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Police and the Policed
Language and Power
Relations on the Margins
of the Global South

Danielle Watson
Police and the Policed
 Danielle Watson

Police and the Policed

Language and Power Relations on the Margins of
the Global South
Danielle Watson
University of the South Pacific
Suva, Fiji

ISBN 978-3-030-00882-6    ISBN 978-3-030-00883-3 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00883-3

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018959228

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2019
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub-
lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the
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tional affiliations.

Cover illustration: Pattern © Harvey Loake

This Palgrave Pivot imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
 Preface

In October 2016, I joined the ranks of PhD survivors. Like many before
me, my intention was to publish my dissertation as a book. This intention
was unaccompanied by any semblance of a plan and in my head, it would
simply be a matter of selecting a publisher and sending them a copy of my
dissertation, which they would then turn into something magnificent
(after all, policing in Trinidad and Tobago was a buzz topic and the atten-
tion of the Western world was fixed upon us because of the escalating
crime epidemic). I quickly realized writing a book was very different from
writing a dissertation and it was not as simple as repackaging. The idea was
shelved until 2017 when I presented at the Crime and Justice in Asia and
the Global South International Conference. There, I presented a paper
titled ‘“Crime, Criminality and North-to-South Criminological
Complexities”: Theoretical Implications for Policing “Hotspot”
Communities in “Underdeveloped” Countries’. The paper received much
attention from scholars conducting research in the Global South. For
many of these individuals, my arguments about the dangers of adopted
quick-fix policing solutions from the North and the shortcomings of
force-to-fit borrowed crime-fighting strategies were as relevant as they
were shared. This was a point being made by many of the presenters from
the developing Global South. What was different was that the position I
took and the fact that the geographic area being represented was not pre-
viously exemplified in Southern Criminology discourses.
The English-speaking Caribbean was not well represented in scholarly
representations of the Global South. Generalizations about the Caribbean
and unsubstantiated claims about crime and criminality in a region diverse

v
vi PREFACE

in multiple aspects, propelled my desire to commit to the improved visibil-

ity of the region in criminological literature on the Global South. More
than simply a focus on Caribbean diversity, I acknowledged the need to
reflect on the continued impact of northern criminological positions and
policies on governance or, more specifically, policing in contexts marked
by diasporic histories, problematic police/civilian relations, cultural and
ethnic diversity, institutional structures and competing ideological posi-
tions. I felt obligated to commence my contribution to criminological, or
more specifically policing scholarship, by writing about my country. My
linguistic background allowed me to take a multidisciplinary approach to
examine policing. My social position as a Caribbean national with ties to
three islands and insider knowledge of areas categorized as marginalized in
all of these spaces propelled me to take on the task of presenting positions
not easily accessed by ‘outsiders’ and unknown to many on the ‘inside’
with no knowledge of the realities of the ‘othered’.
Police and the Policed symbolizes my commitment to representing the
developing world in criminological literature. Here I share revelations
from my dissertation and insight into the realities of two groups operating
on the margins. It is demonstrative of the power haggling which takes
place between police and the policed, and shows how power is navigated
through language to help or hinder relations between and among indi-
viduals or groups.

Suva, Fiji Danielle Watson

 Acknowledgments

I am grateful to my PhD supervisor Professor Ian Robertson who served

as father, counselor, friend, therapist, discoverer, comedian and many
other roles that were required at any given point of the PhD journey. I
recognize my mentor Paula E. Morgan who chiseled me into the academic
I am today and gave me the push I needed to complete this piece of work.
She saw potential in me beyond my limited vision and worked continu-
ously to nurture my spiritual, mental and intellectual self. To the members
of my academic network who continue to help me find my footing—
Nathan Pino, Kerry Carrington, Nii-K Plange—thank you for stretching
my imagination beyond the boundaries of my discipline. I am eternally
grateful for the advice, encouragement and support given. To the officers
and residents of ‘my hotspot’, thank you for welcoming me into your
world, realities which many may never experience. Finally, I wish to thank
Hazel Watson, my mother, my motivator, my friend, for managing my life
beyond the writing.

vii
 Contents

1 Introduction   1

2 Policing Marginalized Communities in the Global South:

Examining Contextual Realities   9

3 Community Profiles: Initial Thoughts on Positioning

the Police and the Policed  27

4 Assigning the Brand: Police Labeling and its Impact

on Police/Community Relations  39

5 Branding Babylon: How the Policed see the Police  65

6 Police Typecasting and the Power Dichotomy  91

7 Stigmatizing and Stereotyping the Police: Communicative

Realities for the Policed 109

ix
x Contents

8 Negotiating Labels, Stigmas and Stereotypes: Discussions

for the Future of Policing 125

Index 135
 List of Figures

Fig. 4.1 Police labels assigned to residents 44

Fig. 5.1 Labels used to describe police 67

xi
 List of Tables

Table 4.1 Lists the labels, number of occurrences in data and meanings 43
Table 5.1 Police labels as assigned by community members and
meanings derived from discourses 68

xiii
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Abstract Police/community relations in high-crime communities have

been a common topic for criminologists and policy makers across the
globe. In societies with diasporic histories and culturally unique positions
on crime and criminality, the challenge for individuals tasked with the
responsibility of devising strategies to address identified problems is more
a matter of understanding social spaces set apart from mainstream posi-
tions informing outsider policies and practices intended to address insider
issues. This chapter provides a context for understanding the realities of
police and the policed from a marginalized community in Trinidad and
Tobago, the country with one of the highest crime indexes in the world.
It prepares readers for further discussions about problematic police/com-
munity interactions.

Keywords Policing • Police/community relations • Trinidad and

Tobago • Mainstream

Police/community relations in high-crime communities have been a com-

mon topic for criminologists and policy makers across the globe. A com-
mon position taken by policy makers has been the identification of
high-crime communities as problematic spaces in need of improved polic-
ing strategies intended to address identified problems. In societies with
diasporic histories and culturally unique positions on crime and c­ riminality,
the challenge for individuals tasked with the responsibility of devising

© The Author(s) 2019 1

D. Watson, Police and the Policed,
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2 D. WATSON

strategies to address identified problems is more a matter of understanding

social spaces set apart from mainstream positions informing outsider poli-
cies and practices intended to address insider issues (Harcourt 1998; De
Sardan 1999; Watson and Kerrigan 2018). Policy reform, citizen security
programs and crime-fighting tactics are common strategies derived to
address issues of crime on the margins (Nordstrom 2007). Such initiatives
do not acknowledge residents of marginalized communities as partners in
the crime-fighting process. Instead, there is an initial othering working in
the disservice of all strategies intended to action positive change. Police
and the Policed offers a glimpse into the realities of police and the policed
from a marginalized community in Trinidad and Tobago, the country
with one of the highest crime indexes in the world. I offer insight into the
communicative realities of residents from the community and officers
charged with the responsibility of policing the community to highlight the
problematic nature of police/community relations borne of a history of
problematic interactions underscored by force-to-fit policies more symp-
tomatic that practically suited to addressing the problem.
While I acknowledge that marginalized communities across the globe
bear similarities and the discretionary nature of policing allows for shifts to
accommodate what is required in different situations and context, my
position is that it is important to acknowledge and understand the intrica-
cies accounting for the uniqueness of different social spaces. It is also use-
ful to understand the impact of different perspectives and constructed
positions about groups of individuals if policing is to be effective.
Assumptions about international, regional or national similarities work in
the disservice of communication between groups with a history of prob-
lematic relations. What is discussed in this book is one aspect impacting
communicative realities—imposed or assigned categories. I do not make
claims specific to addressing all police/community relations in high-crime
communities but instead highlight how branding affects how police inter-
act with members of a particular community and how members of the
community respond to the police. It is also useful to note that judgments
about crime and criminality are not my focus here as my aim is to empha-
size the influence of opinion formations on interactions and the skillful
navigation of interactive terrains. My contemplation on issues pertinent to
the topics discussed in the chapters should in no way be viewed as abso-
lute. Much of what is presented to show the impact of labels, stigmas and
stereotypes on police/community relations is highly suggestive of the
 INTRODUCTION 3

­ifficulty to communicate with members of ‘othered’ groups and I

d
acknowledge that reality.

Methodological Approach
The Qualitative Study Data were drawn from a larger project on repre-
sentations of power in the discourses of police and community residents in
a high-crime community in northern Trinidad (Watson 2016). I examined
interview transcripts from 40 of the 93 police officers assigned to, or hav-
ing been previously dispatched to, the community and 40 residents from
the community. All officers interviewed have had reason to interact with
the community’s residents at some point, whether during patrol, respond-
ing to calls for assistance, taking reports or during casual encounters. All
community members had prior interaction with police. Police participants
included 10 Charge Room Officers, 25 Task Force Officers and 5 Guard
and Emergency Branch Officers. Community members included 27 indi-
viduals branded suspects and 13 individuals labeled victims based on prior
interaction with the police. All individuals were selected based on their
willingness to participate in the study and their availability. Further infor-
mation on participant selection can be sourced from Watson 2016.
Structured interviews were conducted from July to September 2013.
These were coordinated by the principal researcher on the larger project
with the help of two trained research assistants. Police officers and mem-
bers of the community were approached by the principal researcher
requesting a brief interview and outlining the purpose of the meet. They
were made aware that their contributions were being included as part of
a study about police/community interaction in a designated crime
hotspot.

The interview protocol for both police and the policed comprised 20
questions geared toward eliciting responses about police/community
relations and the labels, stigmas and stereotypes evidenced in their dis-
courses about each other. For the last question, both groups were shown
samples of recordings taken from civilian recorded footage uploaded to
YouTube of police officers—two of whom were under investigation for
misuse of force in the line of duty—and asked their opinions about what
was depicted. The study relied on the analysis of transcribed interview
data.
4 D. WATSON

Chapter Structure
The book has eight chapters. Each chapter presents an area pertinent to
police and community relation in branded communities. The idea behind
the organization of the chapters was to begin by establishing a context for
understanding the communities within which police operate before mov-
ing to discussions about policing in action. This decision was informed by
a desire to move beyond general force-to-fit descriptions of policing mar-
ginalized communities to show that contextualization reveals much about
social spaces that usually gets taken for granted or become the product of
arbitrary or convenient grouping based on minimal points of similarities.
The chapters move from international and regional to local ideas about
policing the margins. A further context is also provided to discuss and
reevaluate positions relating to police/community relations.
Each chapter moves from a general introduction of the focal area to
discussions about policing contexts or policing in context. Each chapter
problematizes an aspect of either policing of police/community relations
in a crime hotspot. Scholarly literature specific to each chapter is discussed
as a point of departure from which the topic under discussion is elaborated
upon. Earlier chapters present power relations on the margins in a broader
sense, while the latter chapters focus specifically on manifestations of
power evidenced in police and community discourses. Ideas about com-
munity branding are presented and special emphasis is placed on how
labels, stigmas and stereotypes impact police relations with residents of a
marginalized community in the Global South. While the initial chapters
are more intended to share informed reflections and conceptualizations on
a topic which has received much interest globally, the latter chapters are
more purposeful in the presentation and sharing of information intended
to serve as a guide for others intending to do similar research in the
branded communities, or persons with general interest on the topic of
policing marginalized communities.

Chapter 2—Policing Marginalized Communities in the Global

South: Examining Contextual Realities
Chapter 2 is used to present a description of what is meant by marginal-
ized communities in the Global South and to elaborate on the uniqueness
of such spaces. The chapter moves from a general description to a descrip-
 INTRODUCTION 5

tion informed by context and purpose. The intent was to present the
problems associated with applying general descriptions to communities
branded marginalized and to highlight the need for the creation of litera-
ture which is historically, contextually and socially specific if solutions are
to be derived to address issues of problematic police and community rela-
tions in high-crime communities categorized as marginalized.

Chapter 3—Community Profiles: Initial Thoughts on Positioning

the Police and the Policed
Chapter 3 presents a context to assist with developing an understanding of
the police and the people they police in a community designated a crime
hotspot. A common occurrence in criminological discussions about
Caribbean territories is generalizations suggesting a one-size-fits-all
approach to understanding and presenting the realities of the police and
the people. Many of these positions fall short in acknowledging the diver-
sity of the different geographic spaces. Even less focus has been placed on
acknowledging the differences in communities within the same jurisdic-
tion. What may be true of some communities simply may not apply to
others. Here, information is presented to assist with the positioning of the
police and the people, and to provide a sense of the general attitude of
officers to policing in these communities and the general attitude of the
communities toward the police.

Chapter 4—Assigning the Brand: Police Labeling and Its Impact

on Police/Community Relations
This chapter describes labels which come into play during police and com-
munity relations and shows the power of these labels during interactions.
Police labels are discussed under specific themes after which a discussion
of the label intersection and its effect on police/community relations is
presented. Arguments about what the assignment of labels suggests are
discussed. The chapter also explores how labels are framed in discourses
providing descriptions set up to situate community members and signal
appropriate responses to them intentionally attempting to influence per-
ceptions, viewpoints and interactive practices.
6 D. WATSON

Chapter 5—Branding Babylon: How the Policed See the Police

This chapter presents and describes labels assigned to officers and shows
how these labels are purposefully aimed at influencing interactive domains
and views about the police. In the same way that officers of the law assign
categories to the people they police, the policed create assignations to
describe how they perceive the police. These categorizations also work in
the service of determining interactive realities between the authors of the
labels and the labeled. The assigned labels reveal vital information about
how community members see the police and how officers are situated in
their discourses. Here, these labels are thematically grouped and discussed
to highlight their effect on police/community relations.

Chapter 6—Police Typecasting and the Power Dichotomy

Chapter 6 identifies, describes and interprets stigmas and stereotypes man-
ifested in police discourses. Police stigmas and stereotypes about the
policed are thematically discussed to show how they work in the (dis)ser-
vice of communication between the police and the policed. The discourses
within which stigmas and stereotypes are framed provide descriptions
showing how the lexicon of the authors project power through their con-
textual, social, cultural and situational language expressions. Stigmas and
stereotypes have been merged here as the discussed stereotypes appear to
present negative dimensions, stigmatizing overtones or overlaps within
the discourses. In the few documented instances where they differ, they
are discussed separately.

Chapter 7—Stigmatizing and Stereotyping the Police:

Communicative Realities for the Policed
In Chap. 7, stigmas and stereotypes evidenced in the discourses of the
policed are explained and a further discussion of their impact on commu-
nication between the community and the police is presented. Much like
police stigmas and stereotypes, those identified in the discourses of the
policed are thematically grouped. All stigmas and stereotypes are discussed
together in this chapter as discourses identified were not found to differ-
entiate between them and they appear to present only negative or defam-
ing attributes of the othered group.
 INTRODUCTION 7

Chapter 8—Negotiating Labels, Stigmas and Stereotypes:

Discussions for the Future of Policing
In this chapter, the reality of categorizations, the historical compounding
of categories and the conflicting worldviews informing these categoriza-
tions are discussed. For both groups authoring discourses about each
other, language is the tool used to make sense of interactions while also
informing how they relate. Here, explanations are presented about how
police and community members negotiate interactions after labels, stigmas
and stereotypes have been established. Arguments are also presented to
highlight the factors undermining group interaction once labels, stigmas
and stereotypes become ‘truth’. Issues surrounding the need for commu-
nicative redress are also presented.

References
De Sardan, J. O. (1999). A Moral Economy of Corruption in Africa? The Journal
of Modern African Studies, 37(1), 25–52.
Harcourt, B. E. (1998). Reflecting on the Subject: A Critique of the Social
Influence Conception of Deterrence, the Broken Windows Theory, and Order-­
Maintenance Policing New York Style. Michigan Law Review, 97(2), 291–389.
Nordstrom, C. (2007). Global Outlaws: Crime, Money, and Power in the
Contemporary World (Vol. 16). Berkeley: University of California Press.
Watson, D. (2016). Exploring Power Manifestations Within Police and Civilian
Discourses: A Study of Labelling, Stigmatizing and Stereotyping in a ‘Hotspot’
Community in Northern Trinidad (PhD Dissertation). The University of the
West Indies, St Augustine.
Watson, D., & Kerrigan, D. (2018). Crime, Criminality, and North-to-South
Criminological Complexities: Theoretical Implications for Policing ‘Hotspot’
Communities in ‘Underdeveloped’ Countries. In The Palgrave Handbook of
Criminology and the Global South (pp. 611–632). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
 CHAPTER 2

Policing Marginalized Communities

in the Global South: Examining Contextual
Realities

Abstract In policing scholarship, communities not conforming to social

and political ideologies of the ‘powerful’ are usually presented as problem-
atic spaces for police organizations. What is not at the forefront of such
scholarly discussions is the community as a space where ‘insiders’ are made
to adjust or accept the positions of ‘outsiders’ carrying out a mandate
which may not necessarily align with ideologies at work within the particu-
lar social space. The author presents a description of what is meant by
marginalized communities in the Global South and highlights problems
associated with applying general descriptions to such communities and the
need to create literature which is historically, contextually and socially spe-
cific if solutions are to be derived to address issues of problematic police
and community relations.

Keywords Marginalized communities • Crime hotspots • Policing

margins

Marginalization, Hotspot Communities and Police/

Community Relations
Marginalized communities around the world are alike in their optional or
assigned non-compliance with mainstream ideological, political, social and
economic standards. This categorization is usually assigned to peripheral
dwellers or groups of socially excluded or ignored individuals within a

© The Author(s) 2019 9

D. Watson, Police and the Policed,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00883-3_2
10 D. WATSON

society (Sokoloff and Dupont 2005). It is also not concerned with group
size. In this sense, marginalized communities can account for majority
populations who are set apart from powerful social, political and economic
actors within a society. Descriptions also extend to include groups of indi-
viduals designated marginalized because of socially or contextually deter-
mined vulnerability. In essence, marginalization relates specifically to
assumed or apparent disadvantage. For many Caribbean territories, includ-
ing Trinidad and Tobago, marginalization is premised on perceptions
associated with social class or residential address, education and/or per-
ceived status within a society (Berkman 2007). It is therefore not unusual
for persons to be marginalized on the basis of residence within a commu-
nity deemed a ghetto or by virtue of not having attained the level of edu-
cation deemed normal by governments or policy makers.
Although marginalization is generalized when referring to communi-
ties in developing countries, it is often the case that such classifications are
not intended to apply to all communities but end up being inappropriately
assigned as a matter of convenience. Socially excluded communities in the
Caribbean and Latin America are often generalized as spaces where per-
sons live in fear of becoming victims of violent crimes and police and non-­
law-­abiding citizens present a potential threat to residents, who in turn are
left without options for justice (Berkman 2007; Goldstein 2003). Such
literature on high-crime communities suggests that within these spaces,
residents view their neighbors, the police and persons outside their imme-
diate circle as a threat (Buff 1994). Studies also categorize these spaces as
well known for high incidents of violence, homicide rates higher than
other areas within the same national borders and lower-class populations
compelled to illegitimate and violent acts as a primary source of income
(Caldeira 2000). These arguments do not apply to many marginalized
communities as continuance of these social spaces and the way of life of
the people are premised on notions of group solidarity and outsider exclu-
sion (Watson and Kerrigan 2018). Berkman (2007) argues that the vio-
lence assumed to be commonplace in many marginalized communities is
reflective of the actions of the minority and accounts are usually sensation-
alized by the media, politicians and residents of the middle and upper
classes. Several scholars acknowledge such generalizations as appropriately
assigned to some communities but highly problematic and inaccurate
when assigned to others. Butcher and de Tagtachian (2016) suggest that
communities on the margins uphold and value bonds that signify belong-
ing and acceptance to a collective and are compelled to the sense of
 POLICING MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH… 11

i­nclusivity the group provides. They are held together by their ability to
identify with each other’s economic, social and political struggles and
trust, togetherness and solidarity are strengthened and fortified through
identification with a shared reality of otherness (Watson and Kerrigan
2018). Language and communication among individuals belonging to the
group are premised on systems of solidarity and social distance. According
to Marais (1992), communities do not hold like ideals concerning social
order, nor are they concerned about the same social ills. Within the
researched community, the language used within various social contexts is
determined by specific characteristics which may be unknown or abnormal
to non-residents. Understanding the relationship between language,
power and social context is essential to providing an understanding of how
the community works (Barton and Tusting 2005). Where the language
used by police officers contradicts established values and norms within the
community, attempts at interaction by the police are likely marked by
alienation and possibly hostility. Residents are likely to work together to
maintain safety and security at the community level (Woolcock 2005).
Rejection of mainstream paradigms of acceptable social behaviors and
standards of conflict resolution position members of marginalized com-
munities as conflicting with persons adhering to upheld ideologies of
those with authority over justice, economic and political power. Despite
identified similarities in economic disadvantage and limited access to
resources among such communities, they are constructed differently
dependent on dynamics at work within the space informing adaptation
and specificity of context.
While groups of individuals or entire communities can be marginalized
for a multiplicity of reasons, the focus here is on communities deemed
marginalized because of their identification as crime hotspots by powerful
social actors. In August 2011, a partial State of Emergency (SoE) was
enforced by the then Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, in an
attempt to combat the escalating ‘crime epidemic’. A total of 57 areas
were identified and branded as high-crime areas or more specifically
‘hotspots’. This decree translated to overnight curfews being enforced in
the designated hotspot communities and police being granted increased
powers to conduct searches and make arrests (Hutchinson-Jafar 2011).
Arguments provided to validate the decision included Trinidad being used
as a transshipment point for illegal narcotics and firearms, and the spiraling
murder rate. The arguments give rise to assumptions about residents from
such communities and their propensity to engage in unlawful acts.
12 D. WATSON

Marginalization in this sense is premised on assumed propensity for vio-

lence based on place of abode. The categorization does not state that all
residents of the community are violent, yet the non-violent community
members share the assigned brand and are subject to the consequences of
their residence. What is also relevant is the non-conformity of the 57 com-
munities to common general description of marginalized. The community
within which the study was conducted, for example, differs from the two
neighboring communities with which a border is shared. The community
is situated between one of the communities known for the highest murder
rate in Trinidad and Tobago, and a community well known for the sale of
illegal substances, narcotics and gang-related activities. The community
also differs from neighboring communities in that there is planned infra-
structure and a considerably higher rate of employment than neighboring
communities (Caribbean Human Development Report 2012; Central
Statistics Office National Census 2011; London 2013; Ministry of
Planning and Development, Trinidad and Tobago 2012). The docu-
mented instances of crimes occurring in the community are also signifi-
cantly lower than other marginalized communities as well as communities
not labeled marginalized. These known differences provide a glimpse into
the problematic nature of establishing one-size-fits-all responses to prob-
lems in developing countries or more so in any context. Categorizations
appear more based on the checking of boxes against established indicators
of marginalization than focused on accurately describing a social space.
The labeling of a community as a ‘crime hotspot’ not only has negative
social implications for individuals residing within the community, it also
adversely affects policing within the community, how residents interact
with individuals from outside the community and how these individuals
interact with each other. The assignment of a stigmatizing label impacts
how individuals are treated. These labels hold power as their assignment is
believed to alter behavior to match the assigned identity (Becker 1963,
2003; Lein 2009; Oboler 1995; Ray and Downs 1986). According to
Cooley (1902), people define themselves according to the view of ­society’s
perception of them. Individuals’ self-concept is informed by the way oth-
ers label, perceive and treat them. Their conception of self and community
is contextualized by the act of labeling and the reaction it warrants (Becker
2003; Mead 1934). The power of a label is evidenced in its ability to result
in negative action, transform image and categorize associations. For resi-
dents of hotspot communities in Trinidad and Tobago, interaction with
the most visible arm of governance, the police, is likely influenced by the
 POLICING MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH… 13

assigned brand. Marginalization in this context translates to increased

police presence in communities, increased military presence, military
interaction with residents in a manner that is not relegated to residents of
non-marginalized communities and enforced penalties for non-­compliance
with community-specific enforced restrictions (Reiner 2010). Subjugation
to constant surveillance and the continued anticipation of violent crimes
erupting within the space present a sense of limited access to justice for
inhabitants of the space. In such communities, there is the sense that
access to conventional methods of obtaining justice is limited as individu-
als on the margins are prone to becoming the problem as opposed to
being victims themselves (Reiss and Roth 1993). Justice in such context is
not conceived as conventionally administered by the state but instead the
result of actions taken by those within the communities who take up the
task of administering justice in the presence of failed state provisions
intended to satisfy community requirements. It is therefore not unusual
for justice, or as some might argue vigilante measures, to be administered
by members of the community where they view the state as being unwill-
ing or unable to provide justice through normative institutional means
(Concha-Eastman 1991). Berkman argues, ‘the issue of security, author-
ity, justice, identity and economics are tangible in the violent acts used to
secure [individuals] in socially excluded areas, beyond the influence of the
state institutions and mainstream paradigms of conflict resolution’ (2007:
5). Such rejection of mainstream paradigms of acceptable social behaviors
and conflict resolution position members of marginalized communities as
conflicting with persons adhering to upheld ideologies of those with
authority over justice, resources and political power. For residents of such
communities, the decision to trust police officers as agents of the state is
likely colored by knowledge of an inefficient judicial system and hard-line
policing policies, knowledge of police corruption, complex and conflicting
ideas about justice and security and skepticism about the ability of the
police to enforce true justice.

The Assigned Brand as Part of the Problem

For many marginalized communities, categorization as marginalized or
‘othered’ becomes less an indicator of prioritized areas for development
and more an indicator of the assigned status of ‘other’. In the case of
Trinidad and Tobago, the enforced partial SoE brought to public aware-
ness the high degree of interface between police officers and residents of
14 D. WATSON

marginalized communities. During the SoE, the assumed realities of indi-

viduals from the communities were communicated by the media in such a
manner as to lead to the stereotyping of citizens as marginalized victims
and to the triggering of prejudices against police officers, which was likely
to significantly compromise the effectiveness of relationships between the
groups. Although the roles of the different arms of the Trinidad and
Tobago Police Service (TTPS) are well documented, the contextual mean-
ings or parameters of operation attached to these roles are sometimes
unclear to members of marginalized communities.
Prior to the introduction of community policing perspectives in
Trinidad and Tobago, the issue of police and community relations in mar-
ginalized communities has been dealt with in a manner placing specificity
on either police officers as agents of the state or community residents as
social actors within a branded space. Existing research provides frames for
understanding and analyzing policing and police perspectives (Bowling
2010; Chevigny and Chevigny 1995; Deosaran 2002; Mastrofski and
Lum 2008; Pino 2009), civilian perspectives on policing (Maguire et al.
2010) and discourses on police power (Fairclough 2001), power ideolo-
gies, its manifestations and shifts within societies (Watson 2014). The
existing body of literature presents police and community members’ inter-
actions within these marginalized communities as delicate and requiring
improvement strategies to eradicate high occurrences of problematic rela-
tions. Some of these scholars made assertions about power relations
between groups as significant to interactive processes on the margins.
They identified human interaction as underscored by understood, accepted
or contested power dynamics. This points to a key area in understanding
police and community relations as an analysis of the discourses reflective of
this assumed power may enhance understanding of police and community
relations in marginalized communities. Language paradigms, in this sense,
reflect the structural characteristics of power between police officers and
the policed.
The structure of language reveals differences in experiences, positions
and assumed power. In most instances, police officers are seen in marginal-
ized communities where an arrest is being made or during an altercation,
both of which require a certain degree of authority demonstrated through
specified speech acts. Police presence is marked by a high degree of anxi-
ety, skepticism or fear on the part of individuals in communities known for
problematic police/community relations. In most documented instances
of police/community relations in high-crime communities, community
 POLICING MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH… 15

members complain about the manner in which they are spoken to by

police officers, while police officers complain about the unwillingness of
the policed to communicate openly. What is usually not taken into consid-
eration during interaction is that police and community responses to each
other are impacted by the subject or topic, the desired communicative
goals, time, location and audience. It is also affected by speaker class, men-
tal state of being and other stable features, such as interest and appearance.
The relationship between participants largely determines language choice.
Where there is an assumption about social status, power and lack of famil-
iarity, the output varies as opposed to situations where there is an interper-
sonal relationship marked by familiarity and a sense of belonging or
personal identification. An example of this is reflected when examining the
meaning of the word ‘informant’, which (preliminary research shows) var-
ies significantly for police officers and the policed in Trinidad and Tobago.
For residents of negatively branded communities, it is very likely that the
reason for interaction and the narrative framing such interactions do not
work in the service of positive, peaceful or non-problematic relations. If
we consider the nature of interaction during an enforced SoE, it is very
likely that neither police officers nor residents of the policed marginalized
communities are keen to engage with each other. The branding of the
space sets the tone for all interaction and serves as a forecast for interaction
between police and the policed.
It is also critical to our understanding of branded hotspots to identify
police officers and the policed as two separate categories of individuals
interacting from two varied standpoints—police officers as agents of the
state and the policed as independent agents. Police officers are individuals
bound by institutional conventions, which directly impact their identities
and functional capacities in the field. In essence, policing is a bureaucratic
act ‘deconstructed’ by its discretionary nature (Watson et al. 2018). There
are legislations to guide officers, but some situations require alternative
measures be used. An example of this is seen in the handling of female
suspects by male officers. Although policies do not state male officers are
not permitted to handle female suspects, precautions are taken during
such interactions to guard against future allegations of inappropriate han-
dling. It is likely that female officers present are placed at the forefront of
matters involving female citizens. There is a sense of existing regulated
discourses infused with contextualized discourses influenced by varied
‘truths’ about the social world, which operate independently of ‘categori-
cal grids of specifications’ about policing (Foucault 1980; Derrida 1978).
16 D. WATSON

The policed are not bound to such conventions and in this sense can be
regarded as free agents. They are however bound by communal ideologies
informing existence within a particular space or social group. Despite
common assumptions about police having absolute power over individuals
from marginalized groups, both groups possess different forms of power
during interaction (Watson 2014). The police possess state-vested powers,
while the community residents are uniquely positioned to influence what
happens within their space.
Insight into the impact of an assigned brand on a group of individuals
can also be derived from examining their interaction with another group.
In the case of hotspot communities, interaction with the most visible arm
of governance is likely to provide vital insight into how members of such
communities are positioned within a society. Such interaction is likely to
produce what Sower describes as ‘competing discourses of political strug-
gle that give contested meaning to national/ethnic identities and define
particular power relations’ (1999: 751). These ‘competing discourses’ or
occasions of language in use are pervaded by ideology. It is the perspec-
tival, plural and partial ideologies held by police officers and residents of
the community they police that provide a context for examining their talk-­
in-­action. Empowering one group of individuals to maintain the ideals as
perceived by a certain sector of society creates a context for problematic
relations where other sectors within a society are excluded or marginal-
ized. Interaction between police officers as agents of the state and com-
munity members belonging to ‘othered’ sectors of society is bound by
problematic discursive conventions. The authoritative bodies determining
the legislation of the country operate within different spheres. Discourses
within these contexts are shaped by ideological power relations excluding
the margins. Such discourses expose veiled ideologies which emerge and
are reproduced by individuals, groups and institutions (Mayr 2008).
Several researchers have produced literature to demonstrate the power
of words and their impact on categorizing individuals as well as ­influencing
interactions with others within and outside of marginalized communities.
In The Language of Oppression, Bosmajian (1983) described the negative
powers of language. He described language as a ‘metaphorizing’ tool used
to assign stigmatizing labels, which construct and suppress marginalized
groups within a society. His research highlighted the categorizing of
African Americans as ‘beasts’, Jews as ‘parasites’ and American Indians as
‘uncivilized barbarians’. This research points to the power of discourses to
suppress or incite power discourses during police and community
 POLICING MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH… 17

i­nteraction in branded spaces. His research suggests that the manner in

which individuals are perceived is enormously consequential to interac-
tions as language acts have consequences during interaction (Coston and
Kimmel 2012). For Goffman, ‘society establishes the means of categoriz-
ing persons and the complement of attributes felt to be ordinary and natu-
ral for members of each of these categories’ (1976: 11). In the context of
my arguments which follow in the later chapters, labels, stigmas and ste-
reotypes are interpreted as discriminatory concepts that impact the lives of
all individuals on a daily basis. Some of these concepts have become com-
monplace categorizations that make for ease of interaction among indi-
viduals, while others are employed in the service of initiating, protracting
or compounding relations underscored by problematic or discriminatory
over/undertones.
By categorizing individuals belonging to a specific group as marginal-
ized, we impute a sort of social identity that informs interaction. These
have the power to impact individuals’ social standing and are therefore
critical to building stable patterns of associations between police officers
and residents of negatively categorized communities. Research shows that
communities bearing stigmatizing labels develop bad reputations which
not only affect interaction with individuals from outside the community
but also the community’s prospects for economic development (Clear
et al. 2001). Stigmatizing labels generate stereotypes that result in negative
reactions from members of a society about a group or individual. These
lead to the generation of negative beliefs about a person’s personality as
well as clichéd behavioral expectations. Goffman describes this as the con-
struction of ideologies to justify inferiority and animosity based on ascribed
differences that translate to ‘truth’ in discourses produced (1976). The
manner in which a group or individual is defined allows for the application
of a form of control—emotional, social, physical—which underscores
interaction. Marginalization can discredit, alienate, complicate, exaggerate
and/or inform social identity. Research shows that these may work in the
service or disservice of preserving societal order (Coston and Kimmel
2012; Goffman 1976). While they may represent specific meanings to one
group, they hold the possibility to convey something different to another
group. Individuals are more accommodating of persons belonging to the
same categories, thus resulting in a sense of interconnectedness and align-
ment. Perceptions inform community connectedness as well as disconnec-
tions with persons perceived to be a part of the ‘othered’ group of
‘outsiders’. They are therefore power manifestations in and of themselves.
18 D. WATSON

The act of policing a ‘crime hotspot’ is reliant on the ability to navigate

social spaces. A police officer is therefore required to understand the space,
its inhabitants, underlying ideologies and discourse properties of inhabit-
ants. A failure to understand the group and their language presents a chal-
lenge to officers. The same is true if residents within the community fail to
understand the acts of policing in practice. Fairclough (2001) describes this
as an ability to understand the positions set up for participants—police or
the policed—within the community discourses or policing discourses, and
the extent to which these are occupied during interaction. This points to a
degree of expectation during interaction as perceptions held not only influ-
ence discourses but frame responses. Linguistically defined social spaces—
crime hotspot community—impact social relationships of occupants and
language choices. It is primarily through language that individuals demon-
strate acceptance or resistance during interactions and assert social identity
and purpose, thus demonstrating forms of power—power informing the
discourses or reflected through the discourses. An understanding of these
linguistic manifestations of power or power discourses therefore requires a
commitment to analyzing the relationship between discourse processes,
immediate social conditions and remote social conditions.
Because police officers cannot exist in isolation and their effectiveness is
dependent to a large extent on their relationship with the public, policing
within marginalized communities branded crime hotspots and tainted by
negative assumptions about inhabitants of a specific geographic space is
unlikely to be anything but problematic. Police perception of their roles
and the public’s understanding of these roles affect their relationship with
the public (Marais 1992). An understanding of the ideologies governing
the discretionary act of policing must therefore be held by all stakehold-
ers—police officers, legislators, community members—involved, and the
reality of the assigned brand must therefore be considered.

Media Sensationalization and the Margins

The media significantly accounts for how communities are represented
and portrayed. It contributes significantly to the setting up of identities for
individuals (Fairclough 1995). The media promotes choices—headlines,
label, jargons—which contribute to discourses constructed by individuals
to define self and others. In most instances, filmed reconstructions are
perceived as actual realities and interpreted as such by the population. The
issue of how the mass media affect and are affected by relations between
 POLICING MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH… 19

particular groups has also been brought to the forefront by several

researchers (Hall et al. 2013; Kress and Hodge 1979). The relationship
between police and residents of marginalized communities is primarily
portrayed as problematic. The constant portrayal of individuals dissatisfied
with the assumed ineffectiveness of the law provides meaning in the ser-
vice of producing unequal relations of power and relations of power domi-
nation (Fairclough 1995). The representations of turn-taking, topic
control and formulations are depictive of versions of realities constituted
by the media, thus the ideological and language processes involved display
a prejudiced representation of police/civilian interaction (Barak 1995).
The media gives rise to propositions that generally figure as implicit
assumptions.
The representation of reality in one way as opposed to another reflects
a particular ideology. Where police and the policed are portrayed in the
media, the representations are ‘emotionally charged’ to depict a negative
quality of one group against the backdrop of a positive quality of the other.
There is also the purposeful creation of an exaggerated public threat from
‘communities overrun by rampant criminal activities’ or ‘violent police
beating’ of ‘unarmed’ civilians. The discourses present a villainized group
while downplaying any challenge posed by the other group involved.
These transmissions of participation by individuals belonging to the differ-
ent groups influence as well as shape interactions. Individual participation
forms reality as much as it is informed by reality, a widespread edifice of
meanings, explanations, propositions and institutions that Berger and
Luckmann (1966) refer to as the ‘dialectic process’. This dialectic process
posits individual interpretation as dependent on experiences and commu-
nities of operation, which invariably impact the construction of meaning.
The media is therefore of paramount importance in the formation and
presentation of power relationships on the margins as they orient how
individuals see themselves and others in the world. The media presents
definitions of interactions and realities that become objectified, internal-
ized and accepted as true by the larger society.
The media’s role as a communicative medium to the larger population
places its architects in a position to shape the world of police and commu-
nity residents’ interaction, ascribe roles to the actors and determine the
extent to which the roles are developed, idealized or ‘villainized’. It is
regarded as a moral entrepreneur in that the media defines and redefines
groups or individuals, thus informing how interactions should be defined
and establishing cycles of internalizations and externalizations which
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 johon loppusoinnuksi kelpasi melkein mikä pääte hyvänsä. Tämä
helppo ja mukava runomitta sopi kaikensävyisille runoille,
murheisille, leikkisille ja juhlallisille. Kokonaisen kokoelman
»kukkakimppuja», »seppeleitä» j.n.e. voisi poimia tämänaikuisten
runovihkojen nimistä. Kaikki lainaavat, kaikki elävät lainoista. Kieli on
vanhaa, ajatukset ja tunteet samoin. Täällä, kuten muuallakin,
epigooniajan epäitsenäisyys.

Voisi sanoa, että aika oli epäkiitollista taiteellisemmalle runoudelle,

että ajan ilmapiiri oli ahdas ja raskashenkinen. Eikä mikään
kapinoiva, vapauttava runous riko ajan rauhaa, ei mikään
mielikuvituksen väriräiske ajan harmautta. Jokainen aika tarjoo
aineksia runoudelle, niin tämäkin. Ne pari todellista runoilijaa, jotka
aika synnytti, eivät niitä käyttäneet, eivät olleet kyllin suuria niitä
käyttääkseen. Ajan ankara paine ei destilloi heistä sitä kypsää
katkeruutta tai uhmaa, joka tällaisenakin maata matavana aikana
voisi virittää korkean runouden inspiratsion. Koidulan isänmaallinen
uhrituli oli sammunut, persoonallisen, syvempiä tunnekerroksia
paljastavan runouden aika ei vielä ollut tullut, jäljelle jäi hiljainen,
jokapäiväisyyteen taipuva idylli, eleegisine pohjasävyineen. Siinä he
etsivät ja löysivät ilmaisumuotonsa.

Anna Haavan ja K.E. Söötin päämerkitys on siinä, että he ovat

ylläpitäneet taiteellisemman laulun traditsiota matalalauluisena
aikana. Heidän tasonsa on keskinkertaisuus, mutta sellainen hyvä,
kunnon keskinkertaisuus, joka voi olla ponnistusastimena
korkeammalle taiteelle. He eivät ole luoneet mitään varsinaisesti
uutta ei muotoon eikä sisällykseen nähden. Heiltä puuttuu kielellisen
mielikuvituksen kekseliäisyys, he tyytyivät kieleen, sellaisena kuin
sen tapasivat, se riitti heidän ilmaisukeinokseen semmoisenaan, niin
muokkaamaton kuin se todenteolla vielä oli. Heidän yksitoikkoista ja
yksinkertaista runomittaansa ei särje mikään vivahdusrikkaampaa
muotoa vaativa mieliala. Kumpainenkin on ihan viime aikoina
koittanut laajentaa runoutensa rajoja; vers libre on houkuttanut
molempia, tuomatta muuta kuin vieraan sävyn heidän runouteensa.

Lahjakkaampi heistä on epäilemättä Anna Haava, synt. v. 1864.

Hän on tähän saakka Viron ainoa eroottinen runoilija. Koidulan
rakkausrunot ovat kaavamaisia, myöhemmästä runoudesta on
Gustav Suitsin ihana »Inspiratsio» harvinaisuus hänen
tuotannossaan, paria sensualistista koetta lukuunottamatta, ja
Willem Grünthalin runollinen luonnonpalvelus ei salli muita jumalia.
Anna Haavan luonteenomaisimmat runot ovat juuri rakkausrunoja,
aito naisellisen tunne-elämän synnyttämiä, joskus veitikkamaisia,
joskus haaveksivia, täynnä alistumista ja rakastetun jumaloimista,
nöyryyttä ja naivisuutta. Niissä ei ole nimeksikään sensualismin
tuntua. Rakkaus on niissä olemassa-oloaan anteeksi anovaa,
ylimalkaista. Paitsi rakkausrunoissa onnistuu Anna Haava joskus
hiljaisen, melkein uskonnollisen kaipauksen täyttämissä runoissa,
jonkinlaisessa mailmallisuudesta pois halajavassa idealismissa,
jonka kypsin ilmaus on hänen kaunis runonsa Mägede põues
(Vuorten helmassa), jossa tätä ihanne- ja rauhan maata kuvitellaan
vuorten ympäröimänä järviseutuna. Yllätykseltä sensijaan vaikuttaa
Anna Haavan runoudessa joukko leikillisiä maalaiselämän
kuvauksia, raikkaan huumorin täyttämiä, hauskoja kyläakvarelleja
valoisissa väreissä.

Värittömämpi persoonallisuutena on K.E. Sööt, synt. 1862. Hänen

runoutensa muistuttaa Anna Haavan runoutta, mutta on kuivempaa
ja karumpaa. Hänellä on Anna Haavan runouden heikkoudet, mutta
ei kaikkia sen hyveitä. Parhaiten hänkin onnistuu eleegisen
tunnelman yhtyessä isänmaalliseen ajatukseen tai henkilökohtaiseen
muistelmaan ja mielialaan.

Seisahdusajoillakin voi olla salainen kehitysvieterinsä, joka

ulkonaisen painon poistuttua taas on valmis ponnahtamaan.
Kukoistuskausien edelläkävijöinä on niillä valmistava, energiaa
keräävä merkitys. Virossa, venäläistyttämistoimenpiteiden hiukankin
lauhduttua, alkaa kehitysilmapuntari taas nopeasti nousta. Mutta se
ei tapahdu enää kansallisen romantiikan kimmeltävien tunnustähtien
alla. Aika on ylöspäin pyrkivän, sitkeän ja karun realismin, joka
yhteiskunnallisessa järjestymisessä ja kansallisessa valistustyössä,
viime aikoina erittäin kansan aineellisessa vaurastumisessa näkee
korkeamman kulttuurin pohjan. Aika on yhteiskunnallisen työn eikä
taiteen. Saksalaisen vaikutuksen kanssa risteytyy venäläinen
vaikutus, joka kuitenkin ymppää virolaiseen henkiseen elämään
enimmäkseen venäläisen hengen kielteisiä puolia. Tähän asti
yhteisen kansallisuusaatteen yhdistämä kansa alkaa jakautua
luokka-eroituksen perustalla. Alkaa köyhälistön liike, joka yhtyy 1905
vuoden vallankumouksen valtaväylään.

Tämän virkeän yhteiskunnallisen nousu-ajan puitteissa,

yksilöllisine tarkoitusperineen tavallaan sen vastakohtana, mutta
samalla sen orgaanisena jatkona, alussa kulkien melkein
tasasuuntaa vasemmistoliikkeen keralla, myöhemmin siitä selvästi
eristyen, kohtaa meitä vallankumous-vuosien paikkeilla uusi ilmiö
Viron henkisen elämän alalla, Noor-Eestin kirjallis-taiteellinen liike,
joka puolestaan merkitsee kirjallista vallankumousta, tässä
tapauksessa oikeastaan vain teoreettisesti olemassa olevien
vanhain jumalain särkemistä. Noor-Eestillä ei ole ollut mitään
taiteellista suuruutta kukistettavanaan. Sen kriitillinen työ on ollut
välttämätöntä pikkuperkausta, ja etusijalle jäävät sen asettamat
uudet tarkoitusperät ja uudet kirjalliset ihanteet.

Noor-Eesti nimellisen ryhmän perusti kuusi vuotta takaperin joukko

nuoria kirjailijoita, — myöhemmin on liikkeeseen yhtynyt useita
kuvaamataiteilijoitakin — jotka olivat ottaneet tehtäväkseen
kirjallisuuden kohoittamisen taiteelliselle tasolle, ja vuorovaikutuksen
aikaansaamisen Länsi-Euroopan kulttuurin kanssa. Tarkoitusperiään
on ryhmä koettanut toteuttaa etupäässä julkaisemissaan albumeissa
Noor-Eesti I, II, III ja samannimisessä, viime vuodesta alkaen
ilmestyvässä kirjallistaiteellisessa aikakauskirjassa.

Uusi viini vaati uusia leilejä, uudet tunteet uusia ilmaisumuotoja.

Muoto tuli tunnussanaksi, kielen kaikenpuolinen hionta lähimmäksi
päämääräksi. Saksalaista ja venäläistä vaikutusta vastaan nousi
länsi-eurooppalainen, gallialainen vaikutus, joka vaati kiinteämpää
taiteellisuutta, ankarampaa valintaa. Yhteiskunnallisten tendenssien
vastakohdaksi kohosivat yksilölliset, yleistävän runouden sijaan
persoonallisen tunneilmaisun vaatimus. Modernismi, tässä
käsitettynä yksilöllisenä, eurooppalaisuuden ilmakehään pyrkivänä
taiteena, oli uloittunut Viroon.

Kielenviljelyksessä on Noor-Eestillä suuria ansioita. Hyvin

käsittäen, että runouden ensimäinen ehto on ilmaisuvälineen
täydellisyys, on Noor-Eesti tehnyt voitavansa rikastuttaakseen Viron
niin köyhää kirjakieltä. Se on kaivautunut kansanrunouden hetteisiin,
kutsunut avukseen murteet ja paikallissanastot, luonut uusia sanoja,
tosin valitettavasti myös raskauttaen uudistuspyrkimyksiään
vieraskielisten sanojen liian runsaalla painolastilla. Vasta Noor-
Eestin mukana on yksilöllinen tyyli päässyt Viron sekä
suorasanaiseen että laulurunouteen.
 Noor-Eestin kirjailijat ovat kaikki vielä kehityksensä alussa, joskin
se jo useimmilla on itsetietoisesti viitoitettu. Yhteisestä
makusuunnasta ja taiteellisista tarkoitusperistä huolimatta, eristyvät
ryhmän eri kyvyt yhä selvemmiksi yksilöllisyyksiksi. Taiteellisesti
kypsimmät runoilija-persoonallisuudet tapaa laulurunouden alalla.
Gustav Suitsin ja Willem Grünthalin runous merkitsee virolaisessa
kirjallisuudessa aivan uusien sekä soinnullisten, runomitallisten että
aihepiirien valloitusta. Heistä alkaa nykyaikainen taiderunous.

Gustav Suitsin (synt. 1883) runokokoelma Elu tuli (Elon tuli) v.

1905 on kaikista heikkouksistaan huolimatta uran uurtavaa laatua.
Sen päätunnusmerkki on nuoruus. Sen laulut ovat yhtaikaa sekä
nuoren ajan että nuoren ijän runoja. Sekä sen voima että viat ovat
molemmat nuoruuden. Ennen-vallankumouksellinen mieliala, odotus,
uhma, oman voiman tunne, on luonut nämä nuoruudelle ja elon
tulelle viritetyt laulut, joitten poljennossa on nousu-ajan sotaista ja
taisteluun tahtovaa tahtia.

Ne ovat nuorekkaita sotajulistuksia, useat laadittuja Eino Leinon

aikaisemman runokauden tyyliin. Useat runot, kuten »Äikene»
(Ukkosilma) ovat vain kuin uhmailijan painiskelua vastahakoisen ja
kankean kielen kanssa, sen väkivaltaista aisoihin asettamista ja
voitonriemua, — mutta eivät myöskään mitään sen enempää.
Sanahelinä, jota yksilöllinen elämys vielä ei ole vapauttanut liian
koristeellisesta paatoksesta, on luonteenomaista tälle kokoelmalle.
On runoja, joitten sisällys supistuu vähiin muodon laulavuuden ja
soinnukkaisuuden rinnalla, ja joita lukiessa alituisen helinän
huumaamina unohdamme vaatia sanoilta syvempää sisällystä.

Ja kuitenkin on tämä kokoelma kaikesta nuorekkuudestaan ja

tunteen pintapuolisuudesta huolimatta käänteentekevä. Viron
runouteen vakiintuneet värittömät ja uinuttavan yksitoikkoiset
runomitat se särkee rohkeilla poljennoilla, rikkailla loppusoinnuilla,
mitä erinlaisimmilla ja aiheen itse valitsemilla runomitoilla. Kieli soi,
niinkuin se vielä tähän saakka koskaan ei ole soinut virolaisessa
runoudessa; koko kokoelma on kauttaaltaan kielellistä ja muoto-iloa
täynnä, ylitse vuotavaa, liiankin kukkeata, kuten sen kannattama
nuori paatoskin.

Suitsin runoilijatemperamentin pääominaisuudet ovat jo tässä

kokoelmassa edustettuina; niistä ovat muototaituruus ja loisteliaisuus
jo jokseenkin pitkälle kehitettyjä, sensijaan on taipumus traagilliseen
tunnelmaan, joka hänen myöhemmässä tuotannossaan yhä
vahvenee, tänä kehityskautena luonut vain pari runoa, synkän
Needmine (Kirous) ja tyyntä ennen myrskyä kuvastavan, ennen-
vallankumouksellisen Surnuaialaul (Hautuumaan laulu) joissa,
varsinkin ensimäisessä, ensi kertaa tuntuu tuleva pessimismi.

Suitsin myöhemmin kirjoittamat runot ovat toistaiseksi hajallaan

siellä täällä erinlaisissa julkaisuissa. Huolimatta niitten
vähälukuisuudesta — Suits ei muodosta poikkeusta virolaisten
kirjailijain pienestä produktiviteetista — voi niissä tarkoin seurata
runoilijan kehitystä.

Se on käynyt muodollisesti yhä plastillisempaan, sisällyksellisesti

yhä yksilöllisempään suuntaan.

Kielen liiallista runsautta on seurannut tarkoin punnitut, kuin

matemaattisesti arvioidut sointuvaikutukset, jotka yhä useammin
alkavat kiteytyä sonetin suppeaan ja viron vähän viljellyltä
runokieleltä paljon vaativaan muotoon. Ei erehtyne, jos tässä
muutoksessa on tuntevinaan romaanilaisten esikuvien vaikutusta.
Suitsin runotyylin kansanrunoudellinen rikkaus on käynyt kovan
romaanilaisen sulatusahjon läpi, se on yksinkertaistunut, tihentynyt,
silti kielellistä soinnullisuuttaan kadottamatta.

Melkein vielä muodollista muutosta suurempi on runojen sisäisen

äänilajin vaihdos. Taaskin ne uskollisesti heijastavat aikaa, joka on
vallankumouksen yliponnistusta seuranneen väsymyksen. Mutta ei
vain aika ole talttumuksen, lisäksi tulee yksilöllinen elämys,
kypsyneemmän ijän välttämätön resignatsio. Yhtä hillitty kuin
muotokin, yhtä hillitty on siihen puserrettu tunne. Milloin
isänmaalliset ja yleisaiheiset runot vielä ovat etusalalla, on niissä yhä
katkerammaksi kasvava pessimismi vallalla. Sellainen runo kuin Laul
Eestist (Laulu Eestistä) on kaukana kaikesta
korusisänmaallisuudesta. Mutta näitten runojen ohella ja niitä syrjään
työntäen alkaa kuulua yhä yksilöllisempiä sointuja, yhä
persoonallisemman tunteen pakkoa, jotka yhdessä mies hekkääseen
resignatsioon taipuvan mielialan keralla luovat Suitsin tähän asti
korkeimmat runo-ennätykset.

Täydellisen vastakohdan Suitsin runoudelle muodostaa toisen

Noor-Eestin runoilijan Willem Grünthalin (synt. 1885) kolme vuotta
myöhemmin julkaisema runokokoelma Laulud (Lauluja). Kun Suitsin
kirkas taide voi olla varma mahdollisimman laajasta kantavuudesta,
tulee Grünthalin runous sitävastoin jäämään vain harvojen
nautittavaksi.

Grünthalin runous kätkeytyy mitä vaikeatajuisimman kielen

varjoon. Grünthal on kielentutkija runoillessaankin. Harvinaisimmat,
vähimmin käytetyt kielen muodot houkuttavat häntä, hän kaivaa ne
esille sanakirjan unohduksesta tai murteitten muurin takaa, hänen
runoissaan vilisee outoja murre- ja paikallissanoja, joita
käyttäessään hän ei näytä välittävän niistä mykistä tai tyhjistä
kohdista, jotka muodostuvat, kun sana vaikenee eikä ilmaise mitään
lukijalle. Kuvaavaa kyllä, on runovihkon loppuun liitetty erityinen pieni
sanakirja.

Yhtä plastillista kuin Suitsin, yhtä maalailevaa on Grünthalin

runous. Adjektivi ja attributi ovat hänen runojensa tunnusmerkkejä,
hänen lauseensa ovat raskaita, usein ylenmäärinkin väreillä
kyllästettyjä, pienimpiin yksityiskohtiin saakka hiottuja, joskus
suuremmassa määrin teoreettisen työn tuloksilta tuntuvia kuin
välittömän inspiratsion luomia. Hän käyttää harvoin kevyitä
runomittoja, usein liikkuvat hänen runonsa antiikin mitoissa, josta
niitten hiukan juhlallinen, eristyvä luonne. Samoinkuin Suitsilla, on
Grünthalillakin runoja, jotka ovat kuin nuoren kulttuurikielen
itsetietoista prameilua, jonkunlaista sanasoinnullista urheilua. Paitsi
näitä liialliseen alkusoinnun käyttöön ja kuvaavien sanojen toinen
toisensa päälle kasaamiseen rakennettuja runoja, on Grünthalilla
niitten vastakohtina toisia, joissa runollista suggestiota on koetettu
aikaansaada yksityisten sanojen kerrolla, säkeitten putoillessa usein
vain yksisanaisina, josta taas on ollut seurauksena tunnelman ohuus
ja riittämätön kantavuus.

Grünthalin onnistuneimmat runot ovat ne, joissa hänen suuri ja

harvinainen kielitaituruutensa, vältettyään liikaan erikoisuuteen
pyrkimisen vaaran, yhtyy hänen yhtä harvinaiseen
luonnontuntemukseensa.

Grünthal on runoissaan yksinäinen luonnonkävijä. Suitsin

runoudessa on viimeisinä aikoina selvästi havaittava itsetietoinen
eristymispyrkimys, Grünthalilla on eristyminen synnynnäistä. Hänen
väri-ihailussaan, hänen antaumisessaan luonnontunnelmille alttiiksi
on jotain luonnonhurmiota. Hän on syvälle tunkeutunut siihen
salaiseen runouteen, joka kätkeytyy Saarenmaan ja sen lähisaarien
luonnon ja rantamaisemain näennäisen karuuden taakse. Suits
paikallistuttaa harvoin runonsa, Grünthal aina. Ei ole niissä mikä
meri hyvänsä, eivät mitkä rannat hyvänsä, — se on määrätty meri,
tietyt rannat. Grünthal tuntee kotisaarensa kaikkina vuodenaikoina,
kaikkina vuorokauden aikoina, hän tuntee sen lintumailman, sen
hietasärkät ja luodot ja valon sekä värien eri vivahdukset rannikolla.
Hänen parhaat runonsa ovat värikylläisiä saaristotauluja. Mutta tästä
tarkoin määrätystä realiteetista vauhtia ottaen kohoo Grünthalin
runous sen yli, luonnonnäkyjen avartamaan kaikkeuden tunteeseen.

Suitsin tai Grünthalin sävy on nykyään vallalla virolaisissa

runokokeissa, tietysti jäljittelijöitten käyttämänä johtaen maneeriin ja
usein suoraan karikatuuriin. Sitä suurempi arvo täytyy antaa niille
harvoille itsenäisyyden ja riippumattomuuden ilmauksille, jotka
ulkopuolella Noor-Eestin ryhmää ovat havaittavissa.

Sellaisia on Ernst Enno (synt. 1875), kiitettävällä sitkeydellä

omaperäisyyteen pyrkivä runoilija, joka ei koskaan ole uhrannut
yleisön makusuunnalle, vaan vähitellen runoutensa alkujaan sangen
aateraskaasta hämärästä kehittynyt selvämuotoisempaa
taiteellisuutta kohden. Vers libren ensimäisenä käyttäjänä Virossa
hän muodosti aikoinaan terveellisen oppositsion, joskin hän itse
myöhemmissä runokokoelmissaan on palannut sidottuihin mittoihin.
Teosofisen mailmankatsomuksen mystillisyys määrää hänen
runoutensa sävyn, joka yhä vieläkin on filosofisen raskasta,
rakenteeltaan taipuvaa jonkinlaiseen kaavamaisuuteen, usein
hämärää, joskus kuitenkin onnistuen puhkaisemaan mystillisyyden
kuoren ja saaden silloin omituisen kohtalokkaalta kaikuvan sävyn.
 Yksinäinen ilmiö virolaisessa runoudessa on Juhan Liiv (synt.
1864). Alkujaan novellistina esiinnyttyään, on hän myöhemmin
vuosien kuluessa vaikeaa hermotautia sairastaessaan ryhtynyt
lyyrilliseen runoiluun. Hänen runoutensa on sairaitten aivojen
runoutta. Jo runoissa alituisesti uudistuvassa sanojen ja kokonaisten
säkeitten kerrossa tuntee ikäänkuin sairaalloisen idée fixen
kiduttavan takaa-ajon; kerran herännyt mielikuva uudistuu ja
kertautuu yhä väsyneitten aivojen ponnistuksesta huolimatta.
Samasta syystä on hänen runoillaan improvisatorinen luonne, hänen
sairaasta sielustaan kumpuaa hajanaisia, joskus synkkiä, joskus
kultaisia kuvia, jotka järjestyvät melkein satunnaisuudella säkeiksi,
ilman taiteellisen tietoisuuden ohjausta. Siitä Liivin runojen usein
naivi viehättävyys ja yllättävä leima ja niitten taiderunoudesta eroava
luonnonrunoilijan sävy sekä taiteelliseen arvoon nähden suuri
epätasaisuus. Hänen runonsa on Noor-Eesti erittäin taiteellisesti ja
koristeellisesti huolitellussa asussa julkaissut, Juhan Liivi Luuletused
(Juhan Liivin runot) v. 1910.

Viron kirjallisuus ja sitä myöten laulurunouskin on tällä hetkellä

virkeässä, joskaan ei erittäin nopeakulkuisessa kehityskaudessa.
Sen myöhempi kehitys on tietysti eroittamattomasti yhdistetty eri
kykyjen ja runoilijapersoonallisuuksien lopullisen kehityksen
mahdollisuuksiin. Toivoa täytyy, että Viron harvinaisen runsaat
henkiset ainehistot tulisivat runollisesti käsitellyiksi ja siten liittyisivät
elimellisenä osana yleisinhimilliseen taidepääomaan.

Lähteitä:

Oskar Kallas, Übersicht über das sammeln estnischer runen.

Gustav Suits: Die estnische Literatur y.m.

VANA KANNEL
LAULUN AIKA

Paras lauluaeg

Nyt on hetki helkytellä, viikko virttä vieritellä, ilta impien

ilota; viel' on aika vaiti jäädä, hetki laulujen levätä, kun on
kuollunna kuvolla, olkein päälle oikaistuna, vainajana
vuotehella, valkolautojen välissä.

Kun on alla mustan mullan, alla hiekan harmahtavan.

ÄIDIN HAUDALLA

Ema haual

Olen mieron orpolapsi, koito ilman kannen alla, ei ole

armon antajata, eikä pään silittäjätä, tuima tuuli armahteli,
päivän paiste pään silitti.

Pidot päätyi, juhlat joutui, toiset kulki kaupunkihin, luokse

tuttujen torilla. Minä minne mieron lapsi, kuhun astun
angervoinen?

Astun haudalle emoni, kalmistohon kantajani, itkuhuivinen

pivossa, huoliraidat huivisessa. »Nouse, nouse, äityeni,
neuvomahan nurmen alta, valmistele vakkaseni, kiinnitä
kapiokirstu!»

Emo haudasta havasi:

»Tytär, lieto lintuseni, matalainen marjueni! En voi nousta

nurmen alta, koivu kasvoi kaulalleni, silmille kukat siniset,
kulmilleni kulleroiset.»
 »Nouse, nouse, äityeni! Tuon Virusta viikattehen, niitän
nurmet kummun päältä, heinät katkon haudan päältä, silmiltä
kukat siniset, kulmiltasi kulleroiset.»

»Tytär nuori! en voi nousta, mull' on suussa mullan tuntu,

rinnassani ristin tuntu, käsissäni kalman tuntu.

»Nouse, nouse, äityeni! Vien Viruhun vihtomahan, saatan

Suomen saunasehen, suusta huuhdon mullan tunnun,
käsistäsi kalman tunnun.»

»Tytär nuori! en voi nousta, mull' on kolme kaitsijata:

pieluksissa Tuonen poika, tyttö Tuonen jalkapäässä, välill' itse
vanha Tuoni. Pyydä haavalta hameita, leppäpuulta linnikoita»

Mailma sua suojatkohon, armas Luoja auttakohon!

VANHA POLVI VAINOPOLVI

Vana aeg oli vaenoaega

Vanha polvi vainopolvi, piinapolvi pitkällinen, orjapolvi

ohdakkeinen, angervoinen arpiaika, surullinen sorronaika.
Vaivasivat vainonhenget, papin helmet painelivat, riistivät rajut
ritarit, rosvoparvet ryöstelivät, mellastivat murhamiekat!

Pelto syötti saksalaista, laidun meille leivän tuotti,

kanervikko kasvatteli, avun antoivat akanat.
KYLLÄ TIEDÄN ORJAN KIUSAT

Minä tiijä orja elo

Siskoseni, sirkkuseni, matalainen marjueni! älä kuule orjan

kieltä, älä paimenen puhetta, tiedusta toki minulta, kysy multa
kullaiselta, — kyllä tiedän orjan kiusat, orjan kiusat, raukan
räähkät: orja orrella viruvi, orvon vuode vaajan päällä;
palkollisen parren päällä, kun tuo parsi painahtuvi, kiikkuvi
kiverä orsi, uni orjan on ohitse, rauha raatajan lopussa, orja
oitis hyörimähän, orpolapsi liikkumahan.
MITEN IMPYEN IHANUUS?

Kui pikk on neiu piduda?

Olkaa nopsat, neitiseni, rientäessänne ripeät, pian saapuu

syksyilmat, talvipilvet taivahalle.

Miten impyen ihanuus? kuinka kauan kauneutta? niinkuin

vihma virven päällä, kaste heinän helpehellä, ruoste ruohon
latvasessa; niinkuin on omenan onni, kaalinkukkasen
kukoistus, herneen hennon heilimöinti.

Niin on impyen ihanuus.

VÄKIVALLOIN SUUTELIJA

Suisa suud

Läksin luutoa lehosta vastaksia varvikosta, vaskiluutaa

vainiolta, tinaluutaa tien polulta.

Saavuin Sulevin mäelle,

Sulevin, Kalevin mäelle,
seisoi siellä Sulevpoika,

Sulevpoika, Kalevpoika, vaati se väkisin suuta, kysyi kättä

kiusaellen.

Suonut en väkisin suuta, enkä kättä kiusaellen.

Vedin veitseni terävän, puukon kirkkahan povesta, syöksin

miehen sydämehen, väkisin Sulevipojan, Kalevpojan
kiusaellen,

läpi vartensa verevän, läpi poskensa punaisen, tukan halki

tummahiuksen.

Itse itkien kotihin, kallotellen kartanolle.

 Saapui maammo, saapui taatto, vastaan vanhukset
molemmat. Maammo kysyi mairitellen, taatto taitavin saneli:

»Mitä itket, neiti nuori?»

»Sitä itken taattoseni, sitä itken ja valitan, sitä itken, äiti

rukka, sitä, maammoni, valitan: läksin luutoa lehosta,
vastaksia varvikosta, vaskiluutaa vainiolta, tinaluutaa tien
polulta. Saavuin Sulevin mäelle, Sulevin, Kalevin mäelle,
seisoi siellä Sulevpoika Sulevpoika, Kalevpoika. Vaati se
väkisin suuta, kysyi kättä kiusaellen. Suonut en väkisin suuta,
enkä kättä kiusaellen, vedin veitseni terävän, puukon
kirkkahan povesta, syöksin miehen sydämehen, väkisin
Sulevipojan, Kalevpojan kiusaellen, läpi vartensa verevän,
läpi poskensa punasen, tukan halki tummahiuksen.»

Maammo varsin vastaeli:

»Terve sulle, neiti nuori! kaitsemastas kunniasi, suuren

koiran surmastas!»
KOLME ONNETONTA

Kolm vaest

Onpa kolme onnetonta, taivaan alla angervoa. Yksi on

emoton impi, toinen on isoton poika, kolmas koito leskivaimo.

Miks itki emoton impi?

Vakan itki vaalijata, kapioitten katsojata.

Miks itki isoton poika?

Auransa asettajata, auran kurjen kirjojata.

Miks valitti leskivaimo?

Itki suun sukostajata, kainalossa kantajata.

Kun itki emoton impi, siihen lähde läikähteli. Kun itki isoton
poika, siihen kaivo kumpueli, kun valitti leskivaimo, siihen
lammikko levisi, kasosi kalainen järvi.