Freudian politics and sempiternal magic

Mar 11, 2010 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

All human beings possess a sense of rationality about them. Intelligence, commonsense, and logical thinking vary in human beings. Some people are smarter than others. Some people exhibit more commonsense than others.
But at the most fundamental level, human beings act with some degree of rationality. One can seriously debate to what extent this rule of human behaviour applies to the political elites in Guyana.
Why do the ruling politicians in this country make the most arrogant, unwise and unpleasant replies to questions when these utterances are not necessary at all. One of the most obeyed conventions in all kinds of politics is that the politician must be accommodating.
They must never appear pompous and uncaring and at all times try to be seen as people that understand the world and its problems. Politics in this sense strongly resemblance the retail trade. If a customer is going to be treated roughly over the counter, he/she is going to take his/her business elsewhere.
I have constantly changed my patronage in the retail business because of bad customer treatment. I seldom go back to a particular pharmacy. I came up to the counter and the three young ladies were intensely engaged in a conversation totally uninterested in serving customers.
I used to buy Avon products for my daughter at a particular outlet. I thought the owner needed some training in customer relations. That was the only branch I knew and I believe existed. One day, I noticed another outlet and decided to patronize it. It was clear that this particular owner did her home-work. From that day on, this new entity has had all my patronage.
Politics is the identical situation. You only display hateur and hubris if you are a dictator and the people’s votes do not count. Why bother to display pleasant grammar when your power base does not depend on the citizens. I contend that even though Guyana has competitive elections, the PPP elites behave as dictators because they know racial voting guarantees sempiternal magic for them.
It is a deep, human tragedy in Guyana. One can go further and say there is more bombast and pomposity among the ruling elites in Guyana than in actual brutal dictatorships like Cuba, Libya etc.
There are two explanations for the haughty, disdainful manner in which the PPP elites treat the public. One is a simple lack of common sense. They do not study what to say before they open their mouths. Or it can be a Freudian answer.
Deep down in their sub-conscious, they know they are permanent rulers so the arrogance comes out naturally. One of the persons I thought would do a modern job for Guyana and transform this land was Robert Persaud.
I functioned with Robert when he was a teenage journalist at the Catholic Standard under the editorship of Father Andrew Morrison. Robert was pretty young when the PPP won power. He became very influential after then. Such a young person with power brought bright possibilities.
Today, in my assessment, Robert is one of the most power-drunk PPP monarchs. It was shocking to hear Robeson Benn’s explanation why the Soesdyke/Linden highway would not have streetlights. Benn succinctly replied in Parliament that no such lights will be forthcoming and many highways in other countries do not have lights.
What Benn did not say is that the Linden highway is mere 50 miles long and that is a very short road not to carry lamps. A more commonsensical way to put it was to explain that lights are needed there and it will happen in the near future. End of story! But no! Instead we had to have a display of arrogance.
Take Clement Rohee. I am of the view that even in brutal dictatorships, a journalist’s question on torture put to one of the tyrannical rulers would have been met with the following response. “If there has been torture, then my government will not condone it and we will investigate.”
Let’s repeat what Rohee told the media. I can’t remember his exacts words but it went something like this. “Why ask me about torture when I have so many things on my plate?” After Mr. Yesu Persaud said that he hoped other investors will get the same generous treatment as Dr. Ramsaroop of Queens Atlantic, the President turned to him at the table where both were seated and accused Mr. Persaud of being ignorant of the tax laws.
Such conceit and lack of modesty must come to an end. The people who can stop the sempiternal magic are the East Indians. They must do so at the next general elections.

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