VishMahabir posted:"...how many Indians take the time to understand how blacks felt under the PPP"
Not many...
...but this is the crux of the problem, with Guyana being a divided ethnic society where a win for one group is a loss for the other...racial politics leads to zero-sum politics. The answer is "not many" because Indians see Jagdeo as a "demi-God" in the same way that Afros would consider Granger. The sword cuts both ways...you cant simply blame one group and not the other (before the 23, there was 28).
An Indo can raise the same question about a number of issues also...such as why are so many Indos fired from govt positions, why is the govt so callous towards the sugar workers...yes, I get it...Afros can make the same points about disrespect, discrimination, etc towards Afros under the PPP...its an endless vicious circle of racial distrust ...with no end in sight.
Guyana lost the chance to bridge the racial gap when Dr. Rodney was assassinated.
However....I have made this point before....this problem can only be addressed by the political elites who have to set the norm, change the culture and focus on the politics of accommodation...
Instead, politicians perpetuate the problem and the rank and file gets fed the same bile.
This is why I think Ronan misses the Big Picture about Volda's rhetoric...which if not tempered will evoke and perpetuate a similar reaction. Sopporters take their cue from their leaders.
"..And this is important because many aren't going to tolerate
a return of that era"
Two points about this statement:
1) I believe you are right about this (because Indos do not understand the extent to which the last PPP admin is despised...Luncheon statement, Crum Ewing, 400 Afros killed, Waddell and such). This is why I have argued that there is no guarantee that the next election will be free and fair (fear of PPP, experience with rigging, the LGE being a wake up call, etc).
2) However, here is where I have a problem with the argument you are making. By condemning Jagdeo and the PPP you are not leaving any hope for redemption of the PPP. Jagdeo cannot run, and there is not guarantee that his successor will be a rubber stamp. It is probably healthy to have a one term govt, and one can only hope that the PPP, should they win in 2020, would be cautioned about the wanton corruption of its past ways....especially if the coalition can get a few convictions.
1. Based on my FB page most posters are unhappy with Volda's remarks. These are mainly blacks as the Indians seem silent, waiting to see how blacks react. I cannot recall similar reactions when Jagdeo and others made anti black comments. Like when Rohee's daughter made highly bigoted comments about blacks and Rohee defended her and her remarks were deleted from FB. I recall excuses being made by Indians.
2. I have said many times that creole Guyanese (African, mixed and Portuguese) can see beyond ethnicity and perceive themselves as "Guyanese" more easily than Indians seem to be able to do. So this is why when a black person engages in ethnically inflammatory behavior (intended or not) blacks will more readily condemn it. It is just easier for them to SOMETIMES transcend their "blackness" and see themselves as "Guyanese". Apparently Indians are less able to, even if they do wish to condemn inflammatory remarks by an Indo Guyanese leader. It appears as if they fear censure from their own Indians, so remain silent.
3. Rest assured that there is no similarity in how Granger, or Volda are seen by grass roots blacks. Harmon is in fact hated by them. Look at how the APNU has selected an Indian to run its stronghold, a place where maybe as many as 50% of their votes will have to come from in 2020. They are willing and able to take this risk because they know that if this Indian, who will be mayor, shows objectivity his "Indianness" will not be held against him. Can the PPP take the same chances in regions 3 or 6 where most of their votes come from?
And you are correct. Based on its track record I cannot see the PPP as anything other than an Indian dominated entity which has no respect for people of African descent. The onus is on the PPP to prove me wrong. I judge the PPP from their behavior since 1957. Given my age the only image I have of that entity is one which is hostile to my very being as a human. So don't tell me about 1953 to 1957 because I like 95% of the population wasn't born then.
To quote a Buxtonian who reacted to Jagdeo calling the entire village a "bunch of savages", the PPP "are a bunch of black haters". This said at a forum in Brooklyn to senior PPP officials who encountered a very hostile crowd after Jagdeo had the phantoms slaughtering blacks, the good, bad and the innocent willy nilly.
Note that when this accusation was said NONE of these PPP officials were able to mount a defense of the PPP because they knew that blatant lies would further enrage an already angry crowd.