I too was disturbed by the decision to censor the distribution of the news. It's particularly interesting in light of the accusation leveled at people who are involved in anti-racist work in the U.S. (perhaps elsewhere too) as having an "agenda."  Apparently those who act to uphold the staus quo do not have an "agenda."

In addition, how is the person who says,"Don't talk about all this unpleasantness because it'll give outsiders the wrong impression of the Caribbean" different from the Bush administration's claims that speaking about the failures in Iraq gives "aid and comfort" to the enemy and other such utterances.

I do not know the piece about which Raymond speaks but now I'm curious.





On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 07:26:20 -0700  Raymond Ramcharitar  wrote:




Interesting decision by the SCS to censor JCA's 'Week in Trinidad'. Perhaps the
society and mailing list should be renamed 'Society for Caribbean Issues that
Do Not Make Anyone Uncomfortable About Reality'.

The decision says a great deal about the academics that form the society and the
knowledge about the Caribbean that is disseminated through them and it. Apropos
of this decision: an essay of mine about CCA7, a Trinidad piracy concern, was
solicited for publication (solicited, not offered by me) by another head of the
SCS. The paper had been presented and reasonably well-received at the SCS 2002
conference. I warned that person that the issue was controversial and there
would be some friction, and offered to withdraw it early while there would be
no hard feelings I was assured there would be no censorship or suppression, and
that the publisher was aware of the issues.

A few months (weeks) before the publication was due to appear, I received a
one-line note that a lawsuit had been threatened by CCA7 and the essay was
being pulled from the collection (Beyond the Blood Beach & Bananas, I think
it's called, published by IRP in Jamaica). The head of CCA7 had been informed
by a visiting art researcher who had interviewed me.

 I also saw the notice that CCA7 had sent; it was one paragraph and contained 3
grammar mistakes. If it had been written by hand it would have been written in
crayon. But it got the job done, and CCA7 and accomplices have continued to,
well, do what they were born to do, and so, evidently, has the SCS.

Nice to see the SCS is at least consistent: no material that is actually of any
use to anyone; just the bland, inane recitations that lubricate the status quo.

Raymond Ramcharitar

Jca <[log in to unmask]> wrote:  Have been requested by the Chair of the Society for
Caribbean Studies, D.
Howard, not to forward the 'WEEK IN TRINIDAD'  to the Society

While no longer being reported here, the events still happened.

Will willingly send 'The Week in Trinidad' to any member who requests it.


 J. Chin Aleong
www.westindiana.com

(This note is not copyright in any way and may be freely, reproduced, copied
 sent on, forwarded, transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, by any
means)





---------------------------------
Now that's room service! Choose from over 150,000 hotels
in 45,000 destinations on Yahoo! Travel to find your fit.






Kamini Maraj Grahame, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Sociology and Community Psychology and Social Change

Penn State University--Harrisburg

Phone: 717 948-6038