Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jun 08, 2014 News
By Ralph Seeram
I was in this English class where the discussion was on Shakespeare and his writings. The Professor was explaining or rather interpreting the meaning of Shakespearean plays. He was emphasizing not to take his writing literally, when suddenly another attendee asked if we are not reading too much into the writings; that the poor man might have just been writing to make a few shillings and never gave a thought to what we are making out of his plays.
That was so many decades ago, but my memory was jogged of that episode recently by emails I received by readers on articles I have written.
You would be surprised how people read too much in my articles and come up with these different interpretations of what the article meant. Trouble is I never thought of some of the labels they attributed to my articles.
There are times when a half hour before I start I don’t even know the topic I am going to write on, sometimes hurrying to get it in before the deadline. Guyanese are good at assigning labels to people, and that is one of problems that make the country divided racially and politically.
That is where the problem lies. I have been accused of being racial, of not being loyal to my race, being a PPP “mouthpiece”, an APNU “mouthpiece” and an AFC supporter.
The most common one is that I have an “agenda”. What’s the agenda? The agenda varies depends on the subject. If it appears complimentary to the Government I have a PPP agenda; if I criticize the Government, I have an APNU or AFC agenda.
Following an article criticizing the PPP, one email suggested that I am not loyal to my race: “You are throwing your kind (Indian) under the bus”. I can tell you the most vicious emails come from PPP supporters.
So let me clear the air. I have NO AGENDA except to write as I see things. I belong to NO political party, nor am I a supporter of any party. I left Guyana over 30 years ago.
Therein lies the problem in Guyana which causes the divide. You are either labeled a supporter of the government or in the opposition camp; it’s either black or white. There is no room for grey areas. In Guyana you are not allowed to be grey; you must take sides. Even some columnists take this view.
Blue Caps, which was launched this week, could be a breath of fresh air to Guyana’s atmosphere of distrust. Blue Caps states it’s an “apolitical, non-partisan, non-government organization”, whose mission is “committed to educating and empowering young leaders who can articulate public policy positions to the benefit of Guyana’s development”.
It went on to state that “our core values which will guide our actions are to stay objective and impartial, embrace equality, value diverse opinions, develop new leaders, respect each other, cultivate a culture of trust and honesty, and to do so in a non-discriminatory or prejudicial manner”. Phew, man, what a tall order for a confused and partisan society.
Objective and impartial? Value diverse opinions? Tall order for this young group. I wish them well. More info on this group on www.facebook/bluecaps guyana.
Then again the project hardly got off the ground, and already its leader Clinton Urling has been labeled a “soup drinker” by the looney (the readers’ term, not mine). Urling’s great crime, according to the looney, is that he is not on record of criticizing the PPP administration. The looney (who the cap fits) is one of those who loved to assign labels on individuals and organizations.
Yes, I wish Blue Caps well in their endeavor, but a word of warning: their road will be a rough one in the Guyanese society as it now exists, but I sincerely hope they achieve their goals. As I said, it could be a bit of fresh air to a society permeated with distrust.
Beware! Quite a few persons are arming themselves with labels to stick on your Blue Caps. If you are not focused you may not be able to recognize your Blue Caps after all those labels.
Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: [email protected]
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