…at the political “other”
For years and years, when female Guyanese wanted to put down someone they had issues with, they engage in a “cuss out/down”, “expletives” vividly describing acts and parts of the anatomy connected with sexual activities. This evolved, like all good theatre into performances that may have several acts and utilise various props – like making noise with pots and pans. In proper company, one may substitute the term “suh and suh” for the actual cuss word: like saying “Shut yuh suh and suh mouth!”
Called a “cuss down”, this activity could – and did – sometimes break out into fights. But usually, would just allow the two combatants – and sometimes their partisans – to “air their disagreements”. These cuss downs – using the standard substitutes – are regularly displayed in Parliament when they “debate” contentious issues. They call it “heckling”, but obviously they have no notion of what they’re talking about since they display none of the wit that’s de rigueur for heckling.
A milder form of the “cuss down” in Guyana is to “throw talk”. Here oblique expressions about the person at the receiving end are expressed aloud in their presence. While both the “thrower” and the “throwee” of the “talk” know what’s going on, it allowed the thrower a way out of a possible confrontation by pretending he/she didn’t know what was REALLY being said. Members of Parliament are always throwing talk. The tip-off is when they begin a remark with “The Honourable member…” Like in “The Honourable Member would know the contract for the Speciality Hospital wasn’t put out for bidding because someone was getting a cut in the side.”
But, of recent, the expression “throwing talk” is being slowly replaced by “throwing shade”. Basically they mean the same thing, but, as usual, because “throwing shade” is of foreign origin, it’s now becoming the “in” expression to show you’re in the know. It seemed to have replaced the word “dissed” which in any case was being used by younger types for situations where they wanted to openly disrespect another either verbally or non-verbally.
Throwing shade in Parliament would be like when a member tells another, “Dominica is NOT the same as “Dominican Republic”. The latter is where those girls you were having a good time with comes from.” The words would be accompanied with a facial expression – a curl of the lip, a raised eyebrow, etc – that makes it obvious an insult is intended.
But with all the shade being thrown at our Honourable politicians – all’s not lost in Guyana’s politics.
At least up to now, they haven’t descended from “suh and suh” cuss down to hair pulling!!
…examples by Trump
While your Eyewitness wouldn’t be able to describe the facial expressions that accompany “throwing shade”, since the latter originated in the US, just think of Donald Trump during his debates. Any one of them! Like when he insisted all Muslims should be banned from entering the US, but explained condescendingly, “I have Muslim friends, Greta, and they’re wonderful people”!!
Trump doesn’t confine throwing shade at his political rivals – he’s gone after women in general. He once tweeted that Arianna Huffington “is unattractive both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man—he made a good decision”. Then there’s that feud with TV interviewer Megan Fox, which started after she asked him whether his descriptions of various women (“pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals”) suggested he didn’t have the temperament to be president. Calling her a “Bimbo,” he continued with a sneer, “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes–blood coming out of her wherever.”
But he insisted he wasn’t talking about her menstrual cycle!
…retort
But others have decided if they can’t beat Trump at throwing shade, they might as well join him. Recently, Hillary Clinton described his hair as: “one strand that he swirls over his head like a soft serve at Dairy Queen!!”
