4 responses to “Poetry Corner: My Bajun Papa”

1. 

   Bernie Bell

   April 25, 2018 at 8:58 am

   Exactly, Helen – that is something which always gets me. It’s so easy, to point a finger when the bigots can see that someone is ‘different’. After one generation, Irish, East European – anyone ‘white’, the accent is gone, and they can’t tell the difference. Well, in fact, you can, if you know lots of people from different nations – it’s easy to recognize national characteristics, but it’s an awful lot easier to see a colour.
   For that matter, even without an accent, different nations have different ways of talking – different ways of expressing themselves – and a good thing too – makes language more interesting. The bigots are usually too limited in their experience and outlook, to notice that, either.
   I am trying to restrain myself from going off on one, as I have done so many times before.
   Britain is made up of so many different peoples, through time – waves and waves – some can be easily recognized, some not.
   And….now….this feckin’ government are, oh so graciously, saying to the West Indian folk, that they can have citizenship !!!!!!!! How can they give them, what they already had? The government took it from them, but, before that – they had it already!
   Ok, I’ll stop now.
   Good one, Helen. I hope a lot of folk get to read this, in TON.

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   1. 

      helenarmet

      April 25, 2018 at 12:06 pm

      Thank you Bernie, like you I have been angered by what is happening but because of my circumstances I have been also confused. My Papa’s brother was Knighted for services to the UK government and unless I am misremembering you need to be British to receive a Knighthood he wasborn n Barbados making him a British Bajun. My heart is breaking at what we are doing. H

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      1. 

         helenarmet

         April 25, 2018 at 12:07 pm

         PS, I am no poet but it did seem to fit how I am feeling. H

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2. 

   Bernie Bell

   April 25, 2018 at 3:11 pm

   It’s another part of the whole load of non-sense which is Britain today. I’m hoping that there will be a vote of No Confidence in Monster May, an election ( I know, we had enough of elections at one time, but ‘needs must…..’). Then, hopefully we get a new, more human, humane leader, who will pull the plug on Brexit and as many other divisive pieces of legislation as possible. I am hopeful.

   Meanwhile, Helen, please try not to let it break your dear heart – this particular non-sense is being sorted, and might even serve as an indicator of how much we need to pay attention to these rules when they are introduced in the first place. Not many folk (including myself) paid attention when Monster May changed the rules in her previous ……..manifestation.
   Please don’t be too distressed – it is being sorted and might help to clear things up for the future.

   What non-sense, though – hurtful non-sense, too.

   And, as you say at the beginning of your poem, many of these people came to Britain, to help to re-build after the war!!!!!!! And did so – played their part.
   I risk going onandonandon, so I’ll stop ….for now!

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