Haitian Beatz

For the pass couple of months, I have been toying with the idea of being a vegetarian. No reason in particular, simply as a way to force myself to broaden my food choices. I asked myself, if really I couldn't eat chicken,

*The perception*

I realized in the Haitian community, vegetarians are looked upon almost as
favorably as thieves or heretics. And amongst older Haitians, that attitude
is prevalent. Upon arrival to a friends house, I informed her mother I am
not eating meat. After she looked at me with that distinguishable Haitian
look of disgust, she simply said, "You kids are always trying to be like
these crazy white Americans, don't you see they are full of problems". Who
knew amidst the discussion of assimilation and Americanization, not eating
some *griot* for a while would be part of the dialogue? Indeed, it was.
Later in my vegetarian exploration, I went out with a friend to a
restaurant, and he ordered some fried goat and I got myself some white rice
with *sos pwa *and some macaroni au gratin. As he raved about the *tassot*,
he went to put some in my mouth and I quickly pulled away. He looked at me
again with that disappointed look. His eyes were glaring at me as if to
shout: SELLOUT.


What is the big deal I asked myself. It's me that's no longer eating certain
things, why is everyone so disappointed and upset with me. But then I
started to figure it out. The disappointment wasn't so much in the fact that
I was a vegetarian per say, but more so in the fact that I was rejecting,
what appeared to be, part of Haitian culture. It's rare to encounter a
Haitian born in Haiti to tell you that they don't eat this, or they don't
eat that. That is such an American thing to do.