Aubrey Norton: Pavlovian reflexes  

Aug 09, 2022 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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Kaieteur News – This column here is a continuation from yesterday’s analysis of the politics of the opposition leader. All politicians propagandise when they are in opposition. They classify everything that the ruling party does as bad. When they get into power, those that now form opposition play the identical game.

What opposition parties say and do have to be astute and sophisticated because in societies with an educated population, people can dismiss you, and it can damage you at election time.

The refusal of the opposition leader to shake the president’s hand on two occasions has to be one of the most comical and self-defeating misdemeanor in politics anywhere in the world.

There is nothing disastrous in individuals refusing to shake hands. The personal issue may be so traumatic John may refuse to shake Suraj’s hand. Those are persons acting in their own capacities. Norton acts in his status as one of the representatives of the nationhood of Guyana. He has moral obligations in that classification that untold numbers of Guyanese do not.

That Mr. Norton can elevate the political importance of a handshake is beyond the hilarious and the absurd. But Mr. Norton’s decision becomes understandable when you use context. Mr. Norton grew up in the youth arm (YSM) of the PNC at a time when the PPP, WPA and several civil society groupings were relentless in their confrontation with the PNC government.

The YSM was generally the part of the PNC that fought the street battles with government’s opposition. Many of the young men and also young women in the YSM who eventually made the transition to the father/mother party – the PNC – could not reshape their deportment and mentality.

What happened then was that though they were accepted in the father/mother party, the leading lights in the PNC’s hierarchy never considered them personalities that could be groomed for leadership. The PNC is replete with such examples.

When Forbes Burnham died, there was no serious consideration making Hamilton Green his successor. When Hoyte died there was no serious consideration making Robert Corbin his successor. When in 2010, the PNC opened up its leader position to competition, there were four contenders – Faith Harding, James Bond, Carl Greenidge and David Granger.

Greenidge and Granger were in front by billions of miles. Harding was always seen as a rough lady in the PNC involved in social missteps. In one unsavoury incident that was the talk of the town, she was the central fighter in a brawl in a night club.

I remember the incident well. The other fighter was a student of mine at the time. All of UG was talking about the incident. Bond was seen as a road fighter and was never in contention. Unfortunately, Bond has not been able to shake off that label.

I remember during the five-month of election rigging, he passed by my home on the Railway Embankment on top of a large truck, with dozens of residents of Sophia. Traffic was disrupted. He was shouting from a bullhorn that the PNC had won the election. The entourage made its way into the heart of the city where traffic came to a halt.

In that 2010 competition, Carl Greenidge, who was away from Guyana for 20 years, lost to Granger by 12 votes. The meaning of Greenidge’s success lies in how people see their leaders. Although Bond was very popular among PNC youths and was seen as a young Hamilton Green, Greenidge was seen as more presentable than him. Mr. Norton won less than 50 percent of the votes at the congressional election in December last year. One can argue that Norton was not seen with enlightened hearts and minds by the PNC delegates.

There is a fault-line in the psychology of working class people all over the world. A farmer will use his tractor to block the pathway of the police in a protest in the village. But when it is time to choose a contender to become head of government they will go with the cancer specialist who is also from the village. It is a sad fault of the ordinary man and woman of this world but it is a brutal fact.

Mr. Norton continues to behave as if he is leading a street protest during the era of mo fyaah/slo fayyah. I believe Mr. Norton honestly in his mind thinks that the refusal to shake the president’s hand is a thing that the street boys will praise him for.

He plays to that gallery. I cannot see Mr. Norton going in any other direction than the pathways he has been riding on since his days in the YSM. He is disappointing the African people that love the PNC.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

 

 

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