The way things are/ supposed to be

I just read a most thought-stirring post by Shivonne on facebook and before I knew it my reply was two comment-spaces long. I decided therefore that I should put it here as it reflects how I feel about some things.

Shivonne's original post: http://tahitian-sky.blogspot.com/2008/01/sham-of-public-consultation.html
entitled ' The Sham of Public Consultation'

(I ask that you read her post first as it's not only a good piece but makes my post make sense)

and my response was this:

I've been the same way you are for a while as well. Flinching every time someone says 'but how could they DO that?!' or 'that shouldn't be able to happen!' Obviously if it weren't able to happen we'd be having a different conversation right now.

if ISPATT is any indication, any steel mill in this country is certain death to the surrounding environment. I ask anyone wanting to see what this looks like to check out that area using google earth or some similar program.

maybe one day solidarity won't be a trend or passing phase with trinis. Someone from the EMA came to a lecture I was in once and spoke about the process one must go through to put up.. anything of that nature (as the steel mill).. but I can't exactly remember a lot of it.. and I spent most of the lecture thinking to myself that this woman could save a lot of breath if she just told us the truth that all you had to do was be in good with or pay off the right people and avoid all the hassle of forms and sight checks etc

Once you propose something to this government in a way that makes it seem like they stand to gain in some great (economic) way you get a free pass to do almost whatever you want; a red carpet made by the broken backs of the country's people.
Mind you, you don't actually have to kick back anything much to the government AFTER the fact, once they think you were going to do so before hand and you keep some specific people happy.

I always love it when one of the proposed advantages to these mills etc is 'there'll be lots of work for locals'. As if all fishermen were also engineers or technicians. As if farmers were just as comfortable working with machinery as they were with the land. It hearts my heart when I think about the futures of all these locals who will have their main(and only) source of income ripped away from them only to be given the PROSPECT of 'training' and a potential 'job'. What are they REALLY to do? it's just like you said Shiv - the way things are supposed to be and they way they really are.