I hope President Granger knows charity begins at home

Aug 13, 2016 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

A schoolgirl is on work-study at the Kaieteur News. So she accompanied the journalist that covers the courts. The student was stopped from entering the magistrates’ courts because one of the policemen said her top was too bright. This teenager attends a school which has an approved school uniform. But there is also another point – who determines when a top worn by a human is too loud in its colour?
I don’t think society can come out with a definition of what is a shining blouse or colourful shirt. For the sake of argument, let us say that a group of experts on aesthetics can arrive at a decision. Who polices the edict? It has to be the experts themselves. How can you leave it to a young cop just out of high school and who has no exposure to fashion, literature, philosophy, art and aesthetics? These are very complex judgements and it is not easy to arrive at consensus.
The most definitive authority on music is the biweekly American magazine, Rolling Stone. It has a list of 500 songs that constitute the best ever made. In that list the Beatles have 23, Mick Jagger -14, Elvis Priestly – 11, Bob Marley – 4, Abba – 1, Michael Jackson – 1, Otis Redding – 1.
Eighteen of those Beatles songs I would never think of including in my list of the best 500 tunes ever made. I would not even consider them. Number 16 on the magazine’s list is the Beatles’ “I Wanna Hold your Hand.” This is an absolutely mediocre song. The same magazine dismissed outright the ability of Celine Dion to sing. They think she is a very poor singer. But when you see their list of best singers you end up laughing. That is how difficult it is to arrive at consensus on aesthetic questions.
So what is a loud colour? And can you leave it up to a police trainee to decide? The work-study student wanted to attend court to listen to the assault trial where Kwame McCoy and others are accused of attacking me. I decided I would take her to court. We approached the young policeman (he seemed to be about twenty-three) who was standing at the door. I asked him why in previous days he refused entry to the student. He denied he did and we went into the court. She wore the same uniform as in the days when she was refused entry.
We come now to President Granger. Mr. Granger’s disagreement with the outdated dress code was given maximum publicity in the media. Here is a note sent to me by one of the most prolific professors in economics that write on Third World development, Dr. Jay Mandle. “Your column this morning on the dress code struck home. My wife Joan was stopped at the security desk when we went to see CY because of a very slight slit on an otherwise long skirt she was wearing. CY had to come to her rescue.”
That incident took place at the security hut in the compound of the Office of the President. Professor Mandle has been a life-long friend of Clive Thomas, and went to visit Professor Thomas at his SARU office in the Office of the President. The initials, “CY” in Dr. Mandle’s note to me, referred to Clive Thomas.
One would assume the President did the right thing and sent down instructions to the staff at OP about the dress code fiasco. One cannot assume that the security staff at the guard house was familiar with what President Granger told the media. Suppose they do not know about his rejection of the outdated dress proclamation and they are still rejecting visitors? I honestly think that President Granger should inform them, if he has not done so already.
In this country you cannot take anything for granted. I rang the commander of Springlands Police Station, who told me last week that he is aware of the change in policy by the force that there are no longer random traffic stops. One week after telling me that, school teacher Mr. Ashan Bacchus sent three photographs to me, showing where police at Springlands were doing random traffic stops. Two days ago, ranks were doing the same at Leonora.
Whether it is dress code or random traffic stop or GPL bills or GWI bills or GTT bills or City Hall intransigence or the ubiquity of container-trucks or Government’s failure to pay citizens it owes, this country pays no attention to the glaring errors that are committed each day against its citizens.

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I hope President Granger knows charity begins at home

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