A man’s home…

…is his castle
We’ve talked about rules being the line between us and cavemen. We’d looked at what was going on in Parliament with the MPs from both sides of the divide acting as if they were in a rum shop. One of the more disreputable ones, without a bouncer.
But it seems there’re elements determined to push the envelope even lower than the MPs. Word is that Mark Benschop just picketed the HOME of Winston Brassington, the CEO of NICIL. Now you might’ve heard of behaviour that’s lower than a snake’s belly? Picketing a man’s home even lower – way lower.
Explicit rules and laws aren’t the only things that hold a society together – tradition and customs, summarised as “folk wisdom”, play a crucial role. So it’s not for nothing there’s a PROVERB on the subject: A man’s home is his castle. Meaning, that in a civilised society – or one with some hope of becoming one – a person’s home is sacrosanct. You may harass him on the job, but when he goes home and closes his door, he’s entitled to peace of mind.
Now Benschop’s obviously determined to keep himself in the news. He was the “Wild Man” who coached Douglas to make the infamous tape with the latter brandishing an AK-47 on TV. We know he invaded the presidential compound. Pardoned by President Jagdeo he picked up right where he left off after his incarceration.
And now this picketing of Brassington’s home. So what if the poor man’s wife and children might be traumatised by him parading in front of their home? And who knows? It might just remind the youth-men and women from YCT, who’d picketed the homes of the chairman and CEO of GECOM after the last elections, to join in the uncivilised behaviour.
Why? We never heard any condemnation from their ‘seniors’ who ought to know better. In fact, several were rewarded by being sent to Parliament.
Where, of course, they just continued blithely with their uncouth behaviour. They’re in graduate school, so to speak. What was it that Martin Luther King said? “All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing.” But we hope that saner heads in civil society will stand up and be counted: condemn this descent into barbarism.
Grader failure
Our old piñata “Thunderbolt” and Rose cited a WIKILEAKS cable purportedly detailing former President Jagdeo’s “priorities” for his second term: “breaking Guyana’s wave of violent crime; improving the investment climate; a 10-year plan to climb out of poverty; better working relationship with the donor community; including more IDB debt relief with support from the USA; pushing for local elections; building parliamentary capacity; expanding civil society’s role; and opening the media.”
But incredibly, the dyspeptic duo, who obviously can’t count, concluded, “Of these eight priorities set by the second Jagdeo regime, only one can be considered as being achieved – debt relief.”
Now there’s nothing wrong about knocking Jagdeo’s record. Hey! It’s a free country. But at least don’t misstate the facts so blatantly. Let’s take a look. First, “breaking Guyana’s wave of violent crime.” Last time we heard the bandits terrorising Guyana, they were all killed – by the security forces. Then “the investment climate”. So could the wankers say why we’re practically the only Caricom country with five per cent growth rate? And this answers the next question of climbing out of poverty: just another decade of high growth rates.
Let the good times roll
And we continue. Which donor has bad relations with us? Unless they try to push us around. The IDB funds continue to roll in. Local Government elections are held up through the opposition’s lassitude. Civil society is being consulted and there are 10 new radio stations in the offing. Next question?