Trinidad and Tobago for Trump

Recently, from the mouths of Trinbagonians, I heard some damning comments that made me doubt a Hillary win in Trinbago; and then I heard veteran talk show host, Tony Lee, voice his support for Trump. I was shocked, but when I evaluated the situation, I honestly believe that a majority of Trinbagonians would make Prime Minister Trump a reality; here’s why: Lack of respect for women Donald Trump insulted numerous women throughout his lifetime and has now brought an unprecedented level of vulgarity to American national politics .

Trump disparages women about their looks, their weight, their shapes; brags about the perverted act of deliberately walking in on half-naked and naked women because he can “get away” with it; and even boasts about the size of his “hands” during a televised debate. What’s most disturbing about Trump’s conduct is the fact that he was at least 50-yearsold during most of the incidents .

Many men in our country behave and/or condone this behaviour on an almost daily basis as they ‘suit’ and throw vulgar comments at strange women in the streets. Notice, I didn’t say “males” because I want to stress the importance of age. This is not sanctimonious scorn on my part because as boys, many Trinbagonian males (myself included when I was that age) engage in what Trump tried to downplay as “locker-room talk” during their secondary school days and even beyond, through the tertiary stages. Boys objectify women, see them as sex symbols, use derogatory words to describe them, sexually harass and probably, by definition, engage in touching - especially at Carnival time - that would be tantamount to sexual assault. These actions eventually fade with maturity - for some, but Trump is still doing this at 70, just like the older adult men in our society who do not have a modicum of respect for women .

As a feminist, a father, a son, a brother, an uncle, twice been a husband, and a friend to many of the world’s most intelligent and ambitious women, I am quite repulsed by sexism and misogyny, but apparently, I am part of a minority in Trinidad and Tobago .

Xenophobia In America, xenophobia and racism go hand-in-hand. The Donald wants to build a wall along the American/Mexican border, ban Muslims, close mosques and rip several million undocumented immigrants away from their families and put them on a plane with a one-way ticket. At Piarco International Airport, we use our sovereign law to discriminate against, and deny admission to Jamaicans and Guyanese nationals. Then, a lot like Brexit supporters, Trump blamed crime on foreigners. Here at home, along the lines of Raymond Ramcharitar’s misleading two-part series entitled “Crime and the small-island Elephant” in the Trinidad Guardian (July 10 & 17, 2013), there is a growing resentment of foreigners in our country; whether they’re blamed for “taking our jobs”, clogging up cities with illegal street vending, or fuelling crime. And while some citizens continue hating foreigners, we still struggle to deal with the discord between Trinbagonians born in Trinidad and Trinbagonians born in Tobago .

Draining the Swamp Citizens of both countries are fed up of politicians because they are corrupt liars who never put country first. Trump, like us, wants to eradicate the malaria/ zika/dengue-carrying politician mosquitoes that live and breed in the swamps of political corruption .

Trump vowed to fund his own campaign (although, it was actually in the form of loans), so that the elite in society couldn’t bribe him for post-election favours .

In our politics, financiers control policy, which is why there will never be criminal justice reform, nor will there be measures to hinder the businesses who legally profit from increased crime .

It’s us against them; always has been, always will be. Trump has been able to foment that pent-up frustration - an identical frustration that is bubbling at the aperture of Trinbago’s political climate. Trump’s tell-it-like it is, take-no-prisoners approach is exactly what the common man wants to hear; it is really akin to the reasons for former Crime Watch host, Ian Alleyne’s national popularity .

So, notwithstanding agreement with the last point, don’t you agree that some Trinb a g o n i a n s belong in a “basket of deplorables”?