‘….Not even ah $1,500, not even $1,000?….‘

‘….Tell Jack Warner we eh war dah morneee….’

‘….I rahdah do de crime, dan take no $69….’

Ah lil taste of some of the comments irate folks in east Port of Spain, spit out on hearing how much dey was goin’ an’ get paid fuh wukking on de project de PP announce wid great fanfare. Sixty nine dollars ah day. People was so damn vex dey almost bun dong dey own community.

When ah first hear dey response, mih knee jerk, an’ ah cuss. Den ah was on mih computer, venting. Is ah whole blog ah vent. Ah was tuh go back later tuh finalize it and post it buh den ah started tinking. Same time de govahment start calling de money ah stipend an’ not ah wage. What kind ah dotish hair splitting was dat? People getting de money have ah pocket fuh stipends and ah next one fuh wages? Dey does spend ah stipend different? Call it what is truly is, pocket change.

Buh ah glad ah take de time and eh put mih knee jerk thoughts out.

Is only dis week ah pardnah send mih dis joke about ah Trini beggar. De beggar see de $10 dis man start giving him daily, drop tuh $7, den $5. Annoyed, he confront de man who explain dat tings tight and he trying tuh put he chirren through school. Sounds reasonable? Not tuh de beggar. He rip into de man fuh trying tuh educate he chirren orf he ‘beggar money’. I tort it was ah funny joke because it remind me of dat sense of entitlement we does have.

Now it turn out tuh be serious. People suggestin’ how much ‘mornee’ dey should get fuh wuk dat eh look like it require any skills. At least yuh have tuh know how tuh beg.

De end of all mih tinking’ is dat me eh blame dem one stinking bit fuh getting pissed. Dat is de major change between what ah vent before an’ what ah sayin’ now.

Doh get mih wrong cause me eh offering no encouragement tuh people tuh engage in de kind of lawlessness dat get displayed. Not fuh ah moment. Buh ah understand what set dem orf. Dey mindset is in keepin’ wid de kind ah society too many people does subscribe to. It does show itself in different ways by different people at different societal levels. Each level does look dong its nose at dem in de lower levels saying dey would never carry orn like dem buh yet, dey doing de same ting, only differently.

As ah Trini or someone wid connections, yuh aware of the complicated make-up of T&T and how tings work, right?

Yuh know dat is de most ardent of supporters of de party in power dat does benefit de least from dat power? Not de rich supporters eh, dem getting richer.

Yuh know when election time reach, people getting reminded of how bad de next side go treat dem if dey dotish enough tuh change how dey does vote?

Yuh know yuh tink dem poor people dotish buh yuh know deep dong you does struggle wid de same fear dey does have buh yuh better at hiding yours, ent?

Is human nature tuh want tuh believe dat yuh first choice should be tuh look towards people like you. So yuh know dat Black go lean, no fall over to vote fuh Black and Indian does do de same, fuh Indian ah mean. Buh you sophisticated and yuh have a minimum level of non-performance yuh go accept. If your side fall below dat level fuh however long yuh want tuh give dem, yuh know yuh go start wondering if de udder side could do worse. Once yuh decide ‘no’, yuh go cross over. Gingerly. Yuh go be holding yuh breath, ready tuh dart back tuh de udder side at de slightest ting dat reinforce dat fear lurking in de back of yuh head. Forget dat when was yuh own side in charge, yuh used to take plenty licks until yuh black and blue and yuh wouldn’t go bawling tuh de next side. Buh once yuh switch, let dat new side say, ‘BOO!’ and is gorn yuh gorn, back home fuh more licks. Yuh know dat so doh pretend. Besides, it eh human nature?

It eh dat same human nature dat have yuh watching de people of east Port of Spain, not believing dey dat dotish? Dat you could be as dotish in the ‘right circumstance’, yuh eh want tuh hear. ‘Why poor people doh see what you does see’, yuh want tuh know. De govahment dey support all de years show disdain tuh de idea of providing dem incentives tuh increase de quality of life. No small businesses? No workshops tuh help teach marketable skills? No health service? No good roads? No inside toilets? When Lockjoint parse through T&T boy? De only time dey does see dey representatives is arong election time. Den ah road here and there does get paved wid promises fuh more once de election over. Who eh know what dat hint mean?

Tuh me, it eh so much ah shame, as it is ah moral outrage dat any govahment would treat its most ardent supporters so bad. Yes, ah know is all about politics. Dat as long as I, de political party, know you go vote for me regardless, den I could direct mih attention at dem who I have tuh convince tuh vote like you. Dat part ah human nature sucks. Dem kind ah politicians in it fuh deyself, fuh dey party. Just like tief does operate under de cover ah darkness, is de same way wid dem. De darkness dey using is de fear of de unknown, dem who doh look like you. Den dey clear dey conscience by keeping de people marginally able tuh support deyself and dey family by offering make-believe wuk. Nuttin tuh improve dey skills and make dem marketable. Why else de money better dan what private business offer dey lowest skilled workers?

Most ah we would say we go pick de job dat require skills cause we go keep improving and soon earn more money dan de job dat eh require skills.

Is lie we lying or what? Or, are we just not as well trained as dem who acceptin’ de proposition and new demandin’ more?

Even if we fuh real, remember in dem areas people have limited services available tuh them.

Okay ah travel ah ways so let mih pause tuh see where ah is and what ah say.

Ah suggestin’ strongly dat de people of east Port of Spain doin’ exactly what dey have been trained tuh do. Trained by de PNM, de NAR, de PNM, de UNC, de PNM an’ now de PP. Ah includin’ de ‘PP’ because it was gettin’ ready tuh do exactly what dem udder govahments have done wid dese jobs. Unfortunately it cyar take two steps widout trippin’ over it one foot.  But is de same khaki pants. Eef Jack, Kamla, Rowley, Hinds, Beckles et al want proof of what all ah dem collectively have sown, dis outbreak is it. Nobody eh believe in teaching people how tuh fish? Sometimes I eh know who is Pavlov and who is he dorg. Who triggerin’ de reaction in who?

Ah sure ah dis doh. Until an’ unless people in east PoS have skills an’ REALISTIC job opportunities, dey go be forever holdin’ dis govahment, de next one, de next one after dat an’ de one after dat, as hostage. Of course dat true for de whole country buh right now it have ah fire simmering fuh years now and it need outing.

Now I admit is years since me eh take in de Trini air dat does seem tuh cause people tuh do tings so different. Ah sayin’ dat because yuh see dis wanton breakin’ of de law? Dis bunnin’ tings in de road while de police standin’ by? Ah cyar steups mih disdain fuh dat long enough.

One paper have de police sayin’ dey not playing no more, ‘nice guy’, when people break de law so openly. Ah next paper have de same police sayin’ it bein’ sorf because it want tuh foster ah sense ah Kumbaya wid de people, or some similar dotishness.

What happen tuh instillin’ de sense dat if yuh break de law, chances are yuh go get yuh baxide lock up? Which one yuh go respect more? De police standin’ dey waiting tuh lock yuh up if yuh break de law? Or de police dat waiting tuh hug yuh up an’ sing folk songs when yuh break de same law?

By the way, let mih digress wid ah plug fuh de TTPS? Check out dey Facebook page. Dey have plenty new gear boy. Dey starting tuh look like real police.

So, what is de plan now I asking. What is de govahment plan?

I eh go claim tuh know how representative dem people I see expressing dey displeasure wid de $69 is. I certainly eh know how many ah dem actually, ‘….rahdah do de crime, dan take no $69…..‘.

It eh go take too many wid dat belief tuh make what de PP doing nuttin more dan ah plan dat increasing crime.

In udder words, ah true crime plan.