The most hated group in T&T

Trinidad and Tobago loves to boast about being a tolerant multicultural society. But there is one group of Trinbagonians who face discrimination and prejudice everyday. One group who are constantly vilified and told to their faces that they are not welcome.  I’m talking of course about; sane people. Its not clear how many sane Trinidadians there are. According to the 2010 census they were up to 10, maybe even 12, sane people on the island. Its difficult to get an accurate number because sane people know nobody actually uses data here, hence them bothering to answer census questions is a waste of time.

I met up with one sane person named Dave who told me that the plight his kind face can easily be seen on local television. “Just look at Crime Watch, the Parliament Channel and Sunny Bling’s talk show” said Dave. “I mean; where are the shows for sane people? Its like we don’t exist” added a tearful Dave. Dave was also upset that the media didn’t ask him his opinion on whether or not T&T should accept refugees form Dominica. “I would have said “sure we should”, said Dave. “But the media doesn’t like to take the time to find out what sane people think. They prefer to just gauge public opinion by reading comments on Facebook written by political party hacks.”

Sane people in T&T often struggle to find employment. Employers often stereotype them as troublesome, too bright for their own good and always asking too many questions. In south Trinidad I met sane person Steve Lee who despite being a qualified Petroleum Engineer has been out of work for over a year. “Every job interview I go too; people keep asking me the same thing; How much is 100 barrels of oil plus 100 barrels of oil? I always say 200 barrels of oil. They always respond ‘wrong; Its five million barrels of oil”, said an exasperated Steve. “One time an HR Manager asked me how many beer bottles I should pelt at a journalist if he comes by the front gate. I said, that’s crazy, I’m not pelting bottles at journalists. She told me “allyuh sane people real lazy eh”.  But Steve isn’t the only sane person out of work. In Port of Spain, I met Charmaine Mitchel a Port Authority ferry inspector, who told me her sanity has cost her lots of opportunities. “I can’t help it. I think a ferry should pass a standard sea trial. This is the way God made me, why can’t people accept that. I can’t even get a job in the public service because they have a quota of one sane person per department”.

In recent months there has also been an alarming rise in the number of sane hate crimes being committed across the country. Last month the Express reported about one incident where members of a sane family in San Fernando were awoken in the dead of the night by men with hoods burning a giant letter S on their front lawn. When the family told them to leave, one man removed his hood revealing himself to be Prime Minister Dr.  Keith Rowley, who then shouted “Shut up” at them numerous times. And just this week, young sane Kevin Mendez was run over by a van driven by Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj. Although Maharaj later apologized an invited Mendez on a guided wheelchair tour of his home.

But why are sane people so despised in T&T?  Professor of Political Science at the UWI Dr. Vishnu Rajsingh, says it because people fear what they don’t understand. “Sane people have cultural practices which many Trinidadians find strange. Such as reading books without pictures in it, reviewing data in problem solving and not thinking Hurricanes are a result of God punishing us for homosexuality.” Said Rajsingh. “It’s natural for people to fear things they find strange. For Example, UWI once hired a sane economist who said socialism was responsible for the suffering in Venezuela. We all thought that sounded strange, so naturally we fired him” added Rajsingh.

Sane people across T&T continue to suffer in their plight, longing for the day they will be treated as equals. T&T has had both an Afro-Trinidadian and Indo-Trinidadian as Prime Minister. Even a woman. But will it ever have a sane person as Prime Minister? We dare to dream.