White’s Your Point: Shades of Grey

Race, politics and football – three topics that always engender passionate debate. My latest post about Warrior Chris Birchall – T&T’s so-called ‘great white hope’ – is certainly no exception.

Over on the Soca Warriors Forum, senior forumite Filho made the following point:

Birchall stands out on our team. Not just because he is white, but because he is from another culture and his story is always going to seem dramatic to foreign journalists….especially the Brits. The fact that he assimilated so easily is bound to be a worthwhile story to foreign journalists who see the Caribbean as predominantly black and 3rd world.

This is true – and, as Filho also pointed out, T&T has fielded a predominantly black senior team in the past. The reasons for this are complex, and reflect larger divides in Trinbagonian society. Nonetheless, while one can look at the attention that the Warriors are receiving as a bonus, it is also essential to militate against stereotypes wherever possible.

This is important for two reasons. The first is that this is perhaps the single biggest ocassion for us to assert our identity on the world stage, and what we make of it is crucial. The second is that the stereotypes associated with the Caribbean – beaches, bananas, Bob Marley – don’t do us any favours. It’s the difference between lauding ‘German efficiency’ and waxing poetic about ‘those laid back Caribbeans.’

Consider those Malibu ads. Their ’seriously easy going’ campaign presented various images of life in an unidentified tropical paradise. The islanders rode donkey carts to work at a leisurely pace or haggled loudly over the prices of melons. These commercials are either loathed or loved – and the latter usually by people who have no relation to or experience of the Caribbean. Do we really need to perpetuate the idea that we spend all our time lolling on the beach?

Trinidad isn’t ‘just’ a tropical paradise (and the beaches in Tobago are much better) – we’re a rapidly expanding resource based economy, with the attendant traffic and pollution that one would expect. This might not be the image that you see on tourist brochures, but it is equally valid.

It is time for us to stop relying solely on our “Caribbean charm” to sway the outside world. We can learn some lessons from Ronaldinho in this department – he’s a brilliant example of someone whose talent is matched, if not surpassed, by his passion. Similarly, you can bet that Dwight Yorke will be lighting up the stadia with his infectious smile – and that he’ll also be out to captain the Warriors to glory.

Seriously.