An unfair comparison between two different men

Mar 23, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
I refer to a letter in the Sunday, March 19 edition of the Kaieteur News with the heading, “He is the best person to lead a third party in 2020.” The writer, Deonarine Karran compares the qualities of Freddie Kissoon and Ralph Ramkarran to lead a third party in 2020 and he chose Mr. Ramkarran over Freddie Kissoon. My letter here is not a defence of Freddie Kissoon. God knows, Freddie Kissoon does not need any one of us to defend him but Mr. Karran’s letter was an unfair comparison between two outstanding Guyanese who are quite different from each other.
I cannot see for the purpose of leading a party and running a government how you can compare Freddie Kissoon and Ralph Ramkarran. They are two dissimilar personalites. I see Freddie Kissoon as a philosophical maverick. He is like a Socrates who walks up and down the streets of Guyana to save souls. Academics do that. Freddie is made of that stuff. I think that is the world he belongs to. Ralph Ramkarran on the other hand, is one of Guyana’s most experienced politicians and a well respected one at that.
I agree with Mr. Karran that the cream of the society will find someone like Freddie not to their liking and will not trust him with the reins of power. That goes for activists like Freddie all over the world. Bernie Sanders would not have received any votes from America’s rich and wealthy. But he would have beaten Trump. If Freddie Kissoon goes up against Ralph Ramkarran, he would pull more votes than Mr. Ramkarran; but yes, I agree a candidate should get votes from all over his country and not just the down trodden. Mr. Ramkarran would get votes from every sector but I come now to the main point of my letter.
If Freddie would not get the votes of the business people and the middle class why would that put Mr. Ramkarran in front of him? I am not sure Mr. Ramkarran would get the votes of Black people. I believe only one Indian in and outside of Guyana could find acceptance among Black Guyanese voters and that is Freddie Kissoon. I take the liberty of saying that Freddie Kissoon may even stand up against strong Black opponents in the Black community.
If I read Mr. Karran’s point correctly, he is saying Mr. Ramkarran would pull votes from every corner of Guyana but Freddie would falter because the middle and upper classes would be unhappy with him in government and would not trust him, therefore they would not vote for him. Point taken! In as much as you admire Freddie Kissoon, and I am one who does; I concede his radicalism and idealism would not find traction among practical people. But Mr. Ramkarran will be hard pressed to secure a majority because that would entail a good percentage of Black votes which will not be easy to collect.
I hope Mr. Ramkarran does not misinterpret what I am saying. Mr. Ramkarran is an upright citizen and one that is best suited to lead that third party. I certainly respect him. I am in agreement with Mr. Karran’s letter that if he decides to run he will be a tough challenger to beat. My letter here is not a condemnation of Mr. Ramkarran or a defence of Freddie Kissoon. The intention as I mentioned in my opening line is to cite the unfair comparison of two men that belong to two different political worlds.
My second intention is to point out the stumbling block Mr. Ramkarran faces, which the letter writer overlooks, and a stumbling block that Freddie Kissoon does not face. It is the problem of getting Black voters. All in all, I agree with the letter writer that Freddie Kissoon will not make a good third party candidate because that is not the world he belongs to. I agree again with the letter writer that Ralph Ramkarran has to be the person to lead any third party which is being formed. I hope Mr. Ramkarran accepts the challenge and leads that third party. I welcome your entry Sir. Guyana needs it.
Raymond Mc Rae
Berbice

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