Professor Dr. David Hinds is no racist; he is merely reflecting the societal norm pre-19th century

Mar 04, 2025 Letters

Dear Editor,

In the 19th century and in the centuries previous, the “People owning People” Societal Ethic was accepted as a norm. The serfs, slaves and indentured servants were all owned by their masters and equally, serfs, slaves and indentured servants acknowledged and recognized the ownership by their masters.

When slavery was abolished in 1834, the “People owning People” Societal Ethic did not disappear immediately but kept lingering on among the Freedmen and part of the reason for this is that the Black leadership in the form of schoolmasters, local government personnel and small businesspeople adopted vestiges of the slave masters ownership and perpetuated the “People owning People” Societal Ethic. When the Indentured servants’ Indenture ended, in contrast, they immediately moved into the world of Individualism where the individual was free to captain his life and earn money and accumulate wealth.

What appears as racism or racial discord is really a clash between two Societal Ethics- The “People owning People” Ethic, which Professor David Hinds represents, and which prescribes that leadership of Black organizations and Parties have vestiges of ownership of Black people and Black people have no moral or legal right to move away from Black Parties and Black leaders. Many Black people, and especially younger Afro-Guyanese, are moving away from Afro dominated groups and parties and joining or supporting the PPP/C because this process is, in reality, merely means moving from the “People owning People” Societal Ethic into the Societal Ethic of Individualism, where they have greater freedom, possibilities of wealth accumulation and voting for politicians who represent their interests. If politicians do not represent their interests, they simply do not vote for them and suffer no abuse or sanctions as would be the case if they were in the “People owning People” Societal Ethic.

When Professor Dr Hinds, in a momentary spasm of Defeatism, expressed his deep hurt and contempt for Afro-Guyanese, and especially young Afro-Guyanese, who move away from the Black parties to the PPP/C, he does so not because he does not believe in democracy or people voting how they wish, but simply such would be contrary to the “People owning People” Societal Ethic, strong vestiges of which still survive in the Afro-Guyanese community. Understood from this standpoint, Professor David Hinds is no racist and is a Guyanese nationalist.

Professor Hinds could still save the day. As a high intellectual and Professor, he could easily move into the Individualism Ethic and help the PNC and other Black groups to quickly slide into this Societal Ethic. With this Societal Ethic of Individualism, the movement away from the Black Parties to the PPP/C would cease. The PNC and other Black Parties would then be able to abandon their desperate, empty, ineffective and failing cry of racism and be able to devise credible and constructive manifestoes. Guyanese politics would get back on the rails and be stabilized and the heartburn of gentlemen like Professor Hinds would be channeled into constructive streams.

Yours sincerely
Paul Validum Ramlochan

(Professor Dr. David Hinds is no racist; he is merely reflecting the societal norm pre-19th century)

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Black organizations, indentured servants, People owning People, Societal Ethic

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