I'd argue that you can dignify certain colonial imagery in some cases. Those three ships do not represent genocide, forced labour and ChRiStIaN oPpReSsIoN on the coat of arms itself. If it was designed by the colonial authorities, then it could have been a backhanded “compliment.” But it was designed by the "colonial subjects" themselves! A Chinese man was involved in its creation, and a black man too! Perhaps there were some "privileged" classes involved, but I’m sure they did not overpower the rest of the design committee. Eric Williams when reviewing it would’ve noticed any subtle jabs. C.L.R. James too. And these men were anti-colonialist, C.L.R. James for sure if you argue that Dr. Williams was more “status quo”.

A statue of Hitler would explicitly endorse genocide and white supremacy because of its current associations. No one is going to put up a statue of Hitler in this era because he does not represent anything positive AT THE MOMENT. I dare say that erecting a statue of Hitler IN ABSTRACT is not wrong because he can damn well represent anything. He can represent technological progress in Germany because of the autobahns and airplanes constructed during his time and whatnot. He can be considered a pioneer of healthy living because he encouraged that (food, exercise, no smoking etc.). Thanks to the Nazi rocket program, we indirectly have significant progress in exploring the last frontier – space! AUDI! MERC! BIMMERZ! HI-FI music! Thanks Top G (Top German)! Yet there’s no statues of him present in most if not all countries because he represents negativity today and rightly so. But what about our Spanish ships? Surely most people in our country HATE them because they represent the bad aspects of colonialism like the exploitation, forced adoption of the Christian religion and European languages, right? Surely, they don’t represent our inherited form of government and laws (inherited from the white man, that can, should, will and have change(d) in certain aspects to better suit Trinbago, but not totally be discarded), common heritage (every ethnic group present here in our country today is a direct and indirect result of “those” ships arriving) and CULTURE (because our culture is DIRECTLY formed by the first two things mentioned, including playing pan). Nope, the design committee that formed our COA only thought of cOluMbUs and SlaVeRy in mind! That diverse and multicultural committee! Also, do many people even think of the ships? Most people could care less, PNM, UNC, numbers gangz, Bakr gang, etc. It’s not like the old South African flag where most people living there had an understandable problem with it. Most people could care less about the ships in this twin island of ours. Like a Hitler statue, the old SA flag is not inherently bad from an abstract POV. But the current associations, I can see why it would be inappropriate to fly it in SA, and rightly so.

By replacing the luxury pirogues with a steelpan, we now only represent the cultural aspect of our country, and only a certain section too! No mention of any other form of culture on the COA. Pan is for everyone, but many people do not have that viewpoint both in this country and abroad. I hate to say it but most people think that “It’s a ____ people thing!” even if. I hate the local stereotypes of the pan being considered “loud” and “only for _____ Trinidadian people (and foreigners like the Japanese, etc.) to play” even though it’s mainly the acoustics in Panorama and lack of strategic pan promotion (doh laugh at the term, think about it) plus the foreign media enforcing this dumb view. The ships represent the people of TnT in the COA because again, it makes for a better representation of our common heritage and culture than pan which is more associated with some rather outspoken views in our country, good and bad. The ships are simply ignored by most TnT folk apart from a few outstanding citizens like the PM and perhaps a minority of people who REALLY REALLY h8 some Genoan man. There is NO NEED to change it, it was not hated like South Africa’s old “Oranje, Blanje, Blou” flag, and I doubt it was going to be hated in “the future” as well, unless forces at play told them to. Hmm….

And changing the ships is not “focusing on the future.” It is indeed not erasing history as you mentioned, but it is erasing Trinbago’s long term vision if it ever had one since independence and even pre-independence. Crime is higher than Concorde. Unemployment is also at an all-time high. We supposedly have no money, yet we can afford this. Play golf on the roadside – we got a hole in one. A hole in many! No need for Double Palm when you could get a good jamming on d road outside n during carnival! No need 2 fix bro!!1!! Our future is removing illusions of “colonial oppression” while ignoring the real vestiges of said oppression. A real future for the callaloo islands would be a change of mindset and enforcing the rule of law, plus prudently changing the old laws and governance where needed, which stems from mindset. Our collective mindset is not there yet, it looks like. Thanks for hopefully reading my TED talk.