So ah was jus macoin some blogs .... an' ah bounce up bandi post about Republic Bank and dey NO HATS  policy .... which inspired me tuh deposit my two cents ..... cuz is since last year I want tuh talk about dis ..... yeah .....

Cuz back in early 2010 ..... while headin tuh de Cashiers ...... at de Starlite branch of Republic Bank ..... I noticed a strange poster stick-up on de wall ..... it looked kinda like how ah NO ENTRY sign does look ..... but wit ah HAT ...... so of course ..... the maco in me immediately sought clarification ..... cuz I have tuh admit ..... I was baffled ...... cuz what de heck did dat sign really mean ..... NO HATS??!!





Well ..... turns out ..... that's exactly what it meant ..... NO ENTRY WIT HAT!

Apparently ..... Republic Bank conducted extensive research (I assume) ..... and concluded that the majority of bandits who was perpetrating crime in and around de Bank ..... was doin so ..... wearin hats ..... which was being used tuh conceal dey identity ....





Now I wasn't dey ..... I wasn't part of de research team ..... so ah hadda take dey word fuh it ..... but ...... puttin aside all de security tralala ..... ah have tuh admit ..... dat meh initial reaction was one of peeve-ness eh ...... cuz Iz ah gyul does wear hats ..... an' I doh really wear hats fuh no style scene ..... or fuh no religious scene or nuttin like dat ..... I does wear hats cuz is shame ah shame ..... yes ..... cuz 9 outta 10 times when I put orn ah hat ..... is because my hair tangle-up ..... an' it cyah comb ..... so could you imagine ..... I gorn eeeeeen de Bank ..... in meh relatively decent attire ..... tuh pay meh lil bills an' ting (and deposit meh two cents) ..... and dem tell me tuh take orf my hat ..... and my ramffle, knot-up hair get expose ..... SHAME!!!

Ah was peeve too .... cuz ah jus knew .... that that was yet another opportunity  ..... fuh peeps in so-called authority (aka security guards) ..... tuh ack ah fool .....

And I knew that it was just a matter of time ..... which arrived on Jan 7  ..... when ah man went eeen de Siparia branch of Republic Bank tuh conduct business ..... an' dey tell him tuh take off he hat cuz dey have ah no-hat policy .... an' he refuse an' start tuh cuss an' ting sayin he bankin dey fuh 32 years blah blah blah ..... after which ..... de Manager tell him dat dey go close he account and post him he money ......





Now I had a serious problem wit dat story eh ..... cuz clearly a hat .... is not a hat ..... is not a hat ..... an' it eh have nuttin tuh do wit de man bein ah Rasta wit ah long-ass dreadlocks tryin tuh contain he hair ..... or de man belongin tuh de Rastafarian faith ..... or de scene being discriminatory because Muslims still allowed tuh wear dey Burka ..... and Baptists allowed tuh wear dey head wrap ..... and Hindus allowed tuh wear dey Orhni .....

Dat story was about ..... STUPIDITY!!!!

Because I eh care how much Republic Bank tryin tuh protect dey customers ..... dat NO HAT scene cyah be ah hard and fast rule ...... cuz real rastas does wear hats ..... and fuh obvious reasons ...... not because dey is bandits ..... cancer patients does wear hats ...... and fuh obvious reasons ..... not because dey is bandits ..... an' on top ah dat ..... is Trinidad and Tobago we livin in ..... de @#$%^ tropics ..... sun whole day ...... people does wear hats!! ..... an' ah know dat dis is ah kyna scene where Peter payin fuh Paul eh ...... but geeeez ..... I jus so fed up of having tuh adjust my law-abiding life ..... because of bandits!!!

Now because I generally follow rules ..... and I'm not an antagonist or a confrontational person ..... I know now that whenever I have tuh go tuh Republic Bank ..... I need tuh not wear ah hat and comb my hair ..... but not everybody like me ..... look jus de odda day ..... a friend of mine ..... AH RASTA ..... went eeeeen said Bank ..... wit ah hat orn ..... mind you ..... it was de knitted kind that fits kinda at de back of yuh head containin jus de dreadlocks ..... and ..... as he walk eeeen ..... de security tell him dat he cyah wear he hat ..... my boy jus reply ..... 'eh heh?!' ..... conducted his business ...... and left ...... no scene ..... now had it not been fuh de common sense dat prevailed ..... this scenario coulda been a lot different ..... an' is not like ah condonin fren non-compliance eh ...... but rather ..... I'm applauding the security guard's discretion ...... because I guess it was obvious ...... that the style hat that fren was wearing ...... didn't cause no obscuration of his face ...... which is what de whole NO HAT shit it about ......
 
Anyway ..... I could go on and on ..... but de gist of what I'm saying is ..... people need tuh stop operatin in robot mode!! ...... when you are told tuh do shit ..... yuh need tuh try an' understand de logic behind it ...... so just as us customers kinda get de logic behind de NO HAT ..... so too must de security guards and bank staff ..... cuz again ...... all hats are not equal ..... some discretion and common sense need tuh come into play ..... it can't be that every single hat dat walk eeen de Bank ..... must come off!!!


PS:   I find it strange dat none of de odda Banks eh jump on dis groundbreaking crime fighting scene yet!