Latest update November 26th, 2024 1:00 AM

Guyana's largest selling daily and New York's most popular weekly

Latest News

THE POPE AND YOU

Nov 21, 2016 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Guyanese love a scandal. They love, even more, concocting one.
A Guyanese can speak ill of someone as if they had personal knowledge of that person. But on closer examination, they know very little. Scandal mongers are pushers of half –truths and no truth at all.
They know who is on the other side and who is straight. How do they know? Even they do not know how they know what they know.
Scandals are part of the daily regimen on the lives of Guyanese. It was not surprising, therefore, to learn that the publication of videos and photographs of a man of the cloth” and obviously, also, a man of the flesh became a buzz around the country. The ‘scandal’ took the nation by storm. It was the perfect distraction from the crime wave. People all over the country wanted to talk about the images which were made public.
A young woman who is in an adulterous affair was overheard condemning the pastor for what he allegedly did. She who was not without transgressions herself was passing moral judgment on the victim. She lacked the moral correctness to do so because her own life was not morally perfect.
It did not dawn on most of those who were quick in passing judgment on the pastor that the images made public constituted a violation of the man’s privacy.
What business of the public was it that the man’s bedroom affairs?  The man was not breaking any law. The airing of the images on social media violated the man’s privacy.
What is it about scandals that people love? How can people find so much pleasure in the misfortune of others?
But people love a scandal because it is about domination. The person who scandalizes another person is exercising a form of domination on that person. It can constitute a form of abuse. The scandal, if concocted, represents a wicked and devious act.
Guyanese love to bring people from their thrones. The mighty must be brought to their knees so that meek can be lifted up, at least if only as part of deluding themselves. It is a way to bringing people down to their level. This is why so much fun and enjoyment is made when persons in either authority or having wealth and position are disgraced because of a scandal.
When you bring someone down through scandal, you feel that you are no longer on that person’s level. You feel superior. This is why so many people like to peddle scandals. It makes them feel better than the person they are scandalizing.
Guyanese love political scandals. They love to embarrass those with whom they differ politically, calling them all manner of names and bringing their reputation into disrepute.
There is also an element of moral contradiction in scandals. Most people who find fun in the misfortune of others actually would love to be in the position of those who are scandalized.
Let us be honest. How many men would not have loved to be in the place of that person whose image was recently showed on social media cavorting in bed with more than one woman. Many men would love to have a threesome but lack the ability to do so. Scandal is therefore about fantasy.
Scandals are about social entertainment. The lives of most Guyanese are devoid of fun and excitement.
The empty spaces of these lives have to be filled with something. Scandals help to fill that space and provide the public with something to be talked about. The scandal becomes an event of note.
Scandals, therefore, are less about the victims than they about those who enjoy them. They are more a mirror of the lives of the public than they are about the victims. They reflect the foibles and emptiness of our lives.

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | November, 20th, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Rutherford gets big payday from Gujarat Titans at IPL 2025 Mega Auction; Shepherd, Powell snapped up by RCB and KKR, respectively

Rutherford gets big payday from Gujarat Titans at IPL 2025 Mega...

Nov 26, 2024

  SportsMax – Guyanese hard-hitting left hander Sherfane Rutherford will get the opportunity to shine on T20 franchise cricket’s biggest stage once again after being picked up by the...
Read More
Roach and Seales star as West Indies close in on Antigua Test victory

Roach and Seales star as West Indies close in on...

Nov 26, 2024

Delroy Tyrrell continues to excel at Oneonta State University

Delroy Tyrrell continues to excel at Oneonta...

Nov 26, 2024

Ramdass Royals Crowned Champions of the Inaugural Windies Masters Cricket Extravaganza

Ramdass Royals Crowned Champions of the Inaugural...

Nov 26, 2024

KFC Guyana distance self from delayed payment of GFF Elite League prizes

KFC Guyana distance self from delayed payment of...

Nov 26, 2024

Ravens and Royals ready for epic Elite 16 final showdown

Ravens and Royals ready for epic Elite 16 final...

Nov 26, 2024

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.

Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]