…(non) endearment
The firestorm over Prezzie’s Press Officer’s (PPO) put-down of a co-worker as a “coolie” isn’t going away as some had hoped. It’s now reported there will be an “investigation”. We don’t know by whom. Unfortunately, Prezzie’s top honcho PRman, Captain (retd) Mark Archer, didn’t say it would be a Commission of Inquiry (CoI). Now before you, dear reader, think your Eyewitness is over-reacting, chew over this.
First of all, who was it in Prezzie’s office that earned the put down? Was she actually an Indian-Guyanese or was the word “coolie” used as a trope for what “those people” stand for? What defines “those people”? In the screen-shot we were privy to, the PPO made two charges. Firstly, the “coolie” was “trying to turn (the PPO’s) staff against” her. If we had a CoI, for instance, we would be able to find out whether this promotion of insurrectionary behaviour is a typical trait of “coolies”.
On the whole, your Eyewitness up to now thought this was a rather GUYANESE trait, especially since he was recently reminded so by Prezzie – when he vowed to construct a new 1823 Monument for the insurrection by African slaves in that year. But maybe “coolies” only foster insurrections in localised and not national situations? And this would kinda make them more like the “house slaves we’ve been conditioned to condemn, wouldn’t it? They were the ones who took “massa’s” side whenever there was a conflict between him and the field slaves – who were the ones really oppressed.
Now the question arises, as to whether the PPO sees only Indian-Guyanese who work in the President’s office as “house-slaves or those stirring up insurrections in any part of the entire governmental apparatus. Is PM Nagamootoo, for instance a “coolie” in this usage of the word, since he not so long ago was attempting to rouse his AFC colleagues to an insurrection over the Cummingsburg Accord not being observed?
But maybe not – because of the second objected-to characteristic of the “coolie” as adumbrated by the PPO: they’ll be “friendsing” the person pushed into insurrectionary behaviours while kissing “massa’s” a55 – here personified by the PPO. Now, while we don’t know about the “a55-kissing” proclivities of the PPO’s co-worker who earned her ire, we do know for sure the other stalwart Indian-Guyanese who brought their 11 per cent into this Government are most definitely NOT “a55-kissers”.
Now if we had that CoI, all of these points would’ve been clarified, as for instance occurred with the one-man CoI into the Police reaction to that alleged death threat to Prezzie.
And maybe we can get rid of all the “coolies” like in the GPF!!
…building bridges
Back in the day, there was a song about being a “bridge over troubled waters” for someone you cared about. It was soooo sweet! Well, it looks like this Government has a heart, after all. Your Eyewitness thought it was kinda cold for the Government to cut loose all those businessmen who made “political investments” in the Jubilee Park. Well, he THINKS they were cut loose.
But on the newly announced bridge the Government’s laying across the troubled waters of the Demerara River, it’s just revealed they’re doing it in part (and there will no doubt be MANY parts!) for one financer of the APNU/AFC coalition – Stanley Ming. Now your Eyewitness doesn’t know why some are upset about this. After all, the Government through Trotman (of the Nassau Accord fame) did announce his “political investment” doctrine right up front, didn’t he?
So if Ming just happens to own the piece of land over at Versailles where the bridge was located, isn’t that just the way the cookie crumbled?? Wink! Wink!
Commuters should be pleased. When the bridge retracts, their vehicles will be ‘allowed to park” on it!! Some comfort for the delay, eh?
…fraternity?
How dare the Moca NDC automatically assume the Lombard St squatters that’ll be relocated to houses built for them there, won’t be choir boys?
Racists!!
