Has the nation lost it?
* We are going nowhere, fast. Everything has a racial undertone. Every event becomes a political football. Sanity and logic and decency are no longer the bases for action. Look at this London episode. The PPP comes out in support of the Government (as if there is difference) and the actions of the police force. And the other party goes to the 'funeral' of the slain hoodlum, and joins in the celebration of this new instant 'hero.' Have we, as a nation, lost it? Have we created a blur between right and wrong? One cannot defend the indefensible. You just cannot blow away a human who surrenders (after negotiation) with his hands in the air! Full stop, no comma. Similarly, you cannot pay 'respects' to a dangerous and remorseless bandit. That is shameful political gimmickry (which might come back to haunt you). All these jokey excuses about London having escaped before (therefore he could have escaped this time - yeah right), and that the heat from the fire was exploding ammunition are just balderdash and humbug. His hands were in the air and he was on fire, end of story. Adrenaline was surging in the veins of the policemen after eleven hours of volatile confrontation, and nerves were frayed. Come out and say clearly: We police are not the brightest, capable of educated thought processes in a crisis situation, so we snapped and he died. As to the other fellow, well, he is a politician. Need I say more. Yes, I do. We need to question his judgement on this one. * On a personal level all the above should lead each and every one of us to some soul-searching, relative to the whole concept of the punishment of vicious criminals. Let me state from the outset that I am very ambivalent about the hangings and wanton killings of (not by) criminals - alleged or proven. It does not help to assuage my own dilemma, when in an airport discussion with a prominent citizen, he admits that he too doesn't have a fixed opinion on the matter. Let me explain my quandary. As far as I can ascertain, the official killing of criminals has a four-fold objective:
i) Deterrence Number (i) does not work. Violent crime is on the rise. And with people like London being made heroes, the incidence will only increase. While carrying out a violent act (murder), no one thinks of the possible penalty. Number (ii) has some logic. Once the desperado is hanged, he/she cannot again commit a criminal act against society. Number (iii) is a difficult one. It goes against religious ethics and sends the unchristian message (not lastly to children) that all negative actions must be retributively equal to punishment to the act committed. But the Mosaic law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth has been equated with uncivilised barbarism, the law of the desert. Number (iv) Revenge, is the worst reason for hanging a man, or shooting him down like an animal. Though it might placate the family of the criminal's victim, this reasoning has no place in a civilised society. You see my problem with capital punishment. * But you know, while all this mayhem is going on around us, there still is a vestige of decent people who can make humanity in Guyana proud. And even when they die, they leave a legacy of compassion and virtue. I will mention briefly one such person. I started my scholastic life at a bottom-house school in Waterloo street many decades ago. I, and so many others got our grounding at that little garage school. Some of the pupils graduated to become famous names in Guyana, while others earned great reputations in foreign lands. In that little school we all received our first exposure to discipline. And with that came fixity of purpose and the wish not only to finish everything we began, but to do it with pride and excellence. Who nurtured our little minds? Who instilled in us that nucleus of knowing rightness and wrongness? Whose school was that? Ms Lynette Dolphin, that's who. We met from time to time at functions and other occasions, and I never did tell her what she meant to me. And now it is too late. There are those who will argue that she served a master who might have personified wrongness. I think that, being an eternal optimist, she would have seen the bigger picture and would have felt that only good would emerge in the end, and that our fledging arts and culture, as wobbly as they might be, could not finally be contained or wholly contaminated. May you rest in peace, dear Miss Dolphin. * I saw another icon on the seawall last week Sunday. He was as effervescent as ever, this time conducting the Mashramani Masquerade Band Competition. As in the case of Miss Dolphin, one could see the decency in this man as he tried to handle the at times unruly crowd. I speak of Bill Pilgrim. In dealing with the crudeness of some members of the public, I could feel his vexation, even hurt. At one point, he threatened to take points away from a band, if the public did not behave. Of course, that brought even more crowd reaction, since it was felt that one could not penalise the performers, because of the crowd's unruliness. In fact, in the end, the band was brought back to perform, and I don't think points were deducted. I should mention, however, that the band, whose main dancer was the Caribbean King, was great. The king has moves that the younger competitors could not match. His gyrations parallelled the fife, kettle and drum flawlessly. In fact, in addition to throwing money in the ring, the crowd threw entire wallets and purses and even one handbag. (That's when Bill got angry; well, as angry as Bill can get - which is not very expressive). I hope the 'Caribbean King' is crowned this year, but even if he is not, I feel good knowing that this art form is still in good hands (in good feet, rather), since all the young dancers displayed great energy and timing and a feel for this very unique rhythm. * And while all this was going on, there was a programme on 98.1 FM hosted by Basil B. A number was played at 18.37 hours, the refrain of which was "Coolie, Coolie." Now, I have taken umbrage (CCC 6.2.2000) with the Breakfast Show's item which was defamatory to our Chinese brethren. So, I cannot let this pass. We have got to be more sensitive to other people's feelings. And don't tell me that it was an Indian band that was playing the Rock Steady music. The vocalist might not let certain negative words, concepts and connotations slip through. ACDA, I'm sure, would rightfully be up in arms, if the air waves would be blasting the "N" word. Happy Republic Day. MASH up but don't mash up
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