Nope. Hate to disappoint. I frankly agree with both sides here to a degree.
The PPP via Dr. Ramharack (a man who personally hates the PPP as I do and who is actually supporting the PPP for the simple reason that the permanent State institutions, both civil and military are overwhelmingly majority Black) is of course opportunistically demonizing Moses for making this comment.
This comment of Moses made several years ago is no surprise to me. If you can recall the many many times I have politely said Moses is not my type of Indian politician while going to lengths to not even seem to attack him. He's totally not trusted by me or by many Indians I know and will potentially not have the trust of Indian voters in this election because of his fundamentally inapposite approach to Indians. He doesn't fit. I'm even on the GNI record as puzzling you with my several statements which clearly state that I trust David Granger more on having a care for ordinary Indian people and their concerns than I do Moses, whom I like as a person and will trust as a person but can never bring myself to support and trust as a politician.
All that being said, the Coalition still retains my support because of David Granger.
I keep tellin ya'll that the Jaganites and the Jaganite philosophy are not liked among ordinary Indians. Ya'll don't like to listen when an Indian is being honest and telling ya'll things that contradict your personal long held views and analysis of tings. I suggest ya'll at least for self-interest adjust that attitude.
This is the most devastating argument employed so far against Moses. "I am not Indian" is a sentence known well to ordinary Indians and it is loathed as much as the speaker of such blasphemy.
The PPP is in Ramharack's debt for finding and publicizing this quote. And if Moses wasn't so committed to ideology (the ideology that caused him to make this blunder in the first place) he would have said something to smooth it over. But he said exactly what he meant to say. Unfortunately for him, Indians will interpret it exactly how he meant it to the Coalition's detriment. Moses does not think he made a blunder. This is the problem. He said what he believes and believes what he said. This accurately represents the Moses that people know politically. And we doan like it.
I believe redux laughed when I suggested the Coalition make a "hard Indian" argument for itself. Well, here is the PPP (who Indians think are anti-Indian to begin with) making a "hard Indian" argument against the Coalition.
Moses and his Jaganites are may cost the Coalition a victory for the simple reason that they mistake ideology for campaign strategy and they are immune to responding to the emotions of Indian people.
Ayuh try wid duh "I am not Indian" ting.
Who the hell is Batoram to take Umbrage of a man emphasizing his Guyanese nationality to make the point he belongs somewhere else than in India where he only has a connection based on a historical descent? It is quite clear to Moses that he is a man of Indian ethnicity since he cannot hide from it. I can move in and out of the culture but he cant.
If I call myself Indian who in the world can say different? I participated in the Indian identity growing up by being a part of the culture and living its creed. My father had us doing our hindu prayers and going to hindi classes and attending the Mandir while we also by our mothers demands went to christian church on Sundays.
The point is one aligns culturally with a people hood and I straddle both fences. I am Indian and I am Amerind. I am lucky I can pass fluidly through both communities. I am however, Guyanese first and call myself Amerind because I feel at "home" in that skin. All this bullshit from Bato to glean some political coin is crap.
1. "Bartoram" is Guyanese in the middle of a Guyanese election and he's demonizing a Guyanese candidate for something he has said. That's just how elections work. All Guyanese will take umbrage at something. The man with less umbrages taken will win on May 11th.
2. The fact that you are "fluid" means you are of the mindset that cannot "get it." The non-fluid Indians are Indians 24/7 not part-timers. These 24/7 Indians don't care for part-timers nor do we care for the "I am not Indian" Indians.
3. If Moses is not Indian then why is he seeking Indian votes on the basis of his Indianness?
4. Also, why do you care how "40% of the electorate" votes since your "60% non Indian supermajority" will decide the day anyway?
You are missing the point. Batoram and his two pandit friends are fervently hindutva so the grinding here on Moses supposed ethnic slight is not merely that to him He believes that all indians can only be Indians and nothing else. Muslims are Hindus gone wrong. That is the Hindutva creed.
There is not it to get. It is some intangible shit you folks pull from the air to situate your fallacious creed of premordialism in culture that is binding. That is bullshit.
I am perfectly willing to concede that some adherents of Hindutva creed object to his statement on Hindutva grounds. It's perfectly conceivable that Baytoram et al are of this ilk.
However, the ordinary non-Hindutva Indian finds the statement "I am not Indian" as a statement meant to distance one from us who do subscribe to that identity. That is the point I'm trying to make. And that is important. This is a very potent weapon against Moses because Indians take strong exception to anyone who says they're not Indian and still wishes to partake of our identity. Can't resign from the club/fraternity and still claim the camaraderie club membership affords.
Let us move away from the rightness or wrongness of the issue if such exists. The problem for Moses is that this argument is damaging to him among Indian voters. The time for philosophical arguments is after May 11th. The smart thing to do is for Moses to "clarify" his statements and strongly assert his Indian identity. You and I know he won't. So ya'll can enjoy glorious defeat.
Moses ain't bringing no non-Indian votes to the Coalition. His only use is as an Indian vote getter. I don't know how it sounds for an "Indian vote getter" to declare "I am not Indian" and then leave that out there as the narrative.