Cultural Dissimilation and Degradation: the West Indian Diaspora

January 6, 2008

There is no uncertainty that popular culture, technological advancements and the pursuit to secure capital have in many ways percolated into our systems and have adapted us into “modern life.” Now this is not an appalling thing, rather it is a wonderful metamorphosis but as I see it, too much of it, as it stands mimics an active imploding volcano.
They scope of my analysis extends from an observational dissection of West Indian communities in the United States, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana and the extent to which my examination should remain is respectively the same.

Now I am not attempting to decipher the inner workings of any other culture than the said because my experience within other cultural groups is limited and henceforth insufficient to make comparison or any other analysis. However, in dissecting West Indian culture, I am privy because I am West Indian and I interact on many levels with members in the West Indian communities in the United States, Trinidad, and Guyana.

In the past 7 years or so in the United States, we have witnessed a major technological and economical boom, from the way we communicate, to the vehicles that move us, to the monetary value of the homes we live in and the fashion trends that have become a staple part of our diet. In Trinidad and Guyana, the very same can be said, albeit on a small scale.

One of the adopted epicenters for West Indians in New York is the town of Richmond Hill. For those of us who migrated to the New York in the eighties and nineties and immersed ourselves in the emerging West Indian community in Richmond Hill and neighboring towns such as Ozone Park, Jamaica, Queens Village and Hollis bore witness to the coming of age of the contemporary center we know today, with a plethora of ethnic food stores, West Indian bars and West Indian clubs, West Indian Eateries, fashion boutiques and West Indian owned enterprises.

But this was not always the case. In the early nineties the main artery so to speak (Liberty Ave) was not perforated with eateries and bars on every corner. But then something happened, the global technological revolution, the real-estate economic boom and the fashion industry flipped upside down (less became more and more became less) A sort of demi-culture was being born. The Parrot Restaurant added a night club. Bars and lounges began to spurt from every corner. The famed Calypso City (now Rum Jungle) and Club Tobago was born. In a way the revolution that was global was having profound effects in the community. On weekends, young (some visibly under the age of eighteen) teens would be standing in line trying to gain access to one of the establishments mentioned. It was then that I started to discern and acquire insight on the inner workings and along the lines of the microscopic effects of a global revolution. It was hitting home but did anyone notice or did anyone care or understood the dimorphic shift that was never returning to the point of origin. Life seemed to increase its pace. Eateries popped up and we packed at any given time of the day. I asked my self, did people cook at home anymore or was the population that large that the percentage of people buying West Indian takeout at any given time was less than one percent of the West Indians in the community. But as time and years went on, the eateries seemed to be more and more frequented and as a result more of them graced Liberty Avenue.

Back home in Guyana and Trinidad the very same was happening. Young adults coming of age were experiencing the cultural shift. Fashion and family values came into conflict. Everyone wanted and yearned to be in fashion with hottest sneakers and denim. It seemed as if the world was becoming a wanted place to live. Value was being created! Teens wanted the newest and fastest cars, phones, and computers. And so a new genre gave way to life.
At the same time, statistics began to surface. Teens were dropping out of schools. There were less freshman college enrollment and graduations. Although the numbers were general, I saw such around me from graduating from Thomas Edison High School. A dear friend of mine back then was excited in launching a career as a real-estate agent. I wondered how he turned out! I had another friend who had the potential and aspiration to be a criminal lawyer. He ended up selling insurance for Primerica Financial Services because he wanted to drive a Mercedes on no money down and his mother’s credit. Another friend four months my junior wanted to wear hip clothes from VIM on Jamaica Avenue and a car to be cool so he forfeited college and got a job in a packaging company in Elmhurst. I had another friend who refused to give up his yellow Nautica reversible jacket so he was shot in the chest and died before reaching Long Island Jewish Hospital…no one benefited from the jacket. I have many more stories but it pains to remember them and much more to write of them.

In the late nineties and early two thousand, the world was changing fast. Technology could not keep up with its own pace. Internet and humanoid video games got adults hooked on the TV. I remember a friend who was a receptionist in a doctor’s office telling me that her husband of three years love to play video games and sometimes misses work because he was up all night playing. I just couldn’t comprehend the whole thing. Were grown men with family responsibilities reverting back to childhood? My dear friend worked two jobs to support the home; she moonlit as a promoter of special parties for Club Tobago and Rum Jungle and Mingles.

With all of this happening it seemed as if we as a young culture were caught in the eye of the hurricane, with no control. We paid into the system that was a façade. We got short term gratification. Click to view my blog on short-term gratification. The cell phones were only as good as the newest model. The cars were getting sleeker, the clothing were getting less and less. The bars and clubs were getting sold out and sex and pregnancy became the topic of conversation. We were choosing colleges based on geographical convenience. We were not seeking top jobs or top universities. We had adapted to the value of living on term.

Presently, I must admit it is changing in the United States and this is partially due emigration. More and more families are dispersing across the United States and the West Indian epicenter is beginning to break at its seam. Young adults are gaining a more holistic cultural up-bringing and it is a wonderful thing because they are able to experience the world somewhat separated from the adopted source. I cannot say the same for Trinidad and Guyana. There is currently a call by the heads of University of Trinidad and Tobago to find a way to lure young adults back into the universities. It is sad to see that education has taken the back seat. In Guyana the infrastructure is not there. Guyana University is home for the wealthy few and all others who cannot afford an education are turned away. They are left to the mid and lower managerial positions and other mediocre paying jobs.

Cultural Dissimilation and Degradation: the West Indian Diaspora

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