All-inclusive steelband disrespect

newsday.co.tt
All-inclusive steelband disrespect

Friday, February 3 2012

THE EDITOR: I write this to register my amazement and anger at what is to take place on Sunday at the National Semi-Finals of the 2012 Panaroma.

It is my understanding that there will be an area called the Greens, with an entrance fee of $350. My contention is why is there a need to have somewhat of an all-inclusive party complete with DJ etc on what is the day for the national instrument, the Pan. To me this shows utter disrespect and contempt for our culture.

Last year there was a problem of feedback from a DJ behind the North Stand. Isn’t the North Stand enough of a party? If PanTrinbago sanctions this move, then heaven help us.

It signifies that PanTrinbago has no respect for the Pan and is only interested in making money and that one cannot expect citizens to have any respect as well. The time may be appropriate for us to give up our patented right of being the country where Pan was born and give it to the wider world where it is more revered and respected for what it stands for, than here in the land of its birth Trinidad and Tobago.

WWW.panapparels.com



Gloria Francis

via e-mail


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  • I agree with everyone point of view. I will go even further; can Pan Trinibago find a small band to play in the Green Area?

     

  • I fully agree with Ms Francis, it is utter disrespect for our National Instrument.

  • I absolutely agree that this shows no respect for an institution, pan and all that is involved with it, especially after the fiasco we experienced from the disruption last year. I think we need to become as litigious a society as the US in cases like this. Maybe then someone will take notice and show more respect for panists and the countless hours that go into preparing for what to them, and all of us who love the sweet music, is the ultimate expression of our pan culture. 

  •  "...referring to deejays on the outskirts of our national pan competition, the majority of whom couldn't care less about anything to do with pan. I'm saying that there should be some agreed-upon radius, where no amplified music (outside of Panorama), should be allowed to play. (There should be an established decibel threshold, and huge fines should be awarded to offenders.) Pan'tum - The Ghost Who Talks, July 2011 on WST's "Blueprint" reply.

  • https://whensteeltalks.ning.com/forum/topics/steel-pan-blueprint-for-1 

    Note: 9370 members on WST. 88 views of this document.

  • Gloria...when I first heard about this AGAIN - I was horrified!!!  After the fiasco of last year - you would have thought that the lesson was learned.  We the pan fraternity online have to do something positive....lets lead the way for the actual players and their supporters in Trinidad to gather the courage to do something concrete about this.  Lets stop agreeing with you and complaining with you and come up with some ideas of what the bands can do independently of those thieves in PanTrinbago to stop this total disrespect.  Maybe WST can set up a forum where we can all go to to get together and give out ideas and form some sort of core group to lead the way for the bands to become united and stop this total disrespect.  I would be there in a flash to help whereever I can.  We have to stop de talking and start with some ACTION...cause if we go on just talking here on WST then we are as bad as the pan men and women in Trinidad who also only talk and do nothing to stop PanTrinbago from this assault and battery every year like a battered woman who just takes abuse and takes it until she is KILLED.  I do not want to see steelband killed. 

    • Great input Char. What I think is best is for us to form an international, non-profit association. I'm not sure as to how we would go about doing that, and business is not my forte, however, I think that ALL our ideas should be proactive and not reactive. We need visionary minds to input ideas, as to where we, as a united global pan body, would like to take the "steelband movement" and our industry. We need to consider those lesser among us, and end our cliquish juxtaposing. I believe we on WST can do it, and I also believe that there are enough of us who are sincere in uplifting the culture. We must be spirit-driven, not material-driven; the rewards will fall into place, if we do the right things. We must not think "corporate", and function as any "workers' union", seeking the interests of the steel drum player/ pannist / panist. (Call me whatever, just respect me, and pay me for my efforts.)

      • I'm with you all the way Pan'tum....you started off with some ideas right there...We at WST CAN DO IT!!. If we are strong enough to form a UNION then the members of WST who live in T'dad and are steelband players themselves can take it to the yards and there the momentum starts!!!  Remember a flood starts with a few drops of rain!!!  It may take a year or more but at least we will be moving in the right direction instead of just talking..and talking...and talking which Trinis are famous for.  It takes guts and courage to ACT and I believe that the 88 people reading this thread are more than enough to do it.  Put me down for Action.!!!

        • Let's see if we can open up the forum after the season is over. We have some incredible minds, not just on WST, but in the pan fraternity as a whole. They tricked us into believing that we have no unity, but we do, for pan could not have survived for this long if we did not collectively give of our spirits. What we need is consensus and a sense of direction. I know we can, and will do it, WST members. But, again, we must be willing to "educate" ourselves. NO leadership or organization begins without looking back, to get a sense of the future. Your doctor requests your medical history, and CEO's of companies look back to get a sense of "vision". President Obama has a great command of US history, and NBA greats Kobe and LaBron, understand the importance of the history of the game, toward their intended successes for the future. We MUST "educate" the pan masses, for that is the only way to success. As Harriett Tubman stated, she could have freed 1000 more slaves, if they knew they were slaves. Our local artistes, need to see how they are exploited, manipulated, and enslaved to a stereotype that says they are illiterate and powerless. We need to expose them to their own power, for then they will have the desire to be "free". Free from Pan Trinbago, free from the Government, and free from the social chains that keep them at the lowest level of the class-rated system. But again, we need to read more, especially about "revolution". We will become a more powerful fraternity, when we become better informed. So, let's start inputting ideas , and put them into gear. We must develop "tough love" for pan, and that may mean boycotting next year's Panorama, or some other method of "passive resistance". We can use today's technology to hold online meetings (via live chat or videoconferencing). We need the skills of professionals on this site (attorneys, psychologists, MBAs, educators, etc.), and we need to include the younger generation, for, after all, the future of pan is in their hands. And, yes, we need to weed out the "distractors" and "Judases", and stop giving them the fuel they need to continue with their distractions. See you all after the "show"; still working on the "movement". 

          Yours In Pan,

          Ghost.

    • True dat Char... But last year we learned from the petition Salah ran that Trinidad pan people may not want to be free.  It was the outside community that was kicking up a storm.

      bugs

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