By Stephen Kangal
December 23, 2007
The Manning Ministers have been selectively and actively preaching that the issue of instituting measures to arrest the crime pandemic will always be treated as a politically non-partisan matter. But PM Manning will not practice it and come out from his political crease when the occasion demands.
Mr.Winston Dookeran a former MP, Central Bank Governor and Leader of 148,000 citizens who are now without representation in Parliament, pounded the pavement and endured the pouring rains in front of Whitehall on Thursday with a large group of followers. His mission was to highlight publicly the further escalation of murders and the impotence of the Manning Cabinet in being able to reduce and stem the rising tide.
A group headed by Mr. Dookeran attempted to deliver to the Government the results of dedicated work by COP that gave rise to an impressive one hundred point anti-crime plan. But he only succeeded in having an audience with a “post-box” adviser, Herbert Atwell.
PM Manning would have made a most powerful statement had he symbolically telegraphed that crime was indeed the “numero uno” issue and was being treated by his Government as politically non-partisan. He would have conveyed this message, cognisant of the co-operative conduct of the COP to his Government on the Bail Bill, had he excused himself from Cabinet Meeting at noon to meet Mr. Dookeran personally for five minutes. Or he could have sent his failing Minister of National Security to receive the Plan for the cameras. But no, T&T is the patrimony of the PNM by divine right.
But true to his post -Uganda pronouncements everybody must now shut up! Mediocrity is in charge.
His Ministers taking their cue from the PM now also see everything with political lenses. Instead of showing graciousness for a vote of confidence and competence in him from the COP in calling for him to be Minister of National Security, Minister Keith Rowley has to utter some foolish, arrogant diatribe about the PNM appointing ministers (when they do not) and some garbling nonsense about ‘elections over”.
Why must the members of the PNM Administration conveniently assess all serious, solutions-based proposals from non-PNM forces in raw political, partisan terms? Does the ailing and bungling Manning Administration have all the answers for effective governance?
In the post-elections period I am detecting a hardening of the escalation of arrogance on the part of Manning, Imbert and Rowley in their latest responses to crime (Panday), Parliament inauguration and the COP Crime Plan respectively.
Can anyone in the mileu of Trinidad and Tobago politics claim this distinction? Can Kangal claim this distinction?
As long as we continue to point at the mote in our brother’s eye while ignoring the large beam that is in ours, non-partisan politics in Trinidad and Tobago will be, as Bob Marley eloquently stated, “a fleeting illusion to be perceived, but never attained”. And that’s a pity.
Everytime Mr. Manning’s arrogant, or maximum-leader style of governance is noted, it reminds how short our political memory really is. Mr Panday was killing us (figuratively, of course) with his overbearing arrogance and fiery disposition, and this style of self-absorbed leadership really goes all the way back to the Father of the Nation. What then is the point in distinguishing Manning? All of T&T Prime Ministers have been like this!!As Ruel correctly laments, none can claim non-partisanship in public affairs, and certainly none have thrown politics out of the window for the greater good of the country. That, I think, is one of the primary weaknesses in T&T’s political landscape. How we can overcome this, is left to be seen.
I agree with the comments. Didn’t this same Dookeran refuse to rise above partisanship and take on the role of statesmanship by refusing to have anything at all to do with Panday? To me that was hari-kari behaviour by Mr. Dookeran as Panday, whatever our opinion of him is, showed that he HAD birds in hand. So does Manning. Dookeran was looking in the bush for birds while Pannday was asking him to share his bird by joining up. A bird in hand is two million in the bush, any day any time.
The premise of this discussion is silly. It might be interesting to hear from Mr. Kangal when (in our history) have we had a non-partisan prime minister? With the coming of age of the two-party system and the partisan discourse with which we see and express ourselves, the word non-partisan is a misnomer.
I believe that non-partisanship has to start in the parliament of T&T, as strange as it may sound. We need to have government and opposition agreeing of important issues of nation building where one does not have to see himself/herself as UNC, COP or PNM but as a citizen of T&T. Simple issues as crime and road fatalities shouled not carry the highly partisan labels that exist today. I think one way to work towards non-partisanship is to create new think-tanks that would tackle issues of national importance and then bring them to the floor seeking at all times objectivity towards a consensus.
Mr. Kangal would be wise to show non-partisanship in his writing if he thinks that it is a critical issues facing the population.
I am shocked at the naivete displayed in the premise of this argument. It appears to be a presumption that those serving the primary interests of foreign capital would suddenly declare a truce in order to tend to the pressing problems facing the masses.
The historical precedent is simply lacking. A society stratified on the basis of class, compounded by a divide and rule strategy devised by unscrupulous politicians, requires citizen action for any progress to be achieved. TnT may have more than one political party but these have one agenda. If banks were being robbed, production of natural gas and oil were being sabotaged on a daily basis, as is the case with the commission of murders, kidnappings amd mayhem, the urgency, decisiveness and resourcefulness would have been astounding.
There is not a penny’s worth of difference between the vulgar posturing of Manning and Panday who are but two sides of the same coin. They may travel by different routes and use different methods but their objectives are identical. Foreign capital must be served and protected. In this regard there is no partisan quarrel.
The victimized poor and working people must make demands and take action to force this government and its so-called opposition to do what must be done.
There is not a penny’s worth of difference between the vulgar posturing of Manning and Panday who are but two sides of the same coin. They may travel by different routes and use different methods but their objectives are identical. Foreign capital must be served and protected. In this regard there is no partisan quarrel.
Actually I believe that there is a wide chasm of difference between Patrick Manning and Panday. In fact I will go so far and submit to you that there is probably an enormous chasm of difference between the Leaders of the other political parties and most of their senior members, and Panday the Leader of the UNC. Because regardless of the faults that can be laid at their doors, I seriously doubt that any of them would be willing to wallow in the stinking bottom feeding mudlike recent behaviour of Mr Panday.
They obviously have a threshold where decency is concerned. Panday glaringly do not.
What you are arguing about is style of leadership. I am talking about substance. Not about one prefers a black tie over a brown one. Get deeper and even you would probably agree that there is no substantive difference between a Manning or Panday regime. Crime–out of control. Housing–poor. Prices–high. Unemployment–too high. The middle class–paying most of the taxes. Foreign investors– controlling all critical sectors of the economy. Education– of poor quality. The standard of living and quality of life for the masses–essentially the same.
On the question of decency, I would agree that Panday has demonstrated none.
get over it manning won now live with it or take it to another level
A Friend
What you are arguing about is style of leadership. I am talking about substance. Not about one prefers a black tie over a brown one. Get deeper and even you would probably agree that there is no substantive difference between a Manning or Panday regime. Crime–out of control. Housing–poor. Prices–high. Unemployment–too high. The middle class–paying most of the taxes. Foreign investors– controlling all critical sectors of the economy. Education– of poor quality. The standard of living and quality of life for the masses–essentially the same.
On the question of decency, I would agree that Panday has demonstrated none
Not at all. My arguments are about character. Wiping your hand with a handkerchief after shaking the hand of a political rival of a different ethnicity, an act laden with negative cultural implications and interpretation is not an issue of leadership style. It is an open viewing of the character traits of the individual in question. You cannot get deeper than that.
Everyone of your conditions can be found in most other parts of the third world, so in that sense they are not unique. One does not have to delve to find them. It is not credible to use them as proof that there is no difference in the quality of leadership between politicians on different sides of the spectrum. That would suggest that in every country where such conditions are resident, the politicians are the same.
This does not mean that the conditions are acceptable, or that Manning and his party does not bear a proportionate portion of the responsibility for the existence of such conditions. But to say that Manning and Panday are the same is to mitigate and diminute an act of Panday, that form part of a series of similar acts by him, and which makes his politics fearsome for those ethnically similar to Manning. Jesus Christ, this man was telling me by that action that my kind are dirty by nature of our caste. That is the message I got, and many people I discussed it with got the same message. That makes Panday a hell of a lot worse than his contemporaries I should think.
The best way to compare leadership styles of Messrs Manning and Panday is to objectively examine their governance styles, and reactions to major challenges occurring throughout the ENTIRE run of both their terms. If one looks at how they generally treat with criticisms of (their) policies, performance, crime etc, one can not honestly highlight too many differences. T&T’s political culture of “I am the leader, so who vex, vex” is a common thread to their governance creeds. While being a leader means that one has to take the bull by the horns and make tough decisions, it also means that there should also be maturity and openness in Governance, especially towards reconciliation and collaboration with the opposition and the population on crucial national issues. Both men (to date) have shown a very heavy-handed tendency in their stewardship of the country, with little or no compromise on major National issues.
In respect of public behaviour, I think that we need perhaps, to broaden our minds and look outwards for other examples for comparison. In another post, someone lauded Manning as a Statesman. This may be so in comparison to Mr. Panday, but I think that this is stretching it quite a bit. No true Statesman could ever tell anyone to “Shut up”, when raising crucial issues of national concern. When I think about Statesman-like behaviour, people like Nelson Mandela, President Richards, Former Prime Ministers Robinson, Michael Manley(Jamaica)and Grantley Adams (Barbados), respectively, come to mind. Messrs Manning’s and Panday’s governance styles and their public persona have shown very little commonalities with these great leaders.
I think that we are either too generous in our application of this term “statesman” or we are not quite sure about the attributes that would confer such an exhalted honor. In any event, this is not my main concern.
To be clear, I am not arguing about personality traits and eccentricites of these two individuals. Naturally, as human beings, they would display differences in this regard.
I am talking about their class interests which make both moribund when it comes to doing what should be done to alleviate the conditions facing the masses of working and poor people in TnT. The proof is evident that neither Panday nor Manning can point to any significant accomplishments when it comes to improving the standard of living and quality of life of the masses–and don’t hold your breath as to Manning’s current term of office.
With regard to the question about other countries facing the same conditions cited by me, I am also unequivocally stating that most of those regimes, regardless of ethnic makeup, are beholden to the same interests and are ideologically kin to both Manning and Panday.
It is this fallacious nonsense about ethnicity which is hindering the building of unity and solidarity that would empower the PEOPLE of all hues to address their plight. To gloat and be satisfied because one is in the same ethnic group with Manning or Panday, as the justification for enduring their failure to devise and act on a PEOPLE’S agenda, is to be more ignorant than imaginable and to be as complicit in these omissions. Why should any drowning man serve as an apologist for the culprit who threw him overboard, blames him for his predicament and then refuses to provide a life raft?
As much as I have condemned Panday’s senseless public display of contempt, this had nothing to do with any ritual of caste contamination and should not be used to fan the flames of division. This is highly dishonest and probably purposeful sensationalism, as usual.
As much as I have condemned Panday’s senseless public display of contempt, this had nothing to do with any ritual of caste contamination and should not be used to fan the flames of division. This is highly dishonest and probably purposeful sensationalism, as usual
This is absolute, albeit seemingly convenient, rubbish. Where, pray tell, in any part of this world, in the assessment of leaders in this world, do we jettison crass public displays like Panday’s as factors in our overall assessment of integrity, of leadership, of diplomacy, of all the qualities we expect to find in effective leaders. If Manning had indulged in a similar kind of behaviour I have little doubt you guys would not be so eager to play it down. And this is what is nauseating about the whole debate on politics and the social situation in T&T.
How do you know that Panday’s behaviour had nothing to do with a ritual of caste contamination? This is so damn facetious. If a white man had done this it would have been seen thus. Why the hell shopuld Panday’s “crime” be watered down. That is pure unadulterated bull.
Panday has a history of expressions, comments and statements that reek of racial or ethnic prejudice. Now he does something that corroborates what we know about him and you guys expect us to believe that, well, “he was just wiping his hands”. This is what gets me red. This infuriating and bald faced tendency to play down a racial insult you cannot empathize with. Give me a frigging break man. It is what is. And it was a bloody racial racial insult.
Ruel,I am not being adversarial or difficult, but I have been reading all your statements on Panday’s behaviour and I believe that your opinions are just that…opinions, far unproven as fact! In the spirit of democracy and decency, I think that you should let others have their say without all of this wrath and vexation that you seem to spew when there is disagreement with your view.
I too have major difficulties with Panday’s crass behaviour, and your interpretations of it, but I am not going to descend into any argument on racism, because that seems to be all too commonplace, needless and counter-productive when discussing T&T politics. I also don’t think that you are open to any other type of opinion on this issue. So let’s just accept that there will always be opinions and views on this and many other topics, than our own, discuss cordially and move on!
Look Kerry, I will not pawn my integrity by pretending that race is not an overwhelming factor in the Politics of T&T, or adopt an ostrich like position that hidimg from reality will make it disappear. I get into issue with people when they require me to be dishonest with myself. That I won’t do regardless of how it is interpreted.
Panday wiped off his hands after shaking Manning’s hand. The implication, you are dirty and I do not wish to contaminate myself. One does not have to reach for that. One has to reach to avoid dealing with that implication. Didn’t Raffique also come to that conclusion? Is he being racist and inflamatory? Are you people for real?
I recall a thread immediately after the election when a poster ID as Mike made some simple comment about the election, and it elicited a response that he wanted people to go out and rob and kill Indians. Amazingly you guys jumped on Mike’s comment, labelling his comments inflamatory, while ignoring the remarks from the other poster. These acrobatic and euphemistic selective categorizations strikes me as freudian slippages. I do not compromise reality to please anyone or to make anyone less comfortable. There cannot be differing standards of judgement when it comes to racist behaviour. And I will fight the world in pursuit of balance.
As usual, you are engaging in diversionary tactics. Your only aim to spout racist rhetoric and I am not about to entertain you. You are anti-Indian and you have already made this clear. You don’t have to keep repeating yourself.
You should also take a little time to study the caste system and you would discover that Panday would have avoided any contact with Manning altogether if he were adhering to any prohibition as to a person of a lower caste. Furthermore, contamination is considered to be not so much of the body, but of the soul and could not be cleansed by a handkerchief. You and Rafique Shah should know what you are talking about before you rush to put it in print.
I am sure you are very comfortable with this level of discussion so as to avoid any accountabiltiy on Manning’s part, with regard to the poor and working people of TnT. You are content to share common ethnicity with Manning and could not care less about the people of TnT. That’s how potent racism could be.
Diversionary tatics my foot. This is the usual rubbish that comes from those of you who have re-defined anti-Indianism to mean those who some Indians do not like because they choose to point out the racist behaviour of some Indians. It is a tired and deceptive gambit, and demonstrates how far those like you are prepared to go to avoid apportioning responsibility in a balance fashion.
To advance an argument that an act of prejudice cannot be substantiated unless it theoratically comports with what is laid down is not only ridiculous, it is blasted idiotic. When racists get to define what is racist behaviour racism becomes what you determine it should be. What such an argument lays out quite clearly is the utter disregard closeted and denial supremacist like you have for black intelligence. So much so that you persist in the illusion that the refuse you out out here in defense of a confirmed bigot cannot be dissected to reveal its underbelly.
You clap your hands and applaud when Kangal and Maharaj talk about ethnicity from their purview because it feeds into your damn ego. But whyen a blackman referemces it, all of a sudden it becomes divisive. Your facetious and self pandering diatribe is nauseous, and clearly designed to weigh the argument about politics, about race, about every aspect of the politico/socio/economic landscape in T&T in favour of your reflection in the mirror. And since that reflection is Panday, anyone black who dwells on his faux pas become racist.
You can take that crap and stick it where the sun do not shine, because this brother will peek under the shroud you lay out to conceal your bias. And I do not give a hang about the obvious discomfort you experience from such disclosure. When your concern for fanning the flames of divisiveness ceases its peculiar affinity with one side of the continuum, your arguments will have merit with me. Until then they remain a dastardly and deceitful charade, spinning mightily to protect sacred cows.
I take note of Mala’s, Friend’s and Ruels’s comments, and all I really have to say is that the goals of the anarchists and racists wishing for the worst in Trinidad, are really coming to pass.
I personally have nothing but respect for Afro-Caribbeans and Afro-Trinis who are among my family members, my teachers, friends, confidents and my kids’ friends.
Like I said Ruel, I will not contribute to a discussion that can go nowhere but downwards with the close-minded. But I just want to wish you and yours the best for 2008. Although we don’t know each other, please accept this as being a truly genuine sentiment, albeit from an Indo-Trini.
By the way, it’s funny how the Blog made no reference to racism in T&T.
Ruel is an agent of provocation. He thrives best in the gutter of deceptiveness and in the sewer of tension and hate. He could not survive otherwise because, like Hitler, he would have no reason to live if not to advance his cause of race hatred. He is a most sinister individual who ducks when he is cornered by facts and reality. You may also note the temper outbursts which are characteristic of the infantile intellect. His arguments are disjointed, illogical and confused.
As I continue to observe his eccentric behavior, I am more inclined to a theory I have been exploring for some years now, that racism may indeed be a form of mental illness.
Those of us wishing the best for sweet T&T have to be able to rise above this kind of behaviour and outburst. The individual is obviously very intelligent, but from the comments and outlook, appears to have had some decisvely negative experiences.
I am the first to agree that there may be underlying race tensions in T&T. I will even go further to admit freely that a large portion of this is in fact perpetuated by Indos, but I refuse to accept any argument, especially the unfounded, emotionally clouded ones, that lays the blame solely on one group (ethnicity or religion), on the entire population belonging to this group, or claims that it is a one-sided affair. I wish to add that I have had many arguments about this with people of my own ethnicity!We each (as a distinct group)need to be able to accept responsibility where due, and have to be able to inter relate in a rational, level headed manner on this issue, if we are to co-exist and to mature as a nation .
As a nation, our current sociological behaviour and prejudices result largely from colonial history, political affiliations, and our evolving life experiences. I am sure that this is probably appreciated by most, but boy, it seems that life experiences can have devastating effects and biases on one’s outlook.
The bottom line is that there must be mutual respect.
Regardless of your facetious Abbott and Costello “whose on first” interchange, clearly intended to obscure the predisposition to defend racism when it emanates within the conclaves of your ethnicity, and inflate it when it occurs without, I will continue to draw attention to these fault lines. One does not have to read betwix the lines to discern the facts of which I write. One has only to examine the posts and note the variance that is poignant.
If Manning had lost the election the poster with the tongue in cheek alias of “A Friend” would have been feverishly making the argument that the people had exercised wisdom in their electoral choice, and had chosen the better party. Since the decision went the other way this machiavellian intellect attempts to cover his or her disappointment by lumping the PNM and the UNC as equal vagabonds. Don’t but it folks. That game has been played by every white racist organization and individual in this world. It was most evident in the attempts by the apologist for the racist South African Regime, to equate actions of freedom fighters with that of the murderous Boers in Law Enforcement. The thing is that bigots always believe that their thinking is too sophisticated for the understanding of the targets of their bigotry. Well wake up boo. Your damn slip drags so far behind you it is a wonder you are able to stay erect.
Since you introduced the name Hitler into the discussion, let me remind you that I come from the opposite end of the continuum from where his Aryan genes are clustered. Don’t attempt to transfer your dirty laundry unto those who have historically been its targets. You quickly drew attention to tribal wars in Africa in order to refute my comment that African communities are generally hospitable to outsiders. Anyone who purports to be able to analyze and understand the complexity of politics in Trinidad and Tobago, but sees tribal conflict in Africa as different to tribal conflicts in Kashmir, in Sri Lanka, in Pakistan, sees the world and events in it through a prism sympathetic to the image they see in the mirror. Like most racist, hit you with the truth of your damn prejudice and it will explode from within you like a bullet from a gun.
The greatest impediment to the re-working of the Trinidad and Tobago Political Society into a human nesting that accomodates the interests of everyone, regardless of their group, are the sleepers who parade themselves as balanced, while furiously trying to shape the discussion to suit their own narrow ends. Let’s examine it. Two political parties go into an election vying for the approval of an electorate, the majority of which are part of two distinct ethnic groupings. One leader, rather than addressing the concerns of one of these groups, makes a dastardly attempt to recruit international icons that are members of the ethnic group in his opposition’s base, as a means of playing on their sentiments and stealing their support. The leader of the other party, for all of his faults, conducts a relatively decent campaign that include reaching out to those that do not form the bulwark of his party’s traditional support base. His strategy works and his party is victorious at the polls. In a magnimonious gesture of reconciliation, he extends his hand to the leader of the other group during the kicking off of the parliamentary session. That leader after the handshake, takes out an handkerchief and deliberately wipes off his hands. To some of those who share the ethnicity of this leader, “this is no big thang”. Why. Because they are stringently encultured to a perspective intolerant of the feelings and sentiments of Africans. So much so that a particular behaviour by someone of their ethnicity that is poignantly descriptive of prejudice historically experienced by Africans, cannot register on the radar screen of their consciousness. Rather, they indulge in a whole heap of circumlocution to wean us away from “believing our lying eyes”.
Do not let them mislead you with this Manning and Panday are the same crap. They cannot accept Manning winning so if they have to attitudianally marry him to Panday in order to convert his victory into a loss, that is what they are all about. And that is the subtle and deceitful 3 card monte analysis this joker with the “A Friend” ID is trying to perpetuate in here. Do not be lured into this idotic reasoning by deceitful subterfuge. PATRICK MANNING HAS HIS FAULTS AND THEY MIGHT BE MANY. BUT WE KNOW MANNING AND WE KNOW PANDAY. AND PATRICK MANNING IS NOT LIKE BASDEO PANDAY.
Like I said you guys might believe that you are cute. But you should cease patting yourself on the back. There is a world of sentiments outside of the enclaves in which you make some of these arguments. And although they might find applause from the choir when you make them within those enclaves, they will not pass the smell test for those of us unwilling to play the game.
Ruel: Well said. Your words do not leave much else to be said. I am watching the US political scene to see how the “mainstream” takes Iowa’s historic choosing of Barak Obama.as the Democratic candidate. I believe that big brother to the north is ready for the change young people need, just like TnT does. The issues are important, race is not. Manning/PNM continues to preach and personify the ppolitics of inclusion, while Jack/Bas presch separation.
There are new days ahead in TnT, where only those who are devoid of rase-based bias can have a future in politics. The attemops to use Al Sharpton, Martin the third, and Mandela, blew up in their faces. It is to be hoped a lesson was learned. Urge Trinicenter.com to publish pictures of the 1962 parliament,the Parliament of Independence. Let the people see that the original PNM was a party of inclusion. That has not changed.Let them see that the opposition then was a party of inclusion only of Indians, that has not changed either.I often wonder who is really a Trini. Who is willing to work for the good of all. We still do not have two parties that do that, only one does.
Ruel you need to chill out man…you seem to consumed by race and things racial…there are better things on this earth that you can dream of.
you are obviously a thinking man…do not allow yourself to be drawn into this bitter and negative space.
It is not a ‘sophisticated” argument at all. Manning and Panday serve and protect the same interests. What you wish to do is conveniently remain at the superficial level of their differences in personality and ethnicity. This is where you are most comfortable.
You also made references to apartheid South Africa and among the most corrupt were those who called liberation fighters “terrorists” and attempted to brainwash those who were gullible that violence from any source was violence. You may have fallen for this nonsense. Nevertheless, this is totally irrelevant to this discussion of an entirely different context. That’s your problem–an inability to focus on another’s point of view and use objectivity and not emotional outbursts to “judge” what you believe is being said. If you were not at that infantile level, you would have already understood that I favor neither Manning nor Panday, neither the PNM nor the UNC. Why? Because I know they serve the same class interests, to the detriment of the people of TnT.
You are also making a serious error about my ethnicity. Just remember that one does not have to “think” like you “think”–all Indo-Trinidadians are evil, corrupt and should be sent back to India– in order to be Afro-Trinidadian.
The only distinction between you and Hitler and the KKK is your pigmentation.
The only distinction between you and Hitler and the KKK is your pigmentation.
And there is absolutely none between that Aryan Racist and you. The sharing of genes is manifested in your arrogance that you have the authority to decide and determine the paradigm for analysis of the PNM and the UNC. Your sidewinder subterfuge was probably the result of shared instructions inculcated by both you and Panday. Symbiotic thought processes anyone can recognize if they care to look for it.
Mr Rampersaud why is it that Africans are consumed by race when they point out racist behaviour by an Indian, but Indians like Kangal et al who infuse race in virtually every analysis of Trinidad and Tobago do not raise your ire?
I’m sorry. I refuse to abide by this putrid double standard because it provides some inverse proportionate satisfaction and comfort to some narrow mindsets. Again, no one need to use a microscope to see the skewed reasoning that is being put out here. And I am not one, as most might have deduced by now, and if you have not to be brow beaten into silence by those whose judgements are not balanced. You caucus together and that’s fine. Please do not expect me to doubt my so called “lying eyes”
May I say this and say it again and again until you PNM and UNCA and COP hacks will stop your wranglings and ” seeking to scroe points against each other ” on the Forum.
If one reviews all what you all have written and commented on for or against it all smacks of the “PARTY LINE”.
The elcetion is OVER. It is time for the winners to perfomr and the losers to go roll up in a corner and lick their wounds and cry themselves to sleep and wake up tomorrow and firgure out why you lost or you can forget your loss and PUT THE TNT REPUBLIC FIRST.
You,if you put the TNT Republic first,must come to the realization that the WORKING GOVERNMENT OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO CONSISTS OF
( THE PNM MAJORITY THE UNCA MINORITY).
You cannot chnage the facts nor the truth of the equation of TNT Government!
Deal with it and choke on it if you like but it is the way it is!
The UNCA ( whether they like it or not or only if they could fool illiterate people and people blinded by party politics ) HAS A DUTY to work with the PNm to solve the problems which we face as a nation NOW not next five years if they win the election people but NOW!
If you and they do not know how to do do it then get to heck out of he Parliament and let me show them how to do it period or let MICAEL BARZEY AND RAFFIQUE SHAH AND KEN GORDON SHOW THEM HOW TO DO IT!
I can bet if you put them three fellows into Parliament and let them rip the PNM will the Government will deliver solutions and Ministers will perform or be thrown out of office and this will be the best five years ever!
The Problem with the Oppositin is they seem to be focussed on givein their supporters something and someone to be “AGAINST” instead of giving their supporters something positive to be “FOR”.
Mr.Panday use your eloquence to persuade your 200,000 suppoerters to demand that YOU and every single Member of Parliament truly represent them and the People of TNT by placing the business of the TNT Republic above the petty suqabbling which seems to be the order of the day in Parliament.
Use your knowledge and expertise and eloquence to persuade the very PNM candidates conscience and sense of Patriotism and decency to come together ans solve the problems of crime ,traffic congestion and high food prices …you can do it Panday kust forget about the personalities and the crap and deal with the issues and if they do not want to listen to you then you take the case to the Media and the people but I can assure you Patos is no fool and if you come with sense he will listen and we can all together win this war on crime and after we win the war then all yuh could squabble among all yuh self for who did fame!
If you cannot do it appoint me as a Senator and let me leead the flipping battle for you!
The Fearless TNT Republican.
Let us cut the semantics and the high ” sounding words” about RACE in The TNT Republic now and call a ” Spade” a “Spade”.
First I must express my thanks to you folks for not” hammering ” me for the ” Typos” on previous post.
I am of the ” old” school era and is used to writing with ” pen and paper” and never really learned to ” type” which was not a ” Male ” option back in the day!
Let us please,get past the RACE issue or get to it directly.
Please,it will be a great idea not to determine if I am of Indian,African or white origin.
My statements are not based on my personal racial preference but upon what ,in my humble view,actually ” EXIST’ today in TNT.
RACIALISM IN TNT….WE ALL KNOW WHAT IT MEANS DOWN AND DIRTY IN THE TRENCHES OF EVERYDAY LIFE SO LET US NOT WASTE TIME “SUABBLING” AND ” QUIBBLING” ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS,PLEASE!
(1) Some of the people of African origin sincerely believe that people of Indian origin are either by training or and design ARE RACIAL AGAINST THEM AS A PEOPLE….( definitely no one is
” Born racial” ) and we all know it is a
” LEARNED ” behaviour which brings us to the question of : WHO ARE THE TEACHERS ?
Well,you and I very well know ” who” the TEACHERS are but how about if I leave that to the
” INTELLECTUALS ” so they could massage and manipulate and try to ” rape” our common sense as to ” who the teachers” of racialism to the CHILDREN are!
Like it or not deny it till you die some people ( a vast majority at that ) of African descent sincerely believe that Indian people in TNT are plain and simple extremely Racial against people of African descent.
Now,please,do not seek to ” pillory” the messenger because I am just stating a fact which all of us are well aware of but few ever have the courage to admit it ( unless it is a one on one heated argument or among their own racial group ) because to admit such is to immediately be accused of being” racial”.
None of us wants to be accused of being ” racial” so we keep those observations or beliefs to ourselves or express them in our very own racial groups.
It is interesting that most of ,civilized as we like to believe we are,do not ever want to be accused of being ” racial” and that in itself( jump on it intellectuals and psychologist) seems to me to be an indication that most of us hate and despise and look down ( as we should) upon the ” practice ” of racialism as ” uncivilized” and ” inhuman” yet we say nothing and or do nothing to confront this stinking beast of racialism which thrives like a ” silent cancer” in our midst and permeates practically every aspect of our daily lives and ( contrary to popular belief) even Carnival where you see some carnival bands who do not want ” Africans” in their bands!
Come on we all know this so let us be honest here because when you die the worms do not discriminate like the CRIMINALS who rob and murder us in TNT!
Africans in TNT ( and please, do not waste our time saying that not all Africans etc because we know that there are exceptions etc) sincerely believe that (Indians and Syrians more than whites,Chinese and Filipinos …yes …every racial group which lands here they believe) all the other racial groups discriminate against them in TNT and seek to “cut” them out of their fair share of the Economic and Social pie which is abundant in TNT.
From jobs,business opportunities,luxury housing spots,social and prestigious clubs etc and you know the list better than I so face up to it and deal with the reality of what the African believes.
Let us look at the Law enforcement and the Judiciary:
Most people of African descent sincerely believe that if an Indian accuses them of a crime and an Indian policeman is investigating be they innocent or guilty ” crapaud smoke dey pipe” and if they end up before an Indian Magistrate or Judge is down the ” de shute” for dem!
Same in Civil or Criminal Court!
Same with the ” Licensing Office,Customs,getting house plans etc and face it Africans sincerely believe that an Indian in a ” Hiring Position” will hire as much Indians as he or she could get away with regardless of how qualified the African applicant is!
The Africans sincerely believe that Indians have gained so much Economically and are by far the wealthiest among the two with more lawyers,doctors and professionals and so much more money and power that if they gain control of the Government what little the Africans have been able to ” scrounge up ” shall be taken away and they may well be reduced to a ” servile people ” to the Indians.
hence the Africans sincerely believe that all they have left is ” The PNM.”
The Africans are saying …” why do you want Power in Parliament look how much you already have and get regardless of who in power? You have gained more and more and more with the PNM in power than we so what more do you want ?
Are these sincere beliefs valid or not ?
It is not for me to say except that we all know that the African sincerely believes so and that is the reality we have to face and which I am asking you all to face up to and then let us deal with it intelligently because it is the very RACIAL BELIEFS which are the Strength of the two major Political parties in TNT and with all the ” intellectual and educated and high sounding drivel spouted out daily by the media and columnist at election time” as a nation we determine our elections by RACIAL VOTING and that is a disgusting shame up a nation where Illiteracy is practically eliminated!
The USA if you look at the voting behaviour of the People in Iowa and New Hampshire so far puts our nation to shame….there you have Two States with very,very,tiny Black populations and so many white people are voting for a black man based on his message and not his race!
So where does that leave you ” intellectuals ” ????
Now deal with it and deal with it now because it is the reality which continues to ” stuff” our Parliament with so many ” less than desirable” representatives instead of the best of what TNT has to offer!
Why did I not write …what the Indian or the Syrian or the White Folks believe ?
I am not finished with the black folks yet!
The Fearless TNT Republican.
Ladies and Gentlemen Please,CEASE FIRE against each other and let us together attack the beast of Racialism and kill the beast please!
You all are way better educated than I am and way better writers than I am so come now let us talk and debate and reason together as one against the BEAST OF RACIALISM with a view to destroying this vicious beast which has ( as you all know) robbed us of the best possible minds from the African,the White,The Syrian,The Chinese and Portuguese Communities representing us in Parliament and conducting the affairs of our great TNT….instead the Beast racialism has saddled us with some of the most ” doltish” idiots as representatives on both sides of the isle!
Some of them ” doltish” for years instead of days!
They squander of resources and give their followers every reason to be against other TNT Citizens instead of giving their followers every reason to stand for something positive like ” CHANGING THE EVIL RACIALISM WHICH CORRUPTS OUR POLITICS AND EVERY ASPECT OF OUR DAILY LIVES!
Come on people are we so blind as not to see this?
Are we so dumb as not know that we MUST do something to eradicate this racial beast or else our children and grand children will suffer under the beast?
All I can say is please,people do something NOW and do not wait on members or Parliament because it is not in their self interest to change the system after all it got them their seat!
The Fearless TNT Republican.