Buggery, noise nuisance and dancing Cabinet ministers
If you follow football, you would know the name Gary Neville. He was one of the famous English names during his playing days. He is now a known football commentator. Neville said that Prime Minister Boris Johnson contributes to racist behaviour among spectators by his incessant negative comments on immigration.
Neville’s remarks were made on Saturday, in 2019, but since two years ago, Americans have been blaming President Trump’s racist tones for the deluge of White racist, far-right attacks on non-white Americans.
When important actors – individuals, groups, organizations, institutions – that have power, status and wealth are perceived by certain strata in society as hypocritical and uncaring, it lets loose anger and alienation that results in violent, twisted, dehumanizing behaviour. Society loses its moral compass and the less educated, the less civilized, the less fortunate become beastly.
In large nations with enormous populations, powerful people can get away with their hypocrisy because huge sections of the population hardly know what goes on in the central cities. Not so in countries with very small populations. In such places, there are no secrets. Everybody knows everybody.
The words immediately below are likely to bring out one of two attitudes in you.
Either you will accuse me of embellishing this column for effect or you will say I am “bigging” up myself. The paragraphs to follow are about things that happened to me. The reason for this description is to emphasize the point that people in Guyana know who is who and who does what to whom.
I have the phenomenal experience of encountering dirty, smelly, half-naked homeless and really insane people by the road corners where I stop for the red light or on the seawall or walking on the roadways. Some of them would look at me and say, “Kissoon nuh”, or Freddie Kissoon nuh.”
When you look at these people, you would think they don’t know where or what is Guyana, who or what is the Guyana Police Force, or who or what is a traffic light. But these types have recognized me on countless occasions the past umpteen years.
They may be crazy and living on the streets, but they know what happens in the place they dwell. My point is that we are so tiny a population that even the homeless and demented ones living in another mental world have some knowledge of what goes on here.
A 9-year-old is alleged to have buggered a 6-year-old. How do you explain this descent into nihilism in Guyana? Could it be that he was brought up in a home where his keepers were poor and helpless, and they witnessed the hypocrisy of those with power and wealth who should be the ones to look up to?
Space will prevent a long discussion, so I will spend the rest of the column on what took place on Sunday morning from midnight to 2am on the car park of MovieTowne. There was an open air soca concert. It was advertised daily on radio stations for two weeks before Sunday. On Wednesday last, I called Assistant Commissioner Thomas, who is the commander for Region 4.
He told me he knew nothing about such an upcoming concert, and that it is not the police that give permission, but a magistrate (see my column of Thursday, December 5, 2019 ‘Movie Towne, Guyana Carnival, a magistrate and a failed state’). After the publication of my column, I received some calls and email informing me that Mr. Thomas was not accurate. The magistrate only approves after the fire service and the police give endorsing statements.
As the decibels were creating absolute insanity for nearby residents, I called Mr. Thomas at 1.30 am. I bluntly told him he misled me. He responded that it is a process. I kept asking him if his office gave permission. He kept saying it is a process. He said the music can only be stopped after 2am, because permission was given for 2am.
I concluded my discussion with Mr. Thomas without knowing who gave the organizers permission to hold an open air concert at MovieTowne car park in a residential area where thousands of citizens live.
At midnight, I received several calls informing me that ministers of the government were at the concert, imbibing and dancing. I live across the road from Movie Towne. I didn’t drive. I walked over. Ministers of the government that should show moral example by enforcing the anti-noise rules were indeed having the time of their lives. Do you understand now why the 6-year-old was allegedly buggered by a lad just 9 years old?
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)
