Don't ban Trinibad music

THE EDITOR: While the calls for banning Trinibad music are understandable as we all seek answers for the runaway crime our country is presently experiencing, they do not stand up to scrutiny when examined through a dispassionate eye.

If music or violent video games were the "cause" of crime, then why is it that Canadian youngsters do not exhibit the same violent expressions as those in the US, even though they basically consume the same music, movies and video games?

What music or violent video games, etc, were the Rwandan child soldiers consuming before they committed unspeakable atrocities, and the same for people back in the American Frontier in western times?

Studies show that while there is a correlation with the consumption of violent content to violent expression, it is not causative, and what is more important is the environmental support structures that a child grows up in – home, school, neighbourhood, law enforcement, etc.

Closer to home, there was no violent content consumption of steelpan practitioners in the 50s when steelband clashes led to such prolific acts of violence that it saw TT ranked in the top ten violent places in the world at that time.

And this is where opportunity arises, as what was done to quell the violence for the steelband movement, support from corporate TT, which saw sponsorship of Carib Tokyo as an example, can and should be done for Trinibad music.

Evidence-based suggestion, a look at the views of videos of some of the more popular Trinibad songs will see up to 31 million, a remarkable number that may well be more than all of the views of videos for all the calypsoes combined for the past ten years.

And while calypso receives both government and corporate-sector support, I dare say the business community, in particular, is ignoring a boon of advertising and marketing material as well as a unique opportunity for corporate goodwill to be shown to the youth of the country, who are the major consumers of the Trinibad music, as well as significant consumers of all manner of local goods and services.

Imagine the effect of corporate TT investing in social media-based talent shows that challenge and reward Trinibad content creators similarly to what occurred with the steelpan movement in the past, with Panorama.

Banning Trinibad music will only make it more attractive to those we say we want to prevent from consuming – the youth. Not only will this have the opposite effect, it will further solidify the barriers between "us" and "them," making effective communication virtually impossible because of lines in the sand.

As a country with such a rich creative heritage, steelpan, calypso, soca, limbo, Carnival, etc, we should be very circumspect about banning any form of creative expression, as imagine a world without Minshall, Lord Kitchener, Machel Montano, and Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, to name a few, as each of their respective creative fields, was met with those who wanted to shut them down, for one reason or the other.

There are tremendous similarities between Trinibad music and rap/hip hop music. Both were born in the most violent and disadvantaged communities in their countries and both shocked their citizenry with their brazen, outspoken, and violent lyrics. In its infancy, rap/hip hop also met strong calls for its banning, but after those efforts failed, the genre has gone on to be the top musical genre in the world, recently surpassing rock and roll, the previous number one.

Countries that ban creative content never fare well on the democracy index. Nazi Germany, Iran, and North Korea are a few examples. Banning music is just another terrible step on the path to dictatorship, and it can eventually lead to the banning of anything that is seen as offensive to anyone, especially those who want to stifle expression.

My final argument, especially for those in agreement with the ban in principle, is that not only will it not positively impact in reducing crime, it allows the powers that be an argument that gives them a scapegoat. The boogeyman today is Trinibad music, but having failed, they could set their sights on alcohol consumption, on liming after hours, or even worse on banning certain people from associating with others, all in the name of "dealing with crime."

TIM TEEMAL

St James