Race matters

Satiricus never liked the harping on ‘race’ that some people insisted on inflicting on him. Hey! Satiricus went to the market every day with the list that Mrs Satiricus gave him. And he was always shopping among people of all races. No problems there, right? While Satiricus had heard about the race riots in the sixties from his parents, he only knew that while you had a few extremists, most Guyanese wanted to move on. Now this claim that the government was “ideologically racist”! Only stirring up hate.
“Why this man Kiss Soon got to keep up with this race thing against the government?” exclaimed Satiricus peevishly. “Everything is ‘race’ with him!”
“Budday, if yuh tell me wha is dis ‘ideological racism’, me gon tell yuh,” volunteered Cappo. “Do fuh do nah obe ah!” “What Kiss Soon is saying,” said Teacher Samad carefully, “is that the government whole belief about how to run Guyana is based on race. Every decision they make is based on race.”
“Man, me look at dem doctors who just come back fram Cuba,” replied Cappo, “is all de race me see. So who mek dat decision?”
“Buddy, I also look at the picture of the students at UG this morning,” volunteered Suresh, “if the government using race, then it look like they favouring the race who didn’t vote for them – according to Kiss Soon!!”
“But leh me tell all a yuh some thing me muddah teach me,” started out Cappo, as he leaned forwards confidentially, with his elbows on the table. “If you put mauby in a dutty bottle, you guh get dutty mauby when you pour am out.”
Everybody looked on expectantly as Cappo continued. “People like Kiss Soon gat problem wid them self. Deh dutty in side. Suh everything dat come out guh be dutty.”
“You’re on to something there Cappo,” said Kuldeep. “This was the man who said that he Indian people do everything bad. This man got to hate himself.”
“So he trying to cover he hate by daubing his mess on he mattie!” interjected Bungi. “Because he mind full a race hate, he gat fuh bring am up every day.”
“But nah dis man bin seh dat Bench Chap bin a stir up race hate in Buxton? De Wild man?” asked Cappo. “Suh he na always one-sided.”
“But Bench Chap is now he best friend,” noted Hari. “They like battie and po!” “So now he best friend is a racist and he calling the government racist?” asked Suresh. “What is going on?”
“Aha me friend!” interjected Cappo, “Contrary breeze ah mek crow and eagle light pan one branch. Dem all want fuh throw out the government so all a dem guh come together!”
“You right! Look how he used to cuss out No-Jel Huge and now he seh No-Jel is the new Rod Knee!” Kuldeep was shaking his head in amazement.
“But don’t worry me friend,” said Cappo consolingly. “When Cow deh a pasture he nah remember weh dog and butcher deh till he see am.”
Satiricus was relieved. He hoped that Cappo was right and that Kiss Soon and his friends’ race baiting would soon be stopped. Guyana deserved peace.