Sock it to me, Baby!
There is no other cabal of leaders as comical as those in the PPP leadership. Gaddafi was eccentrically facetious, but it was him alone that was a comic not his close Ministers. The same can be said for ex-Italian PM, Silvio Berlusconi. The President of South Sudan makes you marvel at his cowboy hat that President Bush gave him that he wears permanently, but he is a serious man.
In Guyana, one wonders what kind of protÉgÉs Cheddi Jagan founded. These people do not know their backside from their mouth, to recognize bronze from brains, when to know to shut up, when to know what to wear, when to observe protocol, when to distinguish between official capacity and personal time.
Some examples are just beyond belief. Right next to President Jagdeo, a ministerial advisor was involved in a brawl at an international boxing match. Another one justified not opening the public-owned swimming pools to the nation because he said people must know that they have to bathe first before they use the facility.
Here is an example that is hard to believe. It was at the celebration of twenty-one years in power by the PPP at an Essequibo rally. The Champion told the meeting that the reason why a Guyanese media mogul doesn’t like him is because he “tek away de outside woman” of the media mogul. You aren’t going to find this type of political lewdness elsewhere in the world.
One Minister has sent a photograph to the newspapers asking that it be the image to be used. I see nothing wrong with that. Maybe other Ministers should follow this example, because it shows an attempt to appear pleasant in front of the nation.
The sad problem with the PPP leadership is the abject inability to differentiate situational contexts. It is a requirement for all the peoples in the world. No student is going to respect his/her teacher that drinks at a Christmas party and cusses away like hell. Teachers must carry a certain demeanour in front of students if they are to be successful in the classroom.
A CEO cannot be seen having an affair with the coffee lady of the company. He may get away with an extra-marital affair somewhere else, but he will automatically lose the admiration and respect of his staff if he chooses the coffee lady. This is a fact of life. This is the way human beings will react.
Dennis Rodman is making himself a joke around the globe. Sports heroes are people that endless youngsters want to emulate. They cannot be seen behaving like clowns around the world. Rodman is appearing foolish with his bizarre defence of his friendship with the young North Korean tyrant.
Should a president be photographed back-balling in public? That is his prerogative, but it carries consequences for his own credibility and that of his office. In my opinion (and I am an extreme liberal who believes in gay marriage; decriminalization of marijuana and re-thinking on other narcotics; no fault divorce; abolition of death penalty; abortion, etc.) back-balling is a type of dancing that carries an element of vulgarity that holders of esteemed public offices should avoid be seen doing in public.
I do not for a moment think that people should be banned from back-balling. That is their right. Let them dance that way if they want to. But surely, the Pope, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Ministers, Bishops, Swamis, Imams, Teachers, Judges and similar categories should be avoiding publication of images of them doing that kind of dance.
President Jagdeo cut a terrible image doing that at a Christmas party with a soldier. You automatically felt angry when you saw the clip, because here was the president of the nation appearing in public in a lewd pose. People all over Guyana were talking about that comical profanity. Sadly, Donald Ramotar has learnt nothing from life’s lessons.
Ramotar once asked me in a published letter in this newspaper what is meant by the “poetic essence of history.” I hope by now he knows what that means after seeing the election of an African-American to the US presidency, but honestly, do you think he knows what it means? If he did, then why did he want to emulate Jagdeo and do a back-balling gyration with a soldier? He looked terrible. Did he see himself after?
I saw a photograph of the said woman that Ramotar back-balled with at the same dance with another partner and my, oh my! Did you see what she was not wearing? She certainly knows how to sock it. If you think Jagdeo and Ramotar like that kind of lascivious vibes, wait till you see images of a certain Minister back-balling.
