Jagdeo in New York: His Venezuelan remark
The media in Guyana did not report on Jagdeo’s presentation in New York to a group of Guyanese that with the exception of Dr. Asquith Rose consisted of East Indians only. I guess one can seriously argue from a journalistic perspective, that his presentation wasn’t news.
Why should a media house report on the systemization of propagandistic fictions of a former president who just lost his country’s national elections? But the press in Georgetown should at least carry the section of his delivery in relation to Venezuela. Jagdeo is playing a dangerous came that can get him into legal trouble.
Did the attendees believe the things Jagdeo told them about the destruction of Guyana under the APNU-AFC Government? One can tell from the angry reaction that Dr. Rose received when he asked his questions, that some people are destined to be essentially flawed humans.
Here is a summary of Jagdeo’s descent into Hitlerite delusions. I will leave his Venezuelan remark for the end. He said that ballot boxes were stuffed in Georgetown. PPP voters were intimidated by APNU polling agents. The PPP did not have polling agents to cover the entirety of Region Four thus rigging took place. GECOM and the ABC countries were determined to see the PPP out of office.
There was only one rational point by Jagdeo that came close to an understanding of how the world has changed since Cheddi Jagan won in 1992. He referred to the lack of capacity by PPP supporters to utilize social media during the election campaign. I will come to that.
Judging from the reports I got, it was clear that if Jagdeo had told that audience that a parade of elephants from Africa came to Guyana during the election, and stole the ballot boxes they would have believed.
When I was very young, I heard a rebuttal from a man who was annoyed with another person. It is so far back I cannot recall the exact nature of the incident. But the aggrieved person said to the ignorant gentleman; “Do you have children?” Any school boy can interpret what he was getting at. The point made was, this person was so foolish that he is likely to populate the world with more foolish people. It is too cynical a statement to repeat but the poignancy of it is there although it is an unpleasant analogy.
How sane, rational people with young children could have sat there and digested what Jagdeo said? They clapped him and when Dr. Rose got up and pointed out that the Emperor was wearing no clothes at all, they wanted to crucify him. Jagdeo was mouthing off the most appalling, disgusting, nauseating nonsense ever to come out of the mouth of a Guyanese politician, and Guyanese in the 21st century living in the most-post-modern country in the world, jumped for joy when they saw his delusions at work.
It is possible that humans are so stupid that Donald Trump can rule the most powerful nation in the world
I will touch on the only sensible part of Jagdeo’s rhetoric. He said that social media was used effectively against the PPP during the election, and PPP supporters must begin to understand how to use it. But even here Jagdeo was on illusive turf. Social media was indeed used against the PPP because the PPP was giving the users of social media ammunition with which to fight the PPP during the election campaign. Bheri Ramsarran threatened to slap and strip a feminist activist, then the next day was unapologetic when he was recorded as saying he is a lady’s man and his ladies would have beaten up the activist. This went viral.
Then it created a tsunami when the President supported Ramsarran. There would have been no viral ubiquity if Ramotar had castigated Ramsarran and Jagdeo instead of cussing down the army. Those are the things social media used to hurt the PPP during the campaign.
Finally, Jagdeo is treading dangerously with his rhetoric on Venezuela. I am not convinced that Jagdeo and the PPP have demonstrated emotional and nationalist protection of Guyana over the insane wear-mongering of Venezuela.
Jagdeo told his audience that APNU+AFC Government jeopardized the rice deal with Venezuela because of the government’s hostility to Venezuela. He went on to say that our use of military exercises was too threatening.
It was a crowd of sixty persons; ten of them tried to wrest the microphone from Dr. Rose, and sought to assault and evict him. Jagdeo is learning about life. He appealed to the thugs to leave Rose alone.
