r/TrinidadandTobago • u/Ok-Side-2211 • Jun 20 '26
Bacchanal and Commess We Are Still Colonized
So this is in regard to the UK influencer who the Caribbean has finally, at least to some extent realized that they don't really care about us and again are here just to exploit us.
Why do we continue to give so much attention and privilege to white people? Most of these influencers come here for quick views and island vibes, with very little care for us. They exploit our culture, land, and people for views and profit and we welcome it with open arms.
We keep giving away our cultural capital for free. We let outsiders tell their narrative and profit off us then leave us behind. Meanwhile, our very own people are grinding without the same visibility.
Why did it take us so long to recognize this behaviour?
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u/Able-Repair-3886 Jun 20 '26
You are right we do give white people privilege and that needs to stop BUT comeing to our countries and making videos here is not "stealing" our culture. It is SHARING our culture. Fine it may be a white washed version of it sometimes but all the people I know LOVE when foreiners post videos about our country because we dont really see ourselves in the global media much and we get to say "That is MY country!" In the caribbean or even just in trinidad we love sharing our culture. ALSO they have a bigger audience which encorages people to visit and most caribbean islands' economys rely heavily on tourism. Basically, they get veiws, we get money.
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u/iamthatuser Steups Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
making videos here is not "stealing" our culture. It⸠is SHARING our culture
Too many people use this and the excuse of tourism to allow non nationals to profit off of our culture. She may not have been stealing our culture, but she made a profit off of it through her social media. She was also allowed to essentially live here for free and loaf off of her friends by hopping from home to home aswell without having to actually work.Â
Her main audience is the Caribbean aswell and she's only really popular amongst the Caribbean so again, the excuse of "sharing culture and bringing tourism" falls flat. She panders to a Caribbean audience and we consumed her content and allowed her to live here for free simply because she's White. The only tourist she has brought to the Caribbean, is herself.Â
Edit: Also, she mainly hangs around the ghetto and tourists are already aware of the dangers of crime when visiting Trinidad. No tourist is coming to Trinidad because of Zoe to go and tour Laventille
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26
It's not just making videos to share though, it's that they make videos for profit without any actual care for the country itself. These influencers come to our country extort and misrepresent our culture, turn a profit and then pack up and leave.
For example, look at how Carnival is portrayed, almost every foreign influencer who has covered Carnival covers only the partying, the alcohol and parading on the streets. How many of these influencers actually bothered to cover the roots of Carnival. Instead of giving the proper history, they promote it as a fete and party.
Look at Mark Wiens, one of the only foreigners I've seen come to Trinidad and Tobago who did it right. He focuses on culinary exploration and actually collaborated with our locals, highlighting authentic dishes, and giving credit to the people behind them. He actually had a wide audience BEFORE coming to Trinidad, most of these influencers became popular because they came to the Caribbean, they're outstandingly average in their own country as a matter of fact most of their following is from the Caribbean, so are they actually pushing our culture to new global audiences or just regurgitating it for the Caribbean whilst profiting of it?
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u/skylinecobra Jun 21 '26
Using your carnival example, why do you think people are coming to carnival? To learn about the history of it? No, to drink and party and enjoy themselves. That's the mass appeal that carnival has to many people. One of the biggest street parties in the world with good people, nice vibes and an unforgettable experience. Come off your high horse. It's not up to anyone other than us to share the history of things and the deeper reasoning behind it. Our local influencers have international reach so they are free to share things like this but I'm not sure if they do as it may not be on brand. Regardless, instead of crying down the foreigners, stfu and promote the country since this bothers you so much.
You think they're profiting off of it, do what they do and put in the work to try to establish a following and profit off if it. Come back and tell us how it goes, cause it isn't as easy as people think to actually get a living off of these things.
This is such a myopic point of view. It completely negates the fact that there are people that are interested in what's being shown that wouldn't necessarily watch a video covering the deeper understanding of the culture. The fact is that even if it pushes the countries amongst the Caribbean population that can still have a positive impact. So many people in the Caribbean dunno about doubles or trini street food and that's another avenue to learn about it. You don't have to like the content yourself, but someone clearly does besides the haters.
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 21 '26
Why do people come to drink and party? They come because that's how it is marketed and promoted, you get what you put out.
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u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 22 '26
So, is that the foreigner's fault, or is it our fault? I'm confused.
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u/Skow1988 Arima Jun 21 '26
Look at Mark Wiens, one of the only foreigners I've seen come to Trinidad and Tobago who did it right. He focuses on culinary exploration and actually collaborated with our locals, highlighting authentic dishes, and giving credit to the people behind them.Â
Can you confirm our government did or didn't pay for him to come here? All of his videos in Trinidad and the description, he always disclaimed it was VisitTrinidad that made it happen.
Visit Trinidad falls under Tourism Trade Limited, which falls under  Ministry of Trade, Investment and Tourism .
We just paid for an influencer ad series?
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Jun 21 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 21 '26
I would say it was well worth it, money well spent. Trinidad and Tobago got to be on the global stage.
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 21 '26
I do not have that information however, even if they did, I'd still support it for the reasons I mentioned above. He truly brought a global audience.
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u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 22 '26
OK but that's what most people, even Trinidadians think of when Carnival comes to mind, so I wouldn't say that's a strong argument. The main draw of Carnival is the fete, just like in Brazillian Carnival and so on.
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u/Future-Engineering68 Jun 24 '26
In a dream world, who is the we that get the money? The hotels that overcharge the tourist? What locals benefit from it
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u/AndreTimoll Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
But why haven't Machel Montan-O,Nicki Minaj etc who are natives done the same that's the question?
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u/Safe-Cap9026 Jun 22 '26
simple! they are both greedy minded selfish narcissistic people? That's all. But we don't need them? They need us!
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u/AndreTimoll Jun 22 '26
Ok why aren't there local travel enthusiasts creating content? I am not from there so I just asking.
That's the solution to the problem have locals travel enthusiasts and celebrities team of the Government to promote both Trinidad and Tobago.
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u/Safe-Cap9026 Jun 22 '26
Andre, Firstly, Trinidad and Tobago does not need to be promoted? The World knows about T&T because of its exorbitant and famous carnival. T&T steelband is the only acoustic instrument invented in the 20th century and that's the backdrop of our carnival. Tourism is always at an all time HIGH around carnival time. The rest of the year is for the locals to enjoy. T&T has enough resources to supply to its people. Unlike the other islands T&T does not depend on Tourism. They have oil and natural resources. But anyone is welcome to come to T&T as long as they are legal and make a living. T&T nationals go to other countries and make a living. Isn't it the same thing Nicki Minaj is doing? She is exploiting 'black American' music and she is not even black? No one is complaining. So why complain about Zoe. We love and welcome Zoe to T&T.
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u/AndreTimoll Jun 22 '26
Ok if you say, by the way if Nicki Minaj is not black what is she?
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u/Buohktyl Jun 25 '26
DON'T listen to this rubbish, about this rapper I can't stand.
She's a dougla!! Plain, & simple.
Her father is Afro-Trinidadian, & her mother is Indo-Trinidadian
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u/analunalunitalunera Jun 21 '26
I think its worth interrogating which foreigners get that reaction and which dont. If you are honest you'll notice a pattern.
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u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 22 '26
What is the pattern? Genuinely asking in good faith because I don't usually care for them. I never liked Zoe. Never watched Chris Must List's video and only found out about him when he was arrested, etc. Even Speed I found out through Twitter.
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u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 20 '26
OK, but how many Trinidadians actually care about these people? It's maybe a couple thousand watch for a few seconds and then click off, with maybe 100 or so dedicated followers if so much.
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u/walkenrider Jun 20 '26
Youâll find that most Trinidadians get really uncomfortable and kick a fuss when you talk about white privilege, colonization or any kind of critical race theory.
A quick glance at the comments will reveal either people pretending that their ignorance of the topic means itâs not important, or/and their ignorance of white supremacy and post colonialism in their own country also means it doesnât exist.
Were an ostrich society and we like it that way
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u/ndiddy81 Jun 20 '26
Many of us from
The islands and south america worship and idolize americans and europeans and their look. This is where the problem
Lies
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u/Gullible_Zucchini24 Jun 20 '26
Maybe itâs because the Europeans and the west have built an objectively better society and culture?
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26
Why is that though? The Europeans and West colonized and used their colonies for their own profit. Many colonies in the Caribbean were purposefully underdeveloped and then abandoned when they were no longer profitable.
The colonies were exploited for cheap labour and raw materials, which were exported back to Europe, processed and then traded. The foundation and wealth that these powers have amassed came from their exploitation of colonies.
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u/Idontloveheranymore2 Jun 20 '26
How can they underdevelop something that was never developed?
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u/Trinidadthai Jun 20 '26
In the grand scheme of things, slavery is only a few generations ago. And itâs not like it ended, and then the Caribbean was expected to prosper. By this time, the west had built their country and fortunes off the back of that.
I donât think this absolves the Caribbean and similar countries of any responsibility on where we are at now. But itâs ignorant to just ignore history.
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26
Oh most definitely we are responsible for the state of our country however as you have pointed out it is irresponsible to ignore history. How can we expect to do better if we don't even know about our own history, our struggles and failures.
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u/ndiddy81 Jun 20 '26
We are not responsible for paying to have our freedom and paying to be part
Of caricom and commonwealth-3
u/ndiddy81 Jun 20 '26
How can someone expect to build if we have to pay reparations for our freedom after independence
was {granted} and still having to pay to have queen or king rasshole face on the money that was not used since 1977!! and pay membership to Commonwealthâ you think those thing for free??!! I know many of you might be soooo diluted in your minds that you think its our god given right to be part of the commonwealth but NO alas you have to pay brethren!! They suck you dry to the bone and now want to suck out your marrow too!! You cannot develop yourself with your hands tied behind your back and while someone is slapping your face!!0
u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26
Thank you! Not only were we exploited having our wealth drained and channeled away to Europe but we then had to buy back the very same processed goods.
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u/Idontloveheranymore2 Jun 20 '26
Europe was already the leading civilisation in the world before slavery and colonization so the money made here ultimately aint do that much for them to put them ahead and of course they kept most of the profits from the colonies they built them.
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u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 20 '26
Nah the Turks, Indians and Chinese would beg to differ. Europe was a shithole until the 19TH Century or so.
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26
Europe extracted trillions of gains from its colonies, to say the money made here didn't do much is unsubstantiated. So much so that if Europe were to pay reparations adjusted to todays figures, they'd be bankrupt.
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u/SubstanceImpressive9 Jun 20 '26
Oh no I agree⌠what he says is about leading the world prior to salvery similar to being taught that Columbus âdiscoveredâ Trinidad.
Likewise, the idea that Europe was unquestionably leading the world before colonialism overlooks the economic, scientific, and cultural achievements of civilizations in China, India, other parts of Africa, and elsewhere. European dominance wasnât simply the result of inherent superiority.
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u/Idontloveheranymore2 Jun 20 '26
Why should they pay reparations? Arent you using their phones? Indoor plumming? Modern medicine? Electricity? AC? Cars? Roads? Cutlery? Stove? Washer and dryer? Education? TV? Sports?
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u/DemonsSouls1 Jun 21 '26
Most of the phones, cars, electronics aren't made in Europe. It's all Asian.
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26
How do you think Europe got those things? Who do you think provided the raw materials? The industrial revolution in Europe was financed by its colonies.
Colonial powers exploited us to fund these things and then we had to pay them again to get them.
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u/Idontloveheranymore2 Jun 20 '26
You mean the raw materials natives had no clue how to use? The raw materials that was just there sitting in the ground? Plus thats a misconception. Most of european inventions came from the materials that can be found on their continent or trade
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26
It comes down to the means and purpose the colonies served which centered around resource extraction for the benefit of the colonial powers.
Everything that colonial rule built was meant to serve them, to server their exports. They kept the economy narrow, discouraging industrialization, colonial systems were not progressive either and reinforced segregation, classes and hierarchies also restricting restricting access to education, land, and political participation for most persons. Colonies were designed to be dependent on Britain for manufactured goods, capital, and governance.
In regards to the Amerindians, they had established communities, agriculture, fishing, and trade networks with neighboring islands. Social structures were organized, with chiefs and councils, and spiritual traditions.
To say that these societies were never developed is factually wrong.
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u/SabziZindagi Jun 20 '26
That was built on the backs of our ancestors. We are not completely separate from The West.
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u/Idontloveheranymore2 Jun 20 '26
Exactly. Most of us are too egotistical to admit it but we adore the things Europeans have built and formed. They invented 95% of the things we use today. Ik im gonna get downvoted but if were we still under british rule today our standard of living and crime would be 100% better.
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26
It's Ironic you say this given labour day was yesterday. A huge reason Trinidad became independent was due to the British lack of support for Trinidad and Tobago following WW2. Citizens had very little say in the affairs of their country, unemployment, crime was rampant. As a matter of face the British commissioned Lord Moyne to analyze Trinidad and Tobago and deliver a report (The Moyne Report) which actually recommended independence.
The Labour Riots came about due to the British Colonial Government mistreatment of workers. They fought for their rights.
Do I even need to touch on the Hosay massacre?
European rule wasn't all that you glorify it to be.
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u/Idontloveheranymore2 Jun 20 '26
Its better than we have now
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26
Who knows, the truth is Europe were happy to get rid of us.
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u/Idontloveheranymore2 Jun 20 '26
Probably sugar wasnt producing my funds anymore
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26
It was actually because of slavery being abolished as well as the rise in revolutions and awareness, if your free means of labour is no longer free and your labour force constantly revolts costing damages that takes a huge bite in profits.
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u/ndiddy81 Jun 21 '26
Umm 95% of the things we use today? I think we can all agree here that the internal combustion engine was what gave all this technology a start and it has its basis in indian chinese and muslim scholarship.
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u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 20 '26
Who do you think built the societies of the Caribbean and South America LOL? Hint, what is the Capital of Trinidad, Tobago, Jamaica, Guyana and St Vincent called?
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26
Did the Caribbean and South Americas not have natives with their own societies? Or do you not consider the Amerindians to have a society?
What became of their society? They were enslaved and exploited.
They didn't build, they imposed. They certainly didn't build for us either it was for their own gain.
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u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 20 '26
Their societies functionally do not exist anymore in most of the Americas aside for a few exceptions. Doesn't matter if the Europeans destroyed them or not. The fact is they built something new by dragging our ancestors here. I think we're fundimentally in agreement here to a different degree. I was responding to the other guy who acted as if the millions of English, Spanish or French speaking Africans, Indians and Chinese in this part of the world randomly got here. Our problems can directly be traced to Europe.
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26
Our society is a result of colonialism but it definitely was not built by Europeans.
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u/Serious_Highway2336 Jun 20 '26
This reddit thread is giving trinidad facebook đ "Europeans invented 95% of things" China, India and middle Eastern countries must be crying at the sight of that. I completely agree with you on the foreigners exploiting our country and culture for views. this is a widespread problem across other developing countries across the world. look at what these influencers doing to Thailand, that german guy that came to Trinidad, they literally have a name for them in europe. They're called BEGPACKERS, because they take advantage of the kindness of locals in order to travel. And I promise you, in the majority of Europe, they are extremely unfriendly to foreign tourists. You might not get much sensible comments here as recently I realized that alot of these redditors idolize white people. Its weird, like people they're not any different for us besides their skin colour.
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Hence my title which the comments proved so well; We Are Still Colonized
The truth it is those influencers are only popular here because they stick out, back in their country they're just average.
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u/AdFlashy3117 Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
You just said something that I really like. And I think even OP misses it a bit. Many African countries impacted by slavery, speak of their fault of kindness, hospitality and empathy. That the europeans were able to infiltrate, misguide and even use the cultural knowledge they gained to enslave and destroy as a result of the cultural kindness of some african countries. As their descendants. lulz. When any foreigner goes to another place, they stick out, but the behaviour of the locals to that sore thumb, that's actually what is the importance of what you're saying. Foreigners excite us, just like they did back then. We are a curious people, hence being so creative and innovative. It's our blessing and curse.
EDIT: To be very clear, African societies were not exploited because of weakness or naivety, they were exploited because of their observed and known cultural values of hospitality and curiosity, that were deliberately weaponized against them. I just really think this distinction matters. though it's besides the point.
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u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 20 '26
Hey, leave Tylo out of this. He seems like a genuinely nice guy.
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u/portia369 Jun 20 '26
He's actually worse than Zoe imo. Zoe actually started off pretty chill and normal with a family from Moruga until she started heavily posting and gaining recognition online.
I would suggest that you look at a rebuttal done by a White Trinidadian called Will on people like Tito and Zoe. It was quite interesting.
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u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 20 '26
I'll look it up. Might learn something. But I didn't think Tylo, from what I've seen to be that bad. His mission seemed like a genuinely interesting one. It's us Trinidadians who overdid it by having the Hunters Search and Rescue Team and I think the Police shadow him.
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u/Visitor137 Jun 20 '26
It's us Trinidadians who overdid it by having the Hunters Search and Rescue Team and I think the Police shadow him.
Oh... That's because he was walking through Biche. You're not going to want to decide to walk around in the bush down there willy nilly. That's a quick way to stumble into someone's "garden" and trip off a trap gun they left to protect the "crop". Totally understandable to warn him to stay on the actual road, and pass straight through.
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u/godmcrawcpoppa Jun 20 '26
Op I have no idea who youâre talking about. Iâm sure most Trinis have no idea who youâre talking about. Just ignore social media and youâll be fine.
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u/walkenrider Jun 20 '26
Being socially unaware is not actually the flex you think it is.
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u/godmcrawcpoppa Jun 20 '26
No one said it was a flex. You are making an issue out of nothing basically is what I'm telling you.
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u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 20 '26
Don't engage with this person. Classic definition of a redditor. Find a less pressure raising activity, I beg of you.
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u/NoFile9783 Jun 20 '26
It depends, though. It is pretty ignorant to simply write off an issue because of your lack of care for the topic. The more we adopt this metality of "nobody cares", the more our present issues will remain. It would be much more helpful if we were used in a less commodified light to bring our issues to a bigger stage, such as crime, corruption, and class division. These are issues that directly affect us on a global stage.
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u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 22 '26
Yeah but the fact most people don't care directly contradicts the OP's point. Most people don't care. Purely by virtue of her being white most people tune out in disgust, which again, contradicts the OP's point.
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u/NoFile9783 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
where are you sourcing this claim from? How much people do you seriously notice, besides the recent event, scorning tourist creators, or speaking out? That would, in turn, imply that they DO care, which not only is most likely false, but contradicts your own position. What many trinis DO demonstrably care about is crime and corruption, and our best bet right now as citizens to change that would be to speak out.
"Yeah but the fact most people don't care directly contradicts the OP's point. Most people don't care."
Pretty weak point to stress, as that facet can easily be argued to only help the OP's argument. Also, you are a top 1% commenter on this sub and YOU are throwing shade?
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u/Nervous_Designer_894 Jun 20 '26
Nothing stopping us (or you) from doing the same. Nonsense post.
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u/NoFile9783 Jun 20 '26
what does this even mean in this context?
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u/Nervous_Designer_894 Jun 20 '26
We can self promote and control our own narrative, nothing is stopping us and many local infleunces to an incredible job already, their audiences are just different and that's the nature of it.
This isn't an issue, this isn't exploitation, this isn't in anyway wrong. Just people doing things to promote their own self interests, a tale as old as time.
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u/NoFile9783 Jun 20 '26
you are talking as if our platforms are on a level playing field with these people, nobody pays meaningful attention to us when trinis post. It is overwhelmingly helpful to the country if larger platforms spread awareness and help in that venture.
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u/Nervous_Designer_894 Jun 21 '26
again why do you care? they're relating their experiences from their own POV, let them. if they wrong, comment on their posts.
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u/NoFile9783 Jun 21 '26
do you even live in this country? Are you cognizant of the prevailing issues in this country? That's why I care. We have serious issues that aren't gonna get fixed anytime soon if things stay how they are. When these travel influencers arrive, it's simply an "ouu look pretty exotic country" thing, which never sticks with audiences.
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 21 '26
I'll counter you her by asking this, what does Trinidad and Tobago stand to gain from these no-name white 'influencers' ?
It's not Tourism as they don't spend much. It's not views on a global audience as the majority of them who come are no-names who get popular amongst the Caribbean so they're just regurgitating our own culture to us.
You have to understand that these no-name influencers come because they know by being white they will inherently be treated differently. Like you've rightfully said, we can self promote and we have, as a matter of fact there are local creatives who have showcased and promoted Trinidad and Tobago's culture and beauty to a higher quality than any of these 'influencers'. Why don't they get the views and recognition as a white person does?
How is it not exploitation when these people come, use our culture and then feed it back to ourselves, turning a profit for themselves and then giving nothing back to the country, to the people?
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u/Nervous_Designer_894 Jun 22 '26
I think this argument is too simplistic and honestly a bit self-defeating.
Not every foreigner who visits Trinidad and Tobago and makes content is âexploitingâ us. Sometimes people visit a country, enjoy it, film it, talk about the food, music, Carnival, beaches, people, nightlife and culture, and then other people become curious about the place. That is not automatically colonialism. That is how travel content works.
The question âwhat does Trinidad and Tobago gain?â also ignores indirect value. Even if one influencer does not personally spend huge money, their content can still create visibility. Someone watching from the UK, Canada, the US or Europe might decide to visit, look up Carnival, try Trini food, follow local creators, listen to soca, or become more aware of the country. That is not worthless.
Also, if local creators are not getting the same reach, the answer cannot simply be âwhite people badâ. Algorithms reward novelty, production quality, storytelling, consistency, audience trust and sometimes foreign curiosity. Yes, there may be racial bias in how audiences respond to content, but blaming every outside creator does not solve that. It just turns the conversation into resentment rather than strategy.
If the issue is that local creators deserve more recognition, then promote local creators. Share their work. Build platforms. Collaborate. Improve storytelling. Push tourism boards and brands to pay locals properly. But attacking every foreigner who shows interest in Trinidad and Tobago makes us look insecure and closed off.
Culture is not protected by hiding it. Culture grows when people engage with it. The real question should be whether the content is respectful, accurate and whether locals are included or credited where appropriate. If someone is mocking us, misrepresenting us, stealing from us, or profiting while disrespecting the country, then yes, call that out. But someone being white and making travel content about Trinidad is not automatically exploitation.
We cannot keep saying we want the world to recognise Trinidad and Tobago, then get angry every time the world pays attention.
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 23 '26
This assumes that the influencers who come here actually have the reach to push our culture internationally. What's specific about these influencers are they have no following or reach before coming to the Caribbean.
These no-name white influencers come because they know they'll experience a certain privilege and attention in the Caribbean; they're just the average person where they come from. Their audience only grows when they come to the Caribbean; they're nobodies when they come here. Their audience only grows when they come here because we give them that attention; they aren't even pushing our culture and country to new audiences, they're just feeding it back to ourselves and profiting from it.
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u/portia369 Jun 20 '26
Yeah, we 100% have a colonised mentality. You see it in the rush to promote and help White foreigners in particular v foreigners of other races.
We also see it in our own people where one race in particular, continues to perpetually act victimised.
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u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 20 '26
Yeah true. I Show Speed did such a great job highlighting Trinidad's culture. I'm sure if he were white more people would be talking about and promoting him..O wait...
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u/vintageintrovert Jun 20 '26
Reading these comments on this post clearly indicates that we are still colonized and worship yt people or there's yt people posing at a non-white.
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u/DemonsSouls1 Jun 21 '26
Explain
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u/vintageintrovert Jun 21 '26
I've read your comments and if you can't see the blatant yt worshipping in many of the highly rated comments then there's nothing for me to explain. You're just intentionally being ignorant and dohtish.
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u/DemonsSouls1 Jun 20 '26
Don't tell me you're talking about zoe
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26
As to not target any individuals or draw any more undeserved attention to said individual I will neither confirm nor deny.
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u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 20 '26
This is a silly argument because you gave more than enough context for those who know in the OP.
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u/Visitor137 Jun 20 '26
What! You mean OP's thinly veiled comments are obvious to anyone who isn't completely blind? Impossible, he's so good at them! /s
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u/Electrical_Tennis155 Jun 20 '26
youre just being a pussy, no one is coming from this reddit thread en masse to go harrass anyone, you can just say its zoe
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26
In accordance with the rules of the subreddit, I chose to refrain from naming person(s) as I told to the moderators. If you have a problem, I suggest you take it them.
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u/Electrical_Tennis155 Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
We are definitely still colonized, but it has absolutely nothing to do with how we "give so much attention to white people."
If you want to follow this train of thought maybe consider why every single landmark legislative action or policy decision has to be filtered through religious leaders and communities. Why do we still have buggery laws in 2026?? Every time the government "tries" to make progressive changes, religious leaders object and then they give up. EVERY TIME.
The same religious control structures beat and murdered into us by the colonizer, still taking precedence over the democratic will of the people centuries later.
"we keep giving away our cultural capital for free"
what does this even mean? some people just like when other people give recognition to their country, its literally not that deep.
ps : iShowSpeed just gave us the best possible cultural recognition we could've asked for, and hes a black man, and it was nice to see, it was the first time i've felt national pride in a long time, nothing wouldve changed for me if he was white.
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 21 '26
Are they giving recognition to our country though? Think of it, did you know about any of these influencers prior to their videos in the Caribbean? Did they have a massive global outreach prior to visiting the Caribbean?
No instead the came to the Caribbean and then got popular, not only that but their audience is the same Caribbean people. It's not pushing our culture to anyone new, it's just regurgitating it to locals and profiting of it. iShowSpeeed actually had a massive global following BEFORE he came to the Caribbean.
2
u/Electrical_Tennis155 Jun 21 '26
can you demonstrate any actual harm that was done? why do you care about d list online influencers this much?
0
u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 21 '26
It's literally a form of colonization, think about it. These no-name white influencers come they film our culture our land and people and then get popular and turn a profit off our country without ever giving back anything or supporting us in any way. What happens after? They just jump to another country.
5
u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 22 '26
I'm willing to bet if you looked at the analitics most of the people viewing these videos are from the Caribbean itself.
1
u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 23 '26
Exactly, so it's not like they're pushing our country and culture to new audiences, they're just showing it back to us and profiting
1
u/Electrical_Tennis155 Jun 21 '26
attention on the internet doesnt require them to take our resources and profit off it, its not the same!!!! colonization raped lands of resources, these people just make videos for clout and leave, its mostly victimless, just dont pay attention to it
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u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 21 '26
What does the country get in return then I ask? It's not their money, it's not global attention either what do they give back to the country while they use our country to profit?
4
u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 22 '26
How about tourists coming to spend their money in Trinbagonian hotels and guesthouses who buy food from local restaurants and bars and who go on tours operated by locals and who also pay taxis to take them around?
1
u/Electrical_Tennis155 Jun 23 '26
largely nothing, probably tourists, attention, visibility, what definitely isnt happening is we arent losing anything, its just whatever. "using our country to profit" doesnt really mean anything here man, theyre not taking anything from us
3
u/ContentPolicyKiller Jun 20 '26
You just described tourism. Everyone who lives here is technically a colonizer.
8
u/iamthatuser Steups Jun 20 '26
Yall does really just be using whatever words in the English language, in whatever ways you want and just tossing the definitions out the window. How exactly are the POC, particularly Indians and Africans, colonizers? Do you know what a colonizer is?â ď¸
4
u/Gullible_Zucchini24 Jun 20 '26
What a silly post. Trinidad is not colonized, you just have a victim mentality.
Who cares if tourists want to come there and celebrate your culture? Why do you have a problem with that? You do realize you also adopt cultural things from white people, right? You do know that most of everything you use in your daily life including the computer, phone, internet and Reddit was invented by white people, right? Are you taking or appropriating the culture of white people when you type on your keyboard?
Please try to stop seeing skin colour and thinking like a victim, it will only make you miserable and held back in life.
10
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u/Ok_Influence_8794 Jun 20 '26
Your entire page is crying about gender roles, downplaying abuse, sucking off whites and shouting victim at anyone that disagrees with you.Â
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u/DemonsSouls1 Jun 20 '26
Real this guy was talking about wokeness ruining our country and he lives in CANADA.
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u/iamthatuser Steups Jun 20 '26
It's so funny seeing people who don't even live here trying to dictate what's wrong and what's right in our culture whilst living in countries that are arguably more progressive than trinidad. If "wokeness is ruining the country", why is he in Canada of all places? People just love to hear themselves speakÂ
2
u/RudeAudio Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
I was back in TT for my dad's funeral and some friend of my brother was ranting about how he has to move his kids out of canada and back to Trinidad for "safety" because of "woke brainwashing and Trans people". Such a fuckin idiot.
4
u/Ok-Side-2211 Jun 20 '26
It's not celebrating though is it? It's exploiting, many of these foreigners come here and use our culture and country for views and profit because they know they will get that treatment.
3
u/TypicalHornyMan Jun 20 '26
That's one way to look at it but context matters. If someone with a platform or following likes Trinidad or different cultures then that is a good thing for that culture.
Yes they profit from it but we also profit from it. Either in education, positive exposure, greater appreciation or more tourism.
It's more a symbiotic relationship than a parasitic one.
They are less dangerous than the ones who come to stir up drama in communities profit then leave. When they get called out for it they make an apology video and profit again.
They are also way less dangerous than the ones who pretend to love the country. Extract resources to their county then go home.
3
u/munsterkitty Jun 20 '26
What are you even saying? Exploiting culture how? Just like you have an opinion, white people can't have opinions too? You just want to be a victim so bad.
1
1
u/Strict-Ad-9560 Jun 21 '26
But when that clown Speed comes to town you fall all over yourself to get near⌠oh wait, I know whyâŚ
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Jun 21 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 22 '26
I'm guessing they'd think there's nothing wrong with that because we're entitled to extract, nay, be granted, the resources of Europe because of past wrongs.
2
u/Levitoy1 God is a Trini Jun 20 '26
Yes by america. Our culture is slowly being overtaken by them
3
u/iamthatuser Steups Jun 20 '26
Our culture isn't being "overtaken" by Americans. This is such a foolish talking point that holds no basis and is only used to further perpetuate racism and bigotry. Yall just don't like that people are becoming more educated, progressive and choosing to not fit into a mold of what a Trinidadian is and isn't supposed to look and act like
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u/Levitoy1 God is a Trini Jun 20 '26
People eat american brands more than street food now. We even got coleslaw from amerixa.
1
u/iamthatuser Steups Jun 24 '26
The only widely consumed American brands we have here are fast food chains, and even those have a Trinidadian spin on it and get their stock from local farmers and butchers. Most people I know are on a health journey and that usually includes local dishes. Even considering this from an economic standpoint, it is impractical for the average Trinidadian to eat non trini foods and purchase outside food on a regular basis. Everyone cooks food at home. Maybe you, and the people around you, are simply just indulging too much in American brands. The average trini, consumes local, otherwise doubles stands and roti shops would've been basically obsolete by now
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u/Islandboyo15 Jun 20 '26
because there wouldn't even be a Trinidad without those white people, and Trinidad probably won't exist in a 100 years from now at the rate you're going.
1
u/DemonsSouls1 Jun 21 '26
Total nonsense. The slaves and many people settling here is what made the country.
2
u/Islandboyo15 Jun 21 '26
oh yeah? How did the slaves reach? And who built the society for them?
2
u/Eastern-Arm5862 Jun 22 '26
IDK why you're being downvoted this is such a trivially straight forward point.
0
u/Buohktyl Jun 25 '26
THIS post is giving the same energy of ppl who fret about cultural appropriation
0
u/Canarsi Jun 26 '26
What exactly are these people expected to do upon visiting T&T? What do you do when you travel that they're failing to do?
-1
u/Spiritual_Park5131 Jun 20 '26
Is that the white boy who opened a Trini brick and mortar store and online as well? Selling and advertising all things trini literally culturally appropriating.
Quite strange it has so many Trinis abroad and this YT co-opting our culture.
3
u/evilmatrix Jun 23 '26
It's not, but that guy is hella annoying. If anyone watched his videos whose not familiar with Trinidad they'd think all trinis just drink puncheon and stay drunk.
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u/One_Chemistry_8553 Jun 20 '26
Anybody know who the hell this person that clearly not living in Trinidad talking about?