Have we lost our minds?

Dec 20, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

I am perplexed at the miasma emanating from the Guyanese understanding of the word like.
Facebook offers online reader an opportunity to express their feelings after reading an article by liking it. I guess Facebook did not put the opposite of like (hate) because no one wants to promote hate in the world. The general idea is that if you don’t like something just leave it.
There were two contrasting articles in KN Sunday 15th that I would like to direct attention to. One is, “Bandits return to crime scene with armed driver to collect crashed bike.” The article tells about two bandits on motorcycle snatching a gold chain from a woman who was driving a car. The woman chased them down, crashed into a vehicle, but somehow managed to induce the rider to crash into a minibus.
The bandits were picked up by a car. The car returned to the scene and the driver drew a gun while the two bandits proceeded to beat the taxi driver who was trying to keep the bike until the police arrived at the scene. The bandits took the bike and got away.
At the time of writing, 367 people had liked this article online.
Are we crazy? Or is this a reflection of our obsession with crime. Maybe we have watched too many movies and our fascination for crime has overwhelmed us. Had the article stated that the bandits were apprehended, the 367 “likes” could have been justified.
On October 16th a KN article, “Head-on collision leaves five dead, one critical – as police vehicle slams into car”, amassed 47 “likes”. People are dying in numbers on our roadways, and we seem to be liking it.
The other article in focus is, “Bridging the information gap”. This article offers an opportunity for Guyanese to play a part in deciding their destiny and the destiny of their future generations. It speaks of KN dedicating one of its pages, “on a daily basis towards highlighting issues about the oil industry”.
The article gives the assurance that KN, “will expose the dirty and dubious tactics used by oil companies, including corrupting politicians and making secretive deals.” The article further stated, “We are offering this feature as a public service and we welcome any suggestions.”
This article offers citizens the opportunity to join in a united struggle to avoid the” resource curse” that has struck so many African countries, from striking Guyana.
Our livelihood and that of our children is at stake here and only 8 people indicated that they “like” it online. Are we that depraved that we cannot recognize good over evil?
Rudolph Singh

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