was drinking. He didn't take a sip. I start to see him swallow hard. I just be so deep into the conversation, I just forget we need to give people a break, a little bathroom break. Oh, I want to tell audio too that the extended version of Krokro, the uncut and extended version of Krokro, is on Patreon right now. And you'll see what is always happen when you don't get people bathroom break. Krokro just get up and say, I'm gonna use the washroom break. Krookro forget we recorded and say, you know, he's his own person. So when we sit, there's a certain I would call it mutual respect, right? For lack of a better term. Because I want to appreciate that when I first start recording, you had to ask 20 people to come on the podcast to get one person to say yes. And then you had to do that next week again for 20 more people, and hopefully one say yes to make sure you could publish every week. The most important thing to me is that every week an episode is gonna come out, and we're gonna try our best to give you the quality you deserve when you put out an episode, right? And you had to stay consistent, so we be behind people, begging people literally to come on. And then as the show starts to get popular, it starts to change. We're now people asking you to come on, which is new, and it takes a lot of work to decide, alright, who coming out next, how we all balance it, because I don't want to have Dominic Hadid here every week. I think I I don't know if that is valuable, it will get boring after a while. I like the idea that we could play an thing with crook room, then we are Kess diving over the table, then we have Dominic Sitong and having a discussion, or we are Jovi's wanna come into the boy. I I I like the balance that that brings. And we intend to bring more and more of that balance to the table. So, with all that work going into it, and the amount of research that has to be done to take people, because I have a hundred and something people who are enormously successful in their own right, and to reduce their accomplishments and their endeavours to a one and a half to two hour conversation, it is it's it is it is difficult. It takes some navigating. Let me put it like that, right? It takes some navigating. And when I look back at old episodes of people now, I'd be like, Well, yeah, I waste real time in the hour and a half. No, so now we're getting better at it and we could get a little more information on them. But the truth is an hour and a half, and you're talking about people who've lived for a long life and contributed. Tell them got to doing this since he's 11, 12 years old and doing it up to today. So it's difficult to do. But I will say that while you do the research about the person, you're looking into the personal life and their accomplishments and who they are, and then you sit with the person for two hours, there's a mutual respect that comes with that. So when we gearing up and all of us in the office and we're saying, right, we have one boy, bow, we're outside, you know. I mean, we're trying to push this thing. We want the world to see how great we are as Caribbean people. So I read it to press play on Dominic Hadid, and then I see, bam, detention order, bam, who get arrested. People set a message in the background, the WhatsApp group get active, people say, boy, honestly. My immediate thought was we can't put out this episode. Because now this man under arrest, this man, wife under arrest. You know what I mean? We don't know at this point. I mean, you know, if he go into the gallows, you know, but at that point in time, me, I don't know what's gonna happen to him. So I can't, in good faith, we all discussed it, and it's it's two things. We know that if we put out our episode the day he detained, we out of here in terms of numbers, which is what everybody looking for. Everybody in the team looking for the success of the thing. But we debate and we discuss and we say, nah, boy, listen, and what does Robinson say the time on moral and spiritual values? You know, remember that he had the two seats? I say, boy, listen, let me let we shelf it, let you wait and see. We try to get in contact with his attorneys, we try to we no, no, I understand that that would not have been their priority. So no knock on them at all. But we try to get in contact with them, no response, so I decide uh uh we collectively decide, listen, let me sit down on this thing, we're not gonna put it out. And then he's released. So now he's like, hey, this thing had a go. Because of course, when we're debating this thing, part of it is we want to be able to get the benefit of having a very good episode at a time when the whole country is paying attention to the person. Is he holy grail releasing these episodes? Well, boy, let me tell you about how much pressure in my life. As soon as we press play on that episode, let me tell you something. Boy, my phone starts to ring. Lawyer, doctor, engineer, everybody who could have called, called. And I was like, guys, we've released it, it's not bad, it's not a bad episode. I don't want to do nothing to put a man in no problems, but he's not a coward man. Again, that mutual respect, that research, them conversations before. I don't get the impression that he's a person that is afraid of anything. There's also a point in the interview that we're all like to pay attention to. Strip out all the other things about which side of the political divide you're on, and if you like the 1% or if you don't like them, strip all that aside and go to the episode and listen to when I ask him. I said, brother, you just be frightened to come out and talk and things, but he if he could have stoops his stoops and walk off the set. He ducked, that's not who he is. He's not gonna stop being who he is. And we we watch in the public space too because all at this point we don't have any word from him yet. And I am most comfortable if I get to talk to Dominic before we pour the episode. But we get through to our friend of a friend and everybody, and everything was good, and then I stop answering my phone immediately. I went and play golf the Friday. I say, don't long mean play golf. I can't play a little bit. I say, boy, my phone off. I go and play golf. I went and play card and play roomy with my father whole day. And I say, this episode is coming out. I don't care who called, I don't care what it is at that point in time, because I had to trust that I know he's a person who is not afraid. I also trust that we did not do anything to harm anybody in anything, as we do every week. We're not gonna do anything to intentionally harm anybody or their reputation, and it's a damn good episode, so we decide to press play. And I have a production team with the greatest sense of humor in history because Dominic had it get free. They put out the episode on emancipation there. Listen, this is the greatest set of people I ever see in my life. They go half kill me now. I watching where things started come out about him. Reporters wait the same, they get people where reporters is a special breed, as I was saying last week. They get a little picture in the thing, and you're seeing him in the yard, and you know when the whole thing was going on. But one of the videos where I sure was playing out the episode at that point in time was his return to Blue Waters. Again, they just half killed me. I ain't talking about people who are good with me, talking about just strangers, you know, strangers in the comments. Let me tell you something. After Adam Abood episode and Lou Lyons episode, strangers in the comments care about me. But friends and family just called me to say, These people, you have these people talking about business success, and you don't have that fact. And what did happen to? I don't

Detention News And Release Day Pressure

Corie 15:30

care. I don't care. I I try to tell as much success stories as I could because the the purpose of this thing is to get youths who feel somebody get through or who feel they could never achieve what a Dominic Hadid or a Lou Lyons or Mohammed Muakil or Wendy Fitzwood. You can achieve what the people achieve. So I that's that's the whole purpose. And once I had a purpose in mind, and I know according to Krookro, me and do it in bad faith, you know what I mean? Me single daughter in bad faith, I do anything in good faith. So once I do that, I stand in by what we have and we're putting it out. But when I post Adam About, because they love me. You see, when I put out Mary Ashby and Ozzy Merrick and I had a Franca Phillips, and when about people who looking like me, boy, they love me. They say, Boy, this party is the greatest, this podcast, boy. People started to tell me you should Lee a walk and do this. You had Kurt Allen, you had Mr. Shaq. They say, What you born for this? Uh-huh. The first time I put out somebody like Adam Abu, they say, Oh God, well, you sell out, you this and that. I say, but what is this? So I say, Is he not a Trinidadian? That's my first question. Is he not a Caribbean person? I hear to sell Caribbean stories, and I just I want to I want the world to see how great we are. That's all we're working on. So I had to ask myself, but Adam, Adam is not a trainee. What he is. He came, they had the 1% thing. I asked him about the 1% is the best response I ever get in any podcast. I give away his choops. He's like, I don't give a shit. He don't care. Because the thing about it is, he might be seeing that the same way I see in strangers and he comments calling me a PM and this and that. But people who are close to me telling me, well, why you platform these people? And these people's not nice people, and I don't know. Here well, here was this scene, right? Let me save Oli all that time, right? I platforming all. I plat wait till I listen. I don't think Ole understands what I mean when we say highly successful people. Nah, Oli go disagree with me, you know. If Oli disagree with me, I do any work because it's going to have some highly successful people. Wait and see something here when we start to bring highly successful people here. But now I see the Blue Waters video, the man go back to work. In his episode, in Adam's episode, they both said, as if they rehearse it, I love my business. When I leave here, I go in straight back in my shop because I I want to go. I love my business and I do every day. So I just like you, I sit on home watching the video now to see how he's gonna be received. I want to see what he's looking like too. And let me tell you the most Trinidadian thing I ever see in my life, right? When he drives up and the people sort of see him from inside, a woman says, Oh god, he gets small. Trinidadian must comment about your size, you know. He's I did a porn size, you get big, you get small. Somebody must say that. And the the welcome I see him get from his staff was was encouraging. It was uh keep in mind that at that point in time, we on the team done listen to the episode about 20 times. So we're feeling good that we have something good. And when I see the way his staff receiving that, I say you can't stage that, you can't fake that. Some of the things he's saying here had to be absolutely true. So, boy, we put it out. I my phone, they call my phone on the golf course till it's dead. I say, Alright, nothing go happen, but we we put it's too good episode for us to shelf. And I think I have a responsibility to him to make sure that that is seen as well. Well, boy, they half killed me because we put any caption, we put everywhere that we could have put it. This episode was recorded before the blah da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. In the beginning of the episode, I said, guys, this was recorded before. Boy, they sit thing and send up thing, and only trying to fool people like waste my. And I'm thinking, I just want to put this out there, right? All the episodes, if you didn't know, all, I recorded long before they come out. So I didn't know what the hollow baloo was about. And every episode to me is one of 10,000. I did a guy call from Dominic. He's in very, very good spirits. I was very encouraged, to be honest, when he when when we spoke with girl. This man is laughing and talking and thinking, I don't know if I would be in that kind of mood if you lock up me and my wife. You know what I mean? I'm aunt. I don't know if I'm in that kind of mood, but he's very upbeat. He's happy about the episode. He he was really checking on me. That tends to happen, man, because Lou Lyons, people might remember, had made some comments about Jamaican music. African to say it. Jamaican music originated in Trendad and Reggae being the son of Calypso and so on. Well, boy, and I was in Jamaica at the time, people want to half-kill me. Is Lou now had to call me and say, hey, you're good? I ain't where you're getting fired for what it is. I say, you know, and I was like, nah, good, everything cool. I is usually the most frightened one at the table, but I'll tell you, something stood out that Dominic said, and that I said, and it made me realize that I have myself as a very balanced, unbiased, non-judgmental person, right? But I understand that we all have blind spots. And then something he said, I said, Dominic, boy, I'm so glad to hear you good. I just want to make sure you're alright. You know, I mean, I I to see a person go through that, I don't like it. And on record as saying I don't like jail for anybody, any percent of the society, I don't feel should be in jail at all. And I said, Dominic, if again, like I was telling him, just like I was talking about with Blue Waters, I was like, boy, if I don't make the kind of money you make and think, me, you know, that I go in on that plant every day, you know. And I tell him that on the phone, so I was like, you know, you laughing and talking about this thing. That is that is so encouraging. I say, a man like me now, that happened to me. I would have run and leave here, I would go somewhere else and live, with the means that he has he could live any country in the world as comfortably, if not more comfortably, than he lives in here. And his response to me was telling, he says, Corey, why I must leave here? This is my country too. I think it's something that we must remember. What makes him less Trinidadian or what makes me more Trinidadian? I don't know that I think in them kind of uh in them kind of metrics at all. I don't know if I think in those metrics at all. So I was encouraged to hear him say that. And it made me realize like that's a blind spot for me because maybe I am all seeing him as less Trinidadian than somebody who, because to I feel like to pack up and run and leave Trinidad go be hard, I go miss the country, I go miss the food and the people and the kaisu and them thing. Almost as if he, because maybe because he's another race, or maybe because he has money, or he has big business. I I think that he not feeling that same way. So it was a good revelation to me. It was something for me to ponder and understand my blind spots. But I want to speak particularly to the blind spots of all these people in the comments and thing. And you know, he only go turn me into one of these block and delete kind of in the only go make me one of these Instagram daddies who block and delete people in the week, always say wild things in the comments sometimes. Every week an episode is gonna come out. Not every week you're gonna like the episode, not every week you're gonna like the pursuit. If you don't like the episode, And you don't like the person, skip it. You go just have to wait one week. Something else done coming out. Just don't listen to it. You see Dominic and you don't like Dominic, move on. Move on with your life. Don't come to insult the people who are doing all the hard work behind the scenes to make sure that this thing happens. Or don't come to insult the people who take in two, three, four hours out of the day to come here and share some part of the story or some part of the journey. And don't base why do it on no crow don't no one episode. Every one of them episodes is one of ten thousand. You have plenty of work to do. And one thing I'm going to show all that, the people who giving let me say this too. The people who giving us the encouragement and seeing the episode for what it is and seeing all the episodes

A Call With Dominic And Belonging

Corie 22:40

for what they are and say them things, I want to tell all they appreciate it. We appreciate it. We don't miss it. We see that the responses to these things are overwhelmingly positive and people receive them well. And it's up to you to decide what's useful from an episode and what not useful for an episode. I want to give assurance to the people who support us, regardless of what has happened, that all that old talk will never stop. You know, all our old talk never gonna stop. We here next week again. As a matter of fact, by the time I set up to decide who we think and the thing to me, well, emancipation day is the day and them kind of thing, boy, we've done ready to release about five more episodes. So as far as I can say, everyone, you know, they say play every ball on its merits. When you have bowlers like these West Indian now coming at you to take your time and battle. So you see, when a man running up to bowl, which is the man sitting down by this table or the woman sitting down here, I don't focus on nothing else for that's all. All I care about is that person in that moment and we gain a good episode. And when that person done, my mind is on to the next one on who we because I had to focus on the research to make sure that we could repeat it. So just come now every every Monday. Always Kess too, yeah, because Kess could come out on a Tuesday. Because I mean, after all, is we is we into a Tuesday on the rocks. We had to make a proper salute to the band Kess. But in the spirit of Dominic Hadid and his his statement that make me realize, yeah, you know, all the way from here, I would like to play one of my favourite songs by one of my favourite artists.

SPEAKER_06 24:25

I don't mind when they try to treat me unkind. I discovered what is mine. These are things I could put behind. But I didn't mind with mine. I tried to run in the buttons. Roll this up on the road on the road. I was the one that free try to buy my drop in my own.

Corie 28:02

I want to say $5 if you can tell me who's singing it, but the voice is too distinct. I feel like I lost all my $5. And then the name of this song is Foreigner. Name of the artist is a great papa, the man they call Lord Nelson. One of my favourite. If you're listening to this podcast for years, you fed up him and play that song. I'd like to apologise. Emancipation Village. Let me talk some emancipation thing. What do you want to talk about first? All they want to talk about how Oliver's vexed. Because the Indian High Commission was gonna have an Indian diaspora only event. And only get mad. And

Comments Backlash And Platform Questions

Corie 28:30

then when UTT for Indian dancing, only thing only get back mad again, that's what we want to talk about. Why? Listen, the best thing that happened to me in this life is to just record this episode every week. You know, every week we go get something to talk about that go balance out what we talked about last week. Because again, I really couldn't understand what all this other talk was about. If the Indian High Commission want to have something for their people of their diaspora that is exclusive or excluding people from another ethnic background or whatever it is, I don't see the issue. Maybe, maybe Ole could convince me that the issue is one of sensitivity. I was listening to Dale and Tony this morning, and um you see when you're agreeing with Daley not too much, you might be having radical thinking and all. I mean, either one of them, because both of them you never know what side of my issue, either one of them goes stand on. But they were asking the question as to whether what UTT did was disrespectful because UTT had an emancipation event and there are Indian dancers dancing on the stage to Indian music. And people was upset, people was in an uproar. So the question they asked was, was it insulting? You know, was it poor judgment or was it insulting? So maybe if you want to argue with me that the Indian High Commission could have better judgments, and again, I'm only basing that on what I learned from talking to Michael Callan here, who's the High Commissioner. High Commissioner Sherman to be good to Canada, something close to that, right? The Canadian fellow who responsible. And when I understand the role of diplomacy, I could understand why your diplomatic relations, you had to be sensitive to what's happening on the ground. So maybe they should have anticipated that that kind of blowback would have come. And maybe just out of respect, not have it on African Emancipation Day. If all you want to argue, alright, I could concede that if all you want to argue that. The argument that the Indian diaspora or the Indian High Commission should not have an event for people who are of Indian descent only is a waste of time argument for it. It makes no sense to me. I see Mohammed Muakil make a post the other day. And again, another person who, when Mohammed came here, so everybody who was um who contributed to the memories of the coup last week, July 27th, I knew I wanted to talk to Mohammed about growing up in the coup and growing up back with Abu Bakr and his father being, you know, leading a revolution, six years old, right? I know I wanted to talk to him about it and I wanted to ask him about it. And I remember sitting by the table with him before we start, and I was so frightened and nervous. And I want to tell him, Muhammad, this wagon and ask you. And before I could get two words out of my mouth, he's like, nah, I cooled anything. He realized I say this for me, you know. He tried to sing, I couldn't accent anything, you know. He said, I just I cooled the questions coming. In other words, don't discuss no set of things. Start the interview. You know what I mean? Man shut me clean up. I said, What the hell is this? I try and get because I'm not sure how he will receive asking him that question. And when I asked him, he said, Well, I didn't realise I was gonna talk about this today. I was ready to jump ship and I was ready to go on to alright, well, let's talk about take me home, you know what I mean? But he was like, nah, and he was comfortable talking about it. And I remember uh working on the social media clips, and there is one clip, and I mean maybe now I regret not posting it, but I was so frightened. He said, The Jamatal Muslim was a place that was a community on its own, and they would do their own trials, they had their own justice system. He said, Even murder, they would do the trial. Well, boy, when I hear even murder, they would do the trial. Well, no self-mean put that out. I said, No, let me don't put that as no clip because I don't want to problems, I don't want nobody call me, you know me. I don't want to ring my phone. And I was I I'm nervous about it. I say, boy, you know, I don't want to talk. But I respect Mohammed because he's somebody who I would say has a lot to lose. The opinion of Mohammed, he has a lot at risk. Because Freeton Collective is a loved group that's seen as people see them as hippies who sing in love music, take me home, and all these kind of things. Find me. You know, when you're singing them kind of music, people just love you, you know. But maybe is the is is is is the DNA, whatever it might be. But these men is revolutionaries at heart, and when they see things a certain way, they're not afraid to talk about it. And I I saw Muhammad next to Alyssa Philip or by the cremat, what is not the crematorium, what do they call the next place with his test, the forensic centre, with the mould ban to say that he not um he can silence protesters. He doesn't need to be a part of that issue. A matter of fact, one of the complaints is our artists do stand up for us for the regular citizen. Mohammed is not that. So on Facebook recently I saw him post quite the opposite of what I was saying last week in terms of what it meant that the Indian High Commission did that on Emancipation Day. I disagree with it completely. But again, I am not the kind of person who, when I disagree with somebody or something or a sentiment, I agree with his right to say it 100%. You right to say it. And I I disagree with him. Uh uh uh, you know, sometimes I sort of type comment and I say I just leave it alone, you know because that is his opinion. And because your opinion is different from my opinion, that is not an automatic gateway for debate for me, right? Even if you put it publicly. If you say something to me that I disagree with, don't expect that I'm gonna engage in debate. Because I'm not trying to change anybody's mind. I know how do I see this world and I am comfortable, and some people see this world differently than me, and that is what makes me think nice, you know what I mean? That's what you make things nice. So when I see you say it, I say, alright, well, I mean, plenty of people seem to feel so, I don't feel so at all. I feel the Indian let me say this. Any High Commission could have any event for their people of their country and the descendants of their people or their country. I'll go further to say that if the German High Commission, it has one of them, if the German High Commission had a, you know, it's taking all my maturity, not to say what just come to my mind, but if they have an event to commemorate the history, right, and they decide to come and say everybody of Germany sent or all the Germans in the country and think,

Emancipation Day Culture Flashpoints

Corie 34:30

come now, nobody would have said anything. Even if it was on Emancipation Day. But this country is a country, once you say African and Indian in the same sentence, it is sort of get heated immediately. You can't say African and Indian, you can't say it no matter what. No matter if you're saying something good about one, bad about the it does not once you say African and Indian, and these days, in the last few weeks, it's being fueled more than ever. And my call is that as people, we must ignore that. Because even the politicians and the and the and the the vloggers and the all of them who's saying this, none of them do believe that neither. From the highest levels, I see the Prime Minister making some tweet. Oh, this go in public. I can't talk about the Prime Minister. I would like to retract the last statement and say that that last five seconds you listen to was AI. But the people make any biggest statements that that might divide people around racial lines, they do not live like that. They have friends of the other race, of all the Trinidadians and Tabagonians, but Caribbean people as a whole have friends of every race, every gender, every sexuality, every income bracket, every suit. All of us have friends of all those levels. We have employ we have employees of all different racial backgrounds. We have people we used to play card and line with. We also have little places we used to, you know, and nobody look in this. Go by different places where you're supposed to go and this be people of all different races. That's just true. It's just who we are. You know what I mean? Don't feel nobody go in there and select people of um of their own race and you and certainly not age, right? Man looking for young things. So the truth is that push and that rhetoric to divide us is is is it is not if if you're following people along them lines, just understand that those people who saying that don't think that way. And they're saying it to rile people up because it has benefit to riling people up. And it comes from the same thing we see in the election when the men say build the wall and the Haitian people eating people pets in Ohio. It is to rile people up. And when you rile people up, what they do is they dig dung deeper in the political bases you get. I talk about it last week, you know. The more you get riled up and the more you feel threatened, is the more tribal you get. You're a peaceful person, you're listening to this podcast, you peaceful like hell. You're the most docile person I ever come across. But if somebody kicking your front door, now you're gonna get you're gonna get very carnal, you will get very tribal, you will get very violent. And because it's on our nature to protect ourselves and the people who are closest to us, it's just the nature. So this African and Indian thing where you can't say nothing about nobody. And when I want to I want to post a good good clip from good good vonette, Bigfoot, you know what I mean? Salute to Vonett and Uzuri. My wife went there great time. Vonette tell me she said, Corey, they're asking for change in room. She said, the people who come in the show asking if we could put change in room for them because they want to change outfit because they're dressing up so much to come to the show. When she changed outfit, they want to go and change outfit too. From everything I hear, enormously successful event and it went well. But Vonett was here saying that I don't want to quote her, but she was saying that I'm not ashamed of my skin colour, I'm not ashamed of my Africanness, and I want to be able to celebrate it. I want to be able to celebrate it without anybody else feeling offended. And she says, she went on to say that sometimes when you just say Africanness, people start to clam up sponsors and things too. There was a gentleman here by the name of Private Ryan. The talk gets too sweet, and I forget to ask him about this, and Quasi Hopkinson. I have a few more promoters coming here, but I'd ask them because Private Ryan in particular has a themed event every year. I see Asian theme, I see they had a thing with a with a cartoon something. I think this year they do a roses for Valentine's and thing. I want to ask him, not to pressure him to do anything, but I want to ask him like if you do an African-themed event, like you say, you know what I mean? An emancipation version of so called brainwash. How you feel sponsors will treat with that? I don't want to put them on the spot, but I want to ask a few of them that because I agree with Vaughnette, from the time you put your thing out as exclusively African, there seems to be a hesitation. And she also said, by African people as well. We could do a history lesson one day and see why that might be the case, right? But you could understand, you could you could make some guesses as to why that is. So when I when I had a post a clip with Vaughnette saying that on emancipation morning, and I know the evening, a man now get emancipated from his PDO. I say, boy, I want to deal with all this, I want to deal with all this this weekend, because I know what's coming. Because again, your rhetoric tends to make people get more and more tribal. So I saying two different things here, right? I don't care which high commission have worked for the people. A hundred, if it's a 50 high commission here, the only one we would have known we had an issue with is the Indian High Commission. Because that is how we get it. Cast the African and Indian in the same sentence. All of a sudden, all of a sudden, it's insane to me as a boy who grew up in St. James. Do not understand it at all. And I I use St. James as a metaphor for wherever you grew up to be. Because where you grew up in Trinidad wasn't so neither. So Alright, the after the Indian High Commission said, Yep, bow bad, you know. I mean, that was a little insensitive. Sorry about that. We're moving it and we're going to do anything on another day, and the question's still asking. So I saw Muhammad's statement about that. And then he pulled back after and he said, Alright, after a lot of feedback, I hear people's concerns and people think and da da da da. And I appreciate all the feedback. And I remember going in his comments, which I should have never done. I don't know why his comments on people think. I hear talking for a whole hour, two, three times a week. I had to still talk on Facebook Cup. I say, brother, I respect the fact that you'd be open, you just be willing to speak up when you believe in something and you're open to feedback. I like people like that. Now I saying that because I know I don't disagree like hell with what you say the first time, and I didn't want to post it because I ain't able to do. Only for a man to come in the comments to say, partner, name boy. I was just trying to remember his name, so I could call his name here, you know, but maybe I shouldn't get him. We are kinda light. To come to say, Oh, look at you, you're getting giddy to bring another race beta on your podcast. You bring crook room, now you're looking to suck down on the next race beta. He's like, What? So I was like, Mohammed was on the podcast already, so I'm not understanding. I respond to this man, you know, me and no like I had too much time on my hand. I leave my phone off for our day, and like I get excited when it comes back on. I say Mohammed was on the podcast already. What are you talking about? He's like, well, bring him back a second time, he's all your PM. Only to see the same man. Like, he in the comments in Krookro, and he finds he ain't get enough attention there to say that we he always know this is a failed PM podcast. Well, here what? It's a PM podcast, you know what I mean? For as of today, as of midnight tonight. He's a PM podcast until further notice, right, according to this man. So I was just really respecting the fact that Muhammad was willing to come back and take back his wood. Not that he had to agree with me on anything at his waiting. But again, one little week passed, and people in a bunch, the girl come and do, I mean, as he shifts Shakti or one of them, the girl come and do she dance and thing. And again, I have no problem with somebody having an exclusive event. So if the Ghanaian High Commission or Itano African High Commission, we need one Africa, you know. So my thoughts could be simpler. If you have an African High Commission and then come and say, hey, we have an event today, this only for people of African diaspora, blah da da da. I don't see the issue. I don't see why Indian people should be upset about that. Do that. If you want to do that, if you want to have exclusive. So, in other words, you're telling me if I have a family day, right? I may be my family is Shepherd and Bab, right? And we've come together to have a family day. Because we have a family day and it's only for we family. We hate all the rest of family in Trinidad and Tobago this worldly trying to tell me I don't know that that makes sense. I I don't think in them kind of metrics, I love my family. If you have a family day, let me not put that out there too much. And the next thing they ask me to have a family day, me when I'm family day, you know, it's a joke I make. I hope. I don't see it. In the reverse, I really don't see the big issue. If you have an emancipation day, and I am an Indian dancer, and I want to pay respect to you, my African brothers and sisters, for what you all went through on this African emancipation day to celebrate the fact that you're all free with me and we could live like this. I want us to bring my Indian dance and show you and showcase. I cannot understand the issue. And I'm not saying nobody else is wrong and I only talk about me. I cannot understand what the issue is there. Because let me take it again, African and Indian people is getting mad. But when the German High Commission come here for an event, we just show them African dance, Indian dance, limbo dance, we talk about them and get them a pole dance and all. We just show them what we are, we just show them the best of who we are and what we have to present. So if I respect let me use a other word, what did the equivalent? Indian arrival day. I respect Indian Arrival Day, and I respect and love the fact that under whatever circumstances it wasn't the greatest, but we're here. So if we celebrate in the commemoration of the arrival of one group and we celebrate in the freedom of another group, I want to be in the source for board because like I say next week I know it's our thing to eat, and it's our room to drink, and I am that, like me. So if I go there with my African self and I decide that to show my brothers and sisters the love I think, I I have an African dance that I just do. Or I want to beat my African drum to show, I find that is the most respectful thing people could do. People giving of themselves to show respect to you and to show to show you how much I love you. See? Seems to be good to me. No. Let me talk about UTT for a minute, right? I don't know if the people in UTT didn't really read the papers and see what happened to the Indian High Commission the week before. I don't know if they thought it was a great idea to do this because clearly this is a sensitive matter. I prefer to come and discuss it because I don't think it should be sensitive at all. But but the fact that I think so doesn't mean it's not sensitive, right? Well boy, they nearly half killed this girl. Poor girl, the girl danced out she had the nearly half killed this girl, so the UCT organizers under fire. And people people seem to be upset. Let me read, right? Let me make sure to make sure I say in the right thing. UCT under fire for Emancipation Day, Indian acts. And you know, let me read first. A University of Trendan to begin Emancipation Day program has sparked a fierce backlash of after East Indian music and dance performances were included in an event to commemorate African Emancipation Day. Critics are accusing the institution of disrespecting the significance of the occasion. The event titled Uhuru Celebrating Freedom was hosted last Wednesday at the Nash at Napo. The programme which includes acts by Patrice Engelsboth, the O'Neill Brothers. I go and butcher everybody near here. Dr. Edward Comabach, the course of Waldron, drew criticism for its audition of East Indian music and dance performances by the Shiftsange. I never mean about it. Shiftsange School of Music and Susan Mohip. In a video posted to social media on Friday, opposition leader Diane, no opposition MP, Dr. Nyan Gadsby Dol. She said described the UTT's event as disrespectful and disappointing. African Emancipation Day is literally and simply about African emancipation. Indian Arrival Day is literally and simply about the arrival of East Indians in Trinidad and Tobago. And you know what? We are big enough as people to celebrate both of them separately. Alright, Nayan. And I don't want to say it's just everybody feels that way. Well, a lot of people seem to feel that way. I

Race Talk As A Political Trigger

Corie 46:00

am saying decide. Decide. If we decide that African emancipation there is for Africans, by Africans only, and it is exclusive, and we want to put it in a dome where nobody from no next race can come and see nothing and buy nothing and enjoy nothing and support nothing and bring nothing. Let me say that outright. Make it like the Indian High Commission where you say blacks only and I using the word blacks because I don't want to get PDO. Blacks only here then go start sad gummy. So let me come out and say that. We don't want to watch we. When we celebrate an emancipation, don't watch me. You'll turn into a pillow of salt. Like it was a lot on them. Don't watch nothing we're doing. Don't come, don't spend none of your money. A matter of fact, if if the motor car you buy comes from a dealer that is of another race, walk and come the emancipation thing. We don't want nothing to do with nobody who is non-African. I cool with that. I good with that because I feel as a people, everybody have the right to have their family day. And if my family day is a shepherd family day and it's a close event, make it a close event. If that is the case, have a problem with taxpayers' dollars going in that because taxpayers' dollars don't come from one race. So if you want to have a private event, put your private funds in it and have it private. And as as as Dr. Nyan, then a doctor and thing, you know, according to Krukru. As they have a doctorate, they feel greater than God and they could push hate. So you're a doctor, me and a doctor of nothing. But if you feel like if that is that, do that. And if East Indian arrival day is for East Indian alone and everybody must close their eye and do well, only have all your events with all your own money, make it private, and I have no problem with that. Everybody entitled to have a family day. I don't know if it makes sense. I don't know if that is how we live on a day-to-day basis. I would think, and I'll tell you about my own experience with the emancipation village, right? I will tell you my experience with the emancipation village because in my effort not to switch back on my phone and not to go back home Friday night to avoid the Dominic Hadid smoke that was coming my way. I decided, yeah, what, let me go in the emancipation village, I tell myself, well, I will get some some fufu and something, you know what I'm saying? You know, I say I'll go eat some of that and I'll cool my head and I'll go and watch that. But I would think that if you have an emancipation village and you have several people selling food, you have several people selling clothes, you would want to sell your clothes to as much people. So what them clothes is for African alone because it's African clothes? This is with this with the white man. Okay, you can't say that, you can't say that in a PBO, you can't say that in a S2. This way is have we? Because when they make Ralph Lauren, they're selling to everybody. They go, even if they like you, they're setting up Nike store everywhere so that you could buy whatever product it is that is selling. But we like this idea that I must go so and you must go so and you must leave me alone and only mustn't touch me. So let me let me let me go a step further. Let me let me do this, right? Let me set up some restaurants where only some races go. Let me let we go out cooler where it's whites only, and this cooler is black only, and this cooler is Indian only. And let me let we do that. Let's let me just separate. A matter of fact, let me draw some borders because the country is too big. Let me chop it up smaller, and only African could go. Where do we go? And only Indian could go so and you see, but them is 1%, right? So them could just stay in the yacht club, right? They may have to take up to my space and to my land and take them with stay in yacht club, right? Well, you know, they like all the little boating and things. Just split up the land and let we go separate and see if it is. But we have such an opportunity to become to take from each other and to give to each other and to lend to one another. And we learn this stupidity, in my opinion, especially because I know a lot of it fueled from the top down. Change who we are, change how we live every day. Because don't go and buy no routine either, don't go and buy no the go up Saras, just stay away from people, just eat your food. Let me just separate out everything. I just find it such nonsense. We do not live like that. So what we let last year's emancipation day. I had a gentleman here by the name of Gary Abud. Like, I am in the habit of bringing one percent as a wrong emancipation. I had to check my blind spots, it looked like it's a habit. Now, let me see who can bring next year. You see if you can get Norman Sabga here next year emancipation. And Gary says something for the emancipation committee last year. Boy, I never cut something out of an episode so far. So with this, this, this, this every year around emancipation day, we have this big debate and quarrel. Every year around Indian Arrival Day, we have debates and quarrel. I find I'm okay with calling it African Emancipation Day. That was one of the debates that Dale and Tony had. I believe a caller's messaging and they say the day it was called African emancipation and Indian arrival is when they divide. I mean, I hear him. But I don't think that should divide us. I mean, the fact that they call one a Catholic church and the next one an Anglican, uh boy, we accustomed going in who man is married woman here, and them is religion, and them is the next religion. Where they may suppose to marry that. So if you go India and married somebody religion, we're married here, you get beheaded. But we do that here, and we had two weddings, one in certain time, one in your Indian way or African way, and you go and do that. I think that is more who we are than this thing we're trying to be. I could play a tune for Libby because you come here to play tune about foreign and them kind of thing. You come for all this hassikasi. I will come back and tell me my experience in emancipation village.

SPEAKER_05 54:37

I'm hoping to break the mummy, I'm in front of the mummy, I'm gonna reach independent square I'm gonna reach in the background.

Walking Through Emancipation Village

Corie 55:33

So to make kaisu. So to make kaisu. I go in an emancipation village, right? I say, boy, I'm a doctor's dominica de thing. I say nobody can go call my phone, I don't want no problems with nobody, let me leave it so. Right? They say that $40 to go in this Friday night, right? So I pay my $40 gladly and thing. And I walk in. And I see a nice little display of things happening, right? Remember, I was just talking about private, Ryan, right? Nice little display thing for Instagram. It looks like some kind of statue, something, and all them things are watching people, are just watching people, right? Or just in the people watching game at this point in time. And I say, you know, I want to see what it's about. I'll admit that I all the talkers come and talk, I never went to the emancipation village, you know. All the talkers talk is that I as a social media warrior, you know, I stay home and watch what I had to watch. Or listen to why I listen to because they're leaving home. So, conga easy thing. I like the entrance, you know what I mean? They do a they do a little entrance and thing. I say, well, alright, you know. But first thing is like, I remember going and licensing Fed years ago. I was talking to somebody about that here, Johnny Q, and then we're talking about the original stages and and how much deco it's having fit. Now, when I watch the entrance or say, right, you know, I was thinking, hmm. This could have been grand, you know what I mean? But I say, right, it's nice, you know. I mean, there's some banner put up on things. You know, you're walking through the scaffolding and a kind of trusting looking thing, everything looking halfway raw. And then I see what would be called a experience area, right? Like if you if you ever if you ever went to Walt Disney or you went to these places, you see how much they pay attention to what is the what the entrance is like. We went to Disney, fortunately. My son I promised him that boy, you know, I promised that man I go carry that man Disney. Then he passed in for Fatty Mobi. I promise him that based on his standard three grades and no boy, me and what make me promise. That man went to pass a fatty man true cost me. I still paying back for that trip. But we walk in and when you reach Deep the Park, this is the Disneyland, I guess I can't remember what you call it, Magic Kingdom. You could go on a train or something like that, or you could go on a ferry. We line up by thousands of people, too much people for me, but we go on the ferry, and when the ferry break the corner and you see the magic kingdom, the whole ferry says, oh, because they focus and they pay attention to the entrance of the places like and them kind of things. So I say, Alright, you know what I mean? The entrance nice, people taking the little pictures and things that are nice. Then I walk through some boots selling African way, and I see some people say uh authentic Ghanaian clothes and all them kind of thing. It looks nice, you know what I mean? But I watching how the tent on them is just like raw tent. I think, but you know, I just watching it for the opportunity and seeing it for how grand it could look. Because the thing is full, eh, I'll tell you this. Salute to the Emancipation, what do you call them? Emancipation Support Committee. They put on a good event in the village because the village is full of people. It reminds me of the flavour village, which I find should have never come down, but it comes down. But the Emancipation Village looking nice, you know what I mean? People out, people, and when I say people out, the whole family, they come with everybody and people, children there, and and I'm walking in and I say, well, alright, I could get something to eat here before I go home, you know what I mean, or take in whatever show they have and them kind of thing. Because I wanted to go to see super blue the night. I was a man. I'd have got one of them Google calendars, something, yes? And when you see I say I'm gonna do something, I'd put it in a calendar to remind me because I remember I wanted to see Super Blue in Emancipation Village the morning after when I see it on Instagram. I say, oh god, I was supposed to go and see super any damn thing. I always forget. And then I see more performances and people pass it. The thing looks good to me, you know. I mean when I reach there, I really find like, let me tell you something. In Trinidad and Tobago beach line means something, right? When you're going on a beach line, it's vibes. A man tell me in the comments recently, he said, I think you're brainwashing people with this rhythm section always used no because you say, from the time I hear the rhythm section, I excited for whatever the episode is. And I was like, yeah, that's because culturally it means something to me. As you hear iron knock, you know, it's vibes. So when I know I go in Miracles, it's heavy soaker and vibes, and it's a chutney, and that's always live, you know. I mean, if you go in by the river, if you know always going, you go marry river chutney, banging out a man. That should be illegal, man. Should never have music solo be banging, that's how we is. So a day them tell me about this Helsia Beach in Jamaica, right? I live in Jamaica already, and I just like here, I don't leave home at tell me we go to Helsinki Beach and they say, and a beach named Buff Bay. I used to hear a man sing a song, nobody can tell me, see, them can you know come from Buff Bay. Me, no, Buff Bay is a real place. I say, alright, let me go buff bay boy. What? And when I go now on the buff bay now, my Trinidadian cultural self-expectancy, looking kicking, looking kicking, looking kicking. I expect you to have vibes when I go on the beach. Number one, the beach is smelling of a plant, you know. I mean a plant-like substance. The whole entire beach is smelling plant-like. I say, but what is this? And then the music they're playing on the beach is the heaviest revolutionary Bob Bali. Boy, want to jump off an almond tree. I said, But what kind of depressing, heavy vibes is this thing? The music dre I like reggae music, but reggae is not the beach music for me. I expect energy and vibes. Well, I just want to tell you that the Friday night in Emancipation Village was reggae night. Salute to the Emancipation Support Committee Entertainment section. I see Ziggy Rankin. Salute to Ziggy Ranking, I see Daniel Bless. I ain't saying the artists and them ain't good at the reggae artists. We have the great. I want to say salute to the great Isaac. I see I Sasha in concert the other night. And you know his Instagram, I see it on, right? Because me and Lee my house are supposed to go there too. But that looks great. That the energy scene, Prophet Benjamin, I Sasha, Mr. King, Ziggy Rankin, all of them on one stage, King David, all of them come together for what we know as we use as reggae, all stars and think the men come together, and it was a great show from everything I could see. And I Sasha pour your heart and soul into that performance. Where I see they bring a message with me husbands and the wicked people in this life, bring a message from the man daughter who could make it man emotional like hell in your own show. Great, great show. But I don't know if it's that the emancipation board committee and decide that Friday night is a night for Reggae. Because I in the Friday night, I try and have our vibes, eat some food, have a partner, salute my partner, Jade. He and all of us are African here, ringing his ears. Usually he's a man is where diamonds, and all of a sudden he's Africa and playing Africa and that chicken salute my partner. But we end up, and I started here, well, the first performer, when I realized I in the wrong place, because I up there don't drink gazul on the golf course now, no any emancipation village. I looking for vibes. The first reggae performer he sang a song. Me know the name of the song, right? But I can tell you that the two lines, the he rhyme vial with pedophile. And I find that was very heavy. So Friday night, I find that was very, very heavy. Cheering anything. I say, alright, this ain't good. And then our next man comes now and he beat a bongo drum. He ain't what the band. He just wants a bongo drum. He sings both about 85 minutes of my life. That man sing wailing and lamentations of revolution. And I say, boy, why we this had to be looking so I so proud to be part of the Emancipation Village. I find black must always look regal. We must present the best of ourselves at all times. And I overthinking this. I want to put it out there. I am overthinking this. I'm also looking for things to talk about on the podcast too. So I looking for every funny thing it has going on in me. But I overthinking this because when I see the tents, I say, oh God, all they can call somebody to decor these tents and looking good and make some good sign. It can't be that walking into a private rhyme event is looking nicer than walking in emancipation village. We must look great. We must look like the thing to be. But then again, I don't want nobody else comes. I forget all the wonder else comes. It's just for we, so it's like a family day, you just get done, right? So you do it and you think you pass through the boots, the people and them selling. It looks like things selling. And then I reach by the food park, good, good food selling. I want to salute, I don't want to forget this. So I write on thing, right? And of course, I write on thing, but I forget the name of the thing. It has somebody inside selling breadfruit pizza. Now I'll tell you something, right? Me and noise that. And I ain't getting none because the line was so long that a crowd in front of the breadfruit pizza thing. I want to say salute to them who put together that because that is why I expect not that breadfruit pizza is African. I just expect when you go there, it's vibes, it's variety and thing. But boy, the little the little violin pedophile, it was hard. It was hard on my soul, my spirit. I couldn't take it. And I couldn't understand like why Oli didn't make Danite when he plays full. Like Tyson Night up somebody like Super there. Super in a crowd like that, number one, he was coming off that stage because he stayed too far from the people. And when he goes on inside there and sing hello, hello. I know I feeling proud as African. I want to call all my Indian brothers. Nick, I said that. I want to call every other race social them out great ways when you have something like that. But boy, I see I it wasn't just me, yeah. People who in the village go tell me because I mean a lot of people come up and tell me they're enjoying the podcast. A woman does me something I ain't like it. She stopped me and say, Hello. You just have me up one o'clock in the morning and I watching she husband right behind. She there say, Miss, not me, and I go on. But I appreciate people coming and saying they enjoy the podcast, and we actually can just see vibes of people enjoying this. I know I couldn't be the only person thinking this like, this is real heavy, but we in revolutionary thought we celebrating. Why would you put the reggae night as a night that the most full? When I'm gonna salute all you reggae artists here, but reggae is now that ain't bonny and them kind of thing. I expect you should put the vibes performers that you could possibly book to make sure that that fra Because let me tell you something. Super blue, these people sell a lot of liquor, you know, and a lot of food and a lot of clothes. We underestimate what artists do. When artists come on that stage and people having a good time, their pocket is getting loose, you know, their credit card is starting to hang out. So salute to everybody in emancipation. I I just find like, and you know, I can't help but think, right? I'll put myself in some problems here. But if if we have to do the deco for the emancipation village, I find you should go and find the people in this country who are the best at putting experiences together. The thing about it is when you look at the people who are the best at putting it together, just like everything else in Trinidad, you will find people of all races, right? There's a gentleman by the name of Peter Minchel. I mean, if you still do this kind of thing, yeah, people like Wayne Barkley, you have people like uh I'm forget my ballhead partner name, yeah, you have people like Val Mickey Maraj, yeah, yeah, yeah. We have people who do this. We have plenty designers. So I would think like just Find the best, like go and call air committee. You can find find find find find um Adrian Chandler and them. Find people who is put together the best looking events and make our thing look spectacular. Every year, people must be coming there thinking what they go do now to wow, what would they do now to make this into the greatest thing ever? And that way, more breadfruit pizza go sell, ain't line the real sell, macaroni pie and provision and stew chicken. Me, you know, that's an African thing, but boy, I never see this is 9.10 in the night, and I say, But who gonna eat all this cassava? Or they could have gonna make some light little food for people and thing, you know what I mean? But if if if we find the best people in the world who do these things, I feel like we could create a better experience though. And I just find like the Friday wasn't the night for for for and they have some little awkward things in terms of logistics too like they had stands for people to sit down in, but the stands just facing a tent and nothing performing. But again, salute to the Emancipation Support Committee. Because between that emancipation village and the parade, I think it is a beautiful thing. We must continue to develop that and enhance that and make that into the greatest experience ever. We we could do it. I want to salute a few people who come and make sure that they hail mouth, you know. A lady by the name of Shikasa. I see her in the comments all the time. Joela is her name. Thank you very much for always supporting the show and commenting about. And about some two gentlemen who have a podcast by the name of Black to Black, Karen and the Brethren, and salute all the other boot inside you and think. Maybe I will hear from them and try to get a sense from them as to if it was successful for them, you know, because a part of the thing, apart of the way the thing had to work, and as black people, we must always remember this. We we want to celebrate each other and we want to do these things that we, you know, we want to rise, we want to do better as a race. But a big part of doing better as a race is business, eh? So when I see the man with the breadfruit pizza, it had to have something to connect me now to how I go get breadfruit pizza outside of the emancipation village. We as black people we are too much of a pop-up business, you know. We have a business for this, and then it has no business again. We should be supporting them to get locations because why breadfruit pizza can sell pizza like Mario's or Pizza Hut and them kind of thing. I don't see why any one of our businesses can become the biggest business in the country or the region or the world. But again, music is my mission. Well, you know this tune. I'm coming back and tell all about all the board Michelle Benjamin and them coming back.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:33

A man was born in this country, he grew in the country, he never left the country of he come yankee. A man born in this country, in this country, never left the country, he come yankee. He bought some money on a man.

Michelle Benjamin Booed And Public Anger

Corie 1:11:30

That song is by a man by the name of Delarie Scott. Boogle, you know. We have people that's called the Crung Prince of Soka, right? Or calypso. They used to call him the clung prince of looking. Mighty cipher, clung prince of calypso. You can't be that. Only really boo Michelle Benjamin, boy. Let's tell the woman we will remember. It's one of the heaviest statements I hear in a while. You know, she's saying, We will remember when we are hungry today. And you promised us food tomorrow. I guess hey, you can't be Trinidad. The woman come. No, I'll say this, right? True to Michelle Benjamin. Michelle Benjamin had a rough time. Me and if she didn't know what to expect. I don't know what she expected when she reached her. But um whoever she was expecting, she gets it. Because it, you know, you know the thing I laugh about it. She really expected to get like a Martin Luther King according to Cypher. And if it now Cypher is a man when he sing a Kai so you just can't understand what the hell Cypher say, eh? But Cypher's talking about a man who borrows some money and he's playing Yankee, right? And he's telling them, he says, when you go to my country, don't go and try to kill Martin Luther Gandhi. You know what I mean? You know nothing happening outside of training and say Martin Luther Gandhi. But I feel like Michelle Benjamin thought she to get a Martin Luther Gandhi type response when she makes her speech. You know what I mean? And it was a good speech. You could see the woman work hard or charge beauty. Somebody work hard on putting together this speech and she delivered it. Because sometimes, as a minister of culture, you're looking for Michelle Benjamin to say more about things. I saw her do a post-carnival consultation on um all the different aspects of carnival. I think it was well attended. It is a great idea. Especially if, I mean, we like to talk and we like consultation. If we could implement and see some changes coming out of that, it would be good. But I really encouraged by a minister of anything facing the people and coming to ask questions about what could be better. And you know, one of the things that I I have a way of when the government doing so maybe is my viewer government, and it's blind spot for me, right? When they say public consultation on something, I just have an image in my mind of the people who this good am kind of thing, and I just think it's gonna be empty. And I wrong on boat. All I picture when I hear public consultation is who it was, Manuhar Ramsaran. One of them was like hidey face and cuss a man and a thing that was gonna salt. I just picture some old set of people, but that wasn't where it was. A lot of people went outside. It was full every single night. I think there's three nights in the Savano and two nights in Sapo. So as I as a as a as a minister of culture, I mean, people might argue that not enough happened in this culture and blah blah blah blah. But she present, she she makes a presence felt, and she she she it looked to me like somebody who tried, right? But boy, she overtried it yesterday, but I don't know, you know, run she out of the boy. And you know, most of the audience was was at least listening to her, right? They was at least listening. But one woman, she loud boy. Me, if she swallowed a microphone, that woman loudside. We had to find something for she to do. I want to know what she's do when the day comes. But she used to ball when school train running across. You know, school train when school done, they just run across. She should make she a ball and walk. You know, sometimes you have a funeral, nobody never likes the person. Hire she to go and ball in people's funeral, and then guys and boy, that woman mouth loud, and she disrupt the whole speech for her to say that. And I think with the sentiment that people have towards the government now in recent events, you know, as a government just feel it, right? Uh uh time this passed now. I would admit that only a little bit of time passed since this government in power, but like some people seem to be fed up of the government in place, and Michelle Benjamin, Betty Branton. I've a salute to her, she worked through it and things. I even see one person make an announcement, and I ain't line the woman look like she wants to laugh too, you know, like she was in the open of the parade of the village or something, and she said, Well, how honourable prime minister, just calm love and sad business, couldn't be everything. The woman said, No, no. I just find like responses like those, and and when you in the public space is a is a tricky place. Uh the same thing I say, you know, I mean, I can't compare anything I do to what they have to do. But I'm not sure that anything in the comments could bother me to that. But you just keep that any comments. Don't come to me in in person and tell me um some of them kind of thing. You want to hear that. But any comments say you're entitled to your opinion, are you doing something for the public to digest? So I think Michelle Benjamin's response was much like that because Michelle Benjamin cuss you up to say, and I could get bad, but she she did it well. The lady on the podium says, Hear what? No, don't don't think the prime minister, but people people seem to be glad. And even even that could read several different ways, right? Let me let me just give it the most benign assumption that we don't like what the government is doing. So anywhere we see them in our public space, we're going to mock and boo and jeer them. Let me give them the benefits of the doubt, right? No, keep uh keep the backdrop of everything else that happened, man, everything else I talk about against for the two weeks, right? Keep in mind that one person went off on Michelle Benjamin. The crowd, I don't know that the crowd was against me. They was taking in her speech for the most part. At least give her that space and respect, right? Indian High Commissioners say they want to do something for the Indian people, we say, nah, forget that, or they move that with the water, we are African thing, you know what I mean? And then the Indian woman dancing in ETTV like that, girl the she, right? We all you think for ourselves. And then Michelle Benjamin is you and she's government too, but we go we go tolerate she and thing, you know what I mean? And but then when the when the Prime Minister comes, racial commenting, I again, I can see, even though I I believe it to be just the sentiment that we don't like what the government is doing and them kind of thing. Because the last story I'm closing here on is how public servants ain't getting money yet, right? Which is a special, special. And when public servants ain't getting money and they make it up, but that's the biggest sector of employment to have any country. And a bunch of them was in the emancipation village, you know. I mean, a lot of public servants. So you're going and get that. And as a government, outside of election, you ain't about to be popular, you know. There's only election time you need to be popular. What you need to do is make the right decisions for the governance of the country. So you must know that you're coming out there, right? So I've given them the benefits of the doubt that jail. That the booze and the jails were about that. And then later on, when the government ministers come anything, you know what I mean? They boo and run the people out of there like, dog. They say, oh, they're come out in here. We want I wondering strategically, like, as a people, do we have, are we clear as a people who were emancipated? What is this we're asking for? Like, is this something we're looking for from the government or something? And when I say the government, I mean all governments. Do we have a position on what we want? Or is it that we just well, you know, I mean, we are black people in power, or we are PM in power, all that cool with me, you know. I just need to know what we're standing for. Because I don't know that strategically is the best idea that you're supporting an emancipation support committee who has to invite these people to the thing because it's public funds coming into the thing. So you want to invite the dignitaries, and then I just be here quarreling for the last how much years when they don't show up events in events, and then when they show up in events, this is the response. On the flip side of that, if you're in public office, you had to take the response you get. I just don't see. This is just me. And I want to go back to when I say I never went in the emancipation village, so I gotta ask no mother. But I don't I don't know that people was happy with the with the with keep moving Augustus Rowley, but I don't know that Rowley was going and make no address in Emancipation Village and get booed like that. Or people say Rowley get come and everybody say rail like that. I know sure. I I I don't know. Mommy gotta tell me. No, I am a very measured person, so I want to assume that it's not the race of the people or the fact that I am PM and them is you and see why I react like that and booing people and saying people might do genuinely for the body prime minister, no matter who she is. I would assume that. And I would think it's wise to make that assumption before I talk to more people because to make an assumption like that and come out on a public platform and say that the people who was in emancipation village racist, and anybody, anybody who comes there is PNM, and anybody who thinks and once they have an Indian, I I think that would be highly irresponsible. But that is why I this podcast and other people, this Prime Minister, because the Prime Minister went on to talk and say the PNM MPs, where you could just put one long beep here, just beep all this whole part, right? So they ain't gonna PDM here. The PNM MPs and owners believe that destroying Afro-Trinadian supportive of the UNC and spreading so-and-so hatred inside racial solidia is a good political strategy. Now, before I go further, I think it is very, very, very, very irresponsible of all the people who are in power who are can deliberately continuing to circulate the sea word to keep it at the forefront. I see it as a political strategy to divide, and I find it to be extremely irresponsible. Star Sab there's who she is. If only want to go and boycott Blue Waters because Star Sab, they see what she said, or boycott the whole one

Leaders Using Racial Slurs On Purpose

Corie 1:20:30

person. That is your choice. I do not think that the people who are in power who voted to be in power, who, because they have a thing called Pareto Principle that says 20% of the people responsible for 80% of the results, or 20% of the effort, it's gonna get 80% of the weight. 20, 80, 20 rule. I talk about it all the time. We I just come and argue about the tax we're paying and think the amount of income tax and the amount of cooperate for any tax rate high compared to what we get back for the tax rate, right? But I want to tell you that that same 1% that they're thinking about, and if you watch the tax that they pay compared to what the rest of the population pay, they're paying some taxes and they're citizens. Remember what we say in the beginning, they're men from here. So the fact that Star Sabga say that them and the family go have to deal with the consequences that that them is private citizens, and if anybody wants to boycott them and the businesses for that, may again in your way of that. But the elected officials who dare to govern everybody, they dare to govern white, black, red, yeah, where you say yellow and yellow, black and white. We are precious in this side. You dare to govern all of them, right? And you dare to govern maybe that's why they write a song red and yellow, black and white at UNC and PN since in them days in Bible study and thing at UNCMP. You dare to govern red, yellow, green, and whoever else it has, right? I find it highly irresponsible and it seems to be an organized approach to keeping this star sabger word in circulation. It feels deliberate. She went on to say, this on Twitter, and I might I might say at risk of um my visa and so on, there's only one other leader of our country that I see on Twitter making statements as divisive as this. The PM MPs, owners and supporters, idea of celebrating emancipation day was to denigrate, humiliate, and tear down Indo-and Afro-Trinadiens who don't support their political party. This version of the PNM under Penelope Beckles is the most hateful, racist, and divisive. What they did to Michelle Benjamin and Selvin Coach over the Emancipation Weekend was disgusting. This sec version of the PNM mobilized and encouraged their supporters to mobilize PM can mobilize. This tech version of the PM mobilized and encouraged their supporters to curse, insult, abuse UNC officials during Emancipation Day celebrations and thus denigrate and desecrate the holiday. Last night a number of PNM persons contacted me to condemn the behavior of the party and to disassociate themselves from Penelope Beckles. And the current PNM leadership with the P. It's too long. I thought Twitter had a limit. It didn't have a time here, just two 27 characters. This is too long. Only get them prime minister and my limit on Twitter. There's some of this no, again, the first paragraph of this, I do condone that. I just find that it is beneath the level and the office of a prime minister to even utter certain words or say certain things. But they tell me I naive a long time, eh? If it is always sworn political enemies and things, and I I do believe, like again, again, I already know I love Krookru. But I I've seen Krookru singing songs where people who support the UNC is a problem. Black people, but he's not a problem for being a PN. I don't know either I agree with that or I find uh Dominic said it in the episode, no, no, support who you find doing the best for what your your agenda is, and and that that idea of the political divide and stuff is not something that I would encourage. So if you want to, if she wants to say or make a statement, or the government as a whole, not just want to say this divide and the PNM is pushing this thing and the sending organizers to make the UNC look bad in public spaces, I could live with that whole day. I find you could say that because you're within your rights to say that. And I uh apart from it, I I don't doubt that things like that happen because I mean the queen of organized protests against you know so they will gain power. So I know they know things like this happen in the political space, so if only want to talk about that, talk about that. The part that I have the biggest difficulty with is number one, the the the current circulation or the constant circulation and pulling it up in people's faces, these racial slurs and things. I think it counterpropriate what we doing, why are we doing that for? P and M saying they're hiding from public anger. I guess that's what the PM would say because and they have a point as well, because a part of you could be just deflecting because you have a public that's angry and you really don't want to you don't want to face that public. So you you're you're deflecting from the pushback again in the public space because as I say, people ain't gain their money and take on time and public service and this and all was supposed to be cash and then some is bonds and things. So you're taking decisions that may be unpopular. Yeah, you're PBO in people I was talking about Niza Mohammed talking about it last week with people on the public detention orders and so on. So is it that you don't just want to face the music and you blaming the PM for your for your for your shortcomings and so on and why people are angry? And it if if this is year one, year two, what will happen in year four? Frightener, frightened for them. But I'm eager to see where where they go from here. What what happens because August is a funny month in August is starting with emancipation and end with independence. And I waiting for the longest while to see UNC MPs led by the Prime Minister in the independence thing. I wait for 10 years, they never come. They give me one more year where it cancelled last year because threat to the state and so on. A matter of fact, last year they PDO the whole armed services don't match for nothing. Let's stay home. And now I see a budget approved for it for everything I know so far. The the the independence parade is on. And if you believe that the PM under the Penelope because it's the most hateful racist, divisive, blah, dah, tau, is it that you're gonna hide again and not come the independence thing? I have a fundamental problem with that. I I feel like if the leaders of the country should be present for the independence parade. And when I say leaders of the country, I talk in government and opposition. So, from what I see, I know when independence falls in, but I'm pretty sure that I have an episode to record right after independence. So are we here talking about like what do you just say, hold this space, like stick a pin, wait? Because I want to see if this now is a springboard to say, well, then not coming, nothing to do with independence. Because if the whole army and police and Coast Guard and the air guard and everybody is PML, boy, we have a we understand why you're gonna real problems we have. Or are you going to come out and address the nation? See, where you have to say, give the awards, because I think somewhere between independence and republic they will have uh national awards and so on. So we're eager. I want to hear what it says. Now again, if you pay close attention enough and you listen to these songs in this episode, you're gonna realize all this song on them is about tourists and foreigners and them, can't you? If you pay enough attention, you're gonna realize my question to us is really why we just we just extend the red carpet to tourists and we just mock and boo and jail one another. We treat each other bad in this country because we own celebrations of emancipation, we own celebrations of Indian arrival. We just had the most controversy around it. But when them you can't say white people in a PDO, when they had a St. Patrick's Day and thing is beer selling, though we celebrating St. Patrick's Day in every bar in every time. When foreigners are hurting here, we just act like it's the greatest celebration ever. And then when it comes to our own celebration and we own religious festivals and we own celebrations of our ethnic beauty, we have a tendency to want to we want to half kill one another. You know, it's like we are with family day, but we treat your family like dog. But then when somebody comes to stay by you, you you put in your own children out of your bedroom to let them sleep on the ground. So some person who comes in from abroad, they come in, you know, you smell like the barrels still. You put in them in the bedroom and you're putting them in socks and carpets and slippers or walking and things. But I'm eager for the day when we treat ourselves the way we treat tourists. So the last song of the day. It's fitting. Because if we think of ourselves as tourists, we go solve half the problems we have here.

Treat Each Other Like Tourists

Corie 1:30:32

Nobody in travel more than we know. We cover this whole globe. And we little how much a square mile we have, all the bag or could sing our whole verse about. So let me treat each other like if we're from foreign to now. Maybe that's the best thing we could do, you know what I mean? Treat each other like none away from here, and we go have a better experience walking these streets. Enjoy while emancipation done well, so they are going on. Only have a good week, be productive, be nice, it's a no more holiday time for a while. It's a no more Dominic episode support. All the episodes are now the safe. My battery might be able to last all day on my phone. I'm gonna talk to all the next week.