Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 15, 2021 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon
Kaieteur News – Every human has things they hate. There is no exception. I am a husband and a father and I know my wife and daughter have things they hate. I have friends that I know have things they hate. One aspect of human nature I hate, and was prepared since I was small to fight, is people forcing me to embrace laws, mores, values, attitudes, etiquettes and conduct that they do not subscribe to and pay no respect to.
Just as 2020 had about a week left before it faded into history, I was involved in a small incident with big implications for philosophy. It was about one of the things I hate about humans. I walk my dog every morning in a section of Guyana that no one in Guyana knows better than me – the Georgetown/Eve Leary seawall.
Countless mornings, on my way home, I would turn into Giftland to quickly pick up an item from the pharmacy or Giftland’s supermarket. I would park on a no-parking area just as you enter the Giftland compound. There is an area with a long canopy which is for vehicles to drop off their occupants. The security personnel do not hassle me for two reasons – they know me as a “regular.” Since Giftland started operation, I have been walking my dog way down at the back, just in front of Demerara Estates. Secondly they believe me when I tell them I would be less than 10 minute because I have my dog in the car. The chief of security of Giftland, Mr. Baksh, told me it is alright once the stop is a quick one.
Days before Christmas, I parked to rush into the pharmacy. My dog was in the car. The new guard didn’t know about the arrangement so he asked me to move and I suggested he contact Mr. Baksh. A lady came out of Giftland swinging at me. She was aggressive and asserted that I must move. I know Mrs. Beepat to talk to and it wasn’t Mrs. Beepat. I know many of Giftland’s women managers and they would not speak to me like that. So from her tone, it was clear to me that I was facing the “Freddie Kissoon thing.”
It happens all the time. I just live with it. I got permission to walk my dog at the Aquatic Centre and this gentleman kept telling management last year that Kissoon should not be allowed that privilege. I found out that he hated me because I was a critic of the APNU+AFC government. If any other person was feeding a stray cat in the National Park, management would not have stopped them but they did just that to me last year.
By the antics of this lady, I knew I was facing the same thing. She was furious and took out her smart phone and began filming my car. She then went into an alfresco restaurant named the “Boardroom” and began chatting with the staff. I followed her to the “Boardroom” and described her double standards for her.
She was not wearing a mask and was not observing the six feet distance policy. In other words, she was berating me for not observing a simple car park instruction but was violating COVID-19 regulations. I informed her I was going to bring the police. When the policeman came in my car, he didn’t come out because she and the staff had their mask on.
On Christmas Eve, the traffic into Giftland was nightmarish and backed up on the Railway Embankment way past my home. It is just a couple of minutes’ walk from my home so I took my dog with me to check what was going on inside the compound of Giftland. Do you know the Boardroom restaurant was in full swing way past midnight? COVID-19 curfew starts at 10.30 pm. A few days after, I parked in the same place.
I saw the lady in the Boardroom. I went up to her to tell about her violations. She informed me she is the owner of the Boardroom and if I saw that COVID-19 restrictions were violated by her, I could call the police. I asked her if she didn’t film her own restaurant for violating regulations as she did with my car. She was annoyed and requested security to remove me. I removed myself.
So here is what I am going to do for 2021. I walk my dog each night at Giftland as stated above. Once I see that masks are not being worn by Boardroom staff and that entertainment there goes beyond 10.30 pm, I am bringing the police on the management.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
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