CARIBBEAN TODAY


V I W P o I N T


Caribbean clout in N.Y.


m wwwcribbea* noa c m .sI *


Chastity has its place


 GORDON WILLIAMS
The powerful force that is
 the will of people root-
 ed in Caribbean her-
itage was on display again last
month in the United States.
 New York City
Councilwoman Yvette D.
Clarke, a daughter of Jamaican
parents who has always shown
her strong connection to the
region, won the Democratic
primary for the state's 11th
Congressional District.
 Because of the over-
whelming presence of regis-
tered Democrats in the dis-
trict, that means Clarke is a
virtual shoo-in for a seat in
the U.S. Congress after the
general elections next month.
 The Caribbean diaspora
should hail Clarke's accom-
plishment as a significant
milestone in how far the
region's people have come in
the U.S. She succeeded her
mother Una, a former city
councilwoman herself who
had come up short in the same
race years before but she
repeated the achievement of
Shirley Chisholm, another
American born to Caribbean
parents, who decades ago
became the first black woman
to serve in the U.S. Congress.

DIFFERENT CHALLENGE
 Yet Yvette D. Clarke faces
a slightly different challenge
than Chisholm. While she
vows to serve all her con-
stituents in New York, she has
also promised to be "that
voice" for Caribbean people in
Washington. That promise
should be most comforting for
anyone with Caribbean con-
nections. See, there is a major
concern brewing over the
attention the U.S. has been
paying to the Caribbean.
Some of the region's leaders,
most notably Dominica's
Roosevelt Skeritt and Trinidad
and Tobago's Patrick Manning,
have openly challenged the
U.S. to become more active in
the welfare of the region. They
are demanding help, specifical-
ly in the areas of development
and security. The region feels it
is being ignored by the U.S.,
has been for years now, and it
doesn't like it at all, especially
because the leaders believe
that the U.S. can always count
on their support.

NEGLECT
 Yvette D. Clarke says she
understands the concerns of
the region's leaders. She even
goes further to ,t,--L"-LI that
her predecessor, retired
Congressman Major Owens,
neglected the interests of
Caribbean immigrants, espe-
cially in New York's 11th
District. That trend has got to
stop, she argues, and she will


be at the forefront of efforts
to reform U.S. policy in that
area when she gets to Capitol
Hill.
 Caribbean people, and
not just those in the New York
area, may do well to mark her
words. If the 41-year-old
Brooklyn-born Clarke suc-
ceeds in carrying out her
intentions, then all of the
Caribbean's people stand to
benefit.
 However, she has already
made it clear that for far too
long, the lobby efforts of other
immigrant groups, the
Hispanics, Italians, CIIIIILM
Koreans, for example, have
outstripped those of Caribbean
immigrants. While huge strides
have been made towards social
advancement, economic and
political push still lag way
behind.
 That should serve as a
wake-up call to Caribbean
people in the U.S. When one
of your own is telling you that
you are not doing enough to
help yourself as a group, then
it's time to re-evaluate what
you do.. .and how you do it.

APATHY
 It was not long ago that at
least one major U.S. main-
stream newspaper reported on
the apathy amongst Caribbean
nationals in the country when
it comes to getting involved in
political issues, especially
immigration reform. The
point is, if you don't look out
for your own interests, then
you cannot expect others to
do it for you.
 Right before our eyes, in
the form of Yvette D. Clarke,
Caribbean people can see that
the great promise of the
"American Dream" can actu-
ally come true. In a country
where they tell you that you
can achieve anything you
want, it's nice to know that
there could be some real truth
to it. Clarke's victory at last
month's primary offers a
glimpse of that.
 When asked recently if she
would consider running for
higher office in the U.S. let's
say, ah, president in the
future, she coyly iu--e eLLd that
it's best to focus on her new
assignment first. Yet it was nice
to know she did not reject the
idea outright. Imagine that, a
Caribbean person in the White
House. Wouldn't that be the
"American Dream". It can
come true.

Gordon Williams is
Caribbean Today's managing
editor. Beginning Nov. 1,
2006 you may e-mail him at
editor@caribbeantoday.com
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It's clear that most
 of the world's Q
 problems stem
from sex, so perhaps
we should adopt some
of the principles of
Eastern countries who
have strict sexual
rules.
 Imagine, adulter-
ers are stoned to
death, or beheaded.
Perhaps we should
adopt that principle
and save us some of
the myriad problems
that stem from that
activity.
 And believe me,
there are benefits to
be derived from not
having sex. This young
man who e-mailed me
complained bitterly
that his wife stopped making
love with him because he lost
his job and couldn't give her
money to spend on herself
anymore, even though he still
managed to pay the household
bills. Now you see what some
women reduce themselves to?
I have been addressing this for
years, how women use sex as a
weapon, a tool, as leverage,
and here it rears its ugly head
once again.
 Her sexual output diminish-
es in the same proportion that
his income falls. Now when he
goes astray, you'll hear how man
bad and doggish.

NO SEX
 So, take sex out of the
equation and problems will be
less, at least that's the theory.
The Catholic Church has tried
it with their priests, damning
them to a t.,liihl life, forbid-
ding them from indulging, so
that they could be more
focused on their other duties.
Like I said, that's the theory,
but the practice is another
thing. Many a father and nun
were forced to kick the habit,
as the urge was greater than
the Word and the mind was
willing but the flesh was weak,
so weak.
 But it is true that sex inter-


SlljW OTtYJO...


feres with
genuine rela-
tionships and
puts a differ-
ent spin on
things. Many
times you
may have
male and
female friends


TONY


who have ROBINSON
been best
friends for
years, sharing all their secrets,
triumphs, trials and tribula-
tions. He has no interest in her,
nor she in him. Suddenly one
day, or night, they discover that
there is more than just a frater-
nal platonic bond, and the
libido increases as the chem-
istry kicks in. Wham bam,
sparks start to fly and the
clothes follow.
 Well, for all intents and
purposes that friendship is
over as it has taken on a new
dimension. Now other ele-
ments come into play, with the
chief one being jealousy. Yes,
this sex thing awakens the
green-eyed monster, and
believe me, it doth mock the
meat it feeds on. Problems that
never existed before are now
swirling around and that beau-
tiful bond that was shared for
years is now shattered.


 "Is what happen to .I1... ~,
and Robbie, look how many
years they were friends, but now
since dem step it up to a new
level is pure ..... '
 "Guess why, nuh sex mash
it up."

PANDORA'S BOX
 They were better off
chaste, as they could focus on
the real friendship, but take
those away and the Pandora's
Box flies open, letting out all
the demons. Because of this,
it's often difficult for members
of the opposite sex to be true
friends, not impossible, but dif-
ficult. It usually works the
other way around, if they were
physically involved first, broke
up, then became friends.
 Yes, many people find that
exes make the best friends
after all the initial hurt after
the breakup heals. It also
works if one party is ugly as
hell. It's so easy for a man to
be platonic friends with an
ugly woman or vice versa, but
it would be extremely difficult
for me to sustain a platonic
friendship with Beyonce, or
Halle Berry or someone who
looks like them. One day
something would crack.
Be chaste, and there's no
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 10)


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 Please call for an appointment
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 aM Know Your Rights and Fight


October 2006


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