At first your Eyewitness didn’t believe the report, that Opposition Leader Norton hadn’t wanted to shake Pres Ali’s hand. He’d seen the first still pic and commented that Norton’s hand hadn’t actually grasped Ali’s. It looked more like he was handing Ali a hand of bananas!! Then he saw the video clip with Ali having to nudge Norton – who then turned and stretched out his hand, with a comment from the Pres. that Norton didn’t want to shake hands!! Really? Could Norton be THAT petty?
Well, we now know that he’s not only that petty, but actually that crass!! Who refuses to shake hands even with your foes?? The practice goes back to 3000 years BC, for goodness’ sake!! Didn’t Churchill shake Stalin’s hand at Yalta even though he’d already determined that communist Russia was now gonna be the enemy of the west with Hitler gone?? Right here in Guyana, didn’t the founder of the PNC not only shake hands but actually hugged Jagan, his mortal enemy, at the first flag-raising ceremony in ‘66?? Does Norton think Jagan had forgotten how Burnham and the British had conspired to oust him? Does he think Burnham had forgotten his dig at Jagan to arrange Independence Day on the anniversary of Jagan’s greatest humiliation? Which caused Janet to resign?
And what did Norton say when asked afterwards about his gauche behaviour? He insisted he was “bullied” into the handshake!! And that he wasn’t gonna shake Pres Ali’s hand, because the Government was “discriminating” against PNC supporters, and the latter was going to use it “for propaganda purposes!!
Imagine that!! What this announcement does is confirm what your Eyewitness didn’t want to believe. That the Opposition Leader’s job might just be above Norton’s pay grade. As he’d been saying all along, he knows Norton’s under fire from the extremist wing of the PNC to “sock” it to the PPP. But even if this were a viable strategy – or tactic – is this the best way to do that?? By making Norton appear so small-minded to the world??
Let’s look at the attempted snub from the “time and place” angle that’s used to judge social actions. They were both guests of the British High Commissioner – at a function to mark the British Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Now, for over a century, while the Brits had ruled us as “slaves and indentureds”, they did so on the excuse that we needed to be “tutored” into civilised behaviour. We were just uncivilised natives, and it was their “burden” to try civilising us!!
Now, isn’t Norton’s rebuff of a simple handshake with the President of the country cause to make them snicker, “We told you so!!” Tsk…tsk…tsk!!
…and petulant
Your Eyewitness’s grandpa had read him the story of the “Princess and the Pea”. The princess had been raised in such refined circumstances that when she retired on a bed with TWENTY mattresses covered with 20 elder-down comforters, she just couldn’t fall asleep because A SINGLE PEA had been placed under the bottom mattress!! It was a test for her sensitivity as a princess, and she passed with flying colours!!
The story has since become a trope for the sensitivity of prima donnas and pouty wannabes!! And from Norton’s hand-slaking faux pas, it’s clear that he doesn’t have the tough skin required for a successful politician!! Especially in our dear land, where the “tantalizing” can get pretty rough!! He could learn a thing or two from his “Founder Leader” on how to deal with uncomfortable situations – with WIT!!
Responding to a toast from President Lyndon B. Johnson, Burnham quipped, “he has misspelled Lyndon. The proper spelling is mine, L-i-n-d-e-n”!!
Johnson had to grin!!
…spiteful
Who believes Putin will back down on his commitment to gain strategic depth for Russia in Ukraine?? All he has to do is wait for winter to remind Europeans what’s the meaning of “cold” without Russian gas!!
