Racial political appeal, the culture of the UNC

It will be extremely difficult for me to ever support the UNC in any election in this country, when the language they speak (from captain to cook) on most occasions gives the impression the UNC is a party for the Indians, first and foremost, while they speak of unity in a different language. Of which unity do they speak — Indian unity?

Unless they take their supporters in droves to places like Laventille, Diego Martin or places where they do not have a strong support base, they will never speak the same language they speak in Couva and Chaguanas.

It is no accident that their meetings to discuss the jailing of Basdeo Panday and the issue of the Chief Justice are held in their strongholds. They wickedly make believe that these men were “targeted” because of their race, in an effort to create an emotional state in the minds of their supporters.

Jack Warner is also foolishly contributing to this by stating in a recent political meeting, “No one thought that there would be a Chief Justice with a name like Sat Sharma. Your role was to brush cut grass by the road side and sell doubles.” Obviously feeding the masses with the type of “food” they will want to consume and pretending he doesn’t know that the Chief Justice was appointed by a black man called Patrick Manning. In a previous meeting following the sentencing of Basdeo Panday the people were told that Indians are being discriminated against in reference to Panday’s jailing as if being Indian makes Panday invincible.

Jack “My Money” Warner must be reminded that no amount of money (nor dotish utterances) in this world can buy love, not as easily as a football. He should know that there’s a thin line between love and hate. He is now demonstrating his “love” for Panday who he “hated” yesterday but “loves” today over Dookeran (a past “love”) after realising there was not much “love” to buy from that relationship.

Not surprisinging, Indian Arrival Day celebrations as all other annual Indian religious and cultural celebrations, were again used as the platform to preach racial politics. This time it was Kamla’s turn in her new role as Opposition leader. She did so, following in the shadow of her still beloved leader, Basdeo Panday who once used this same occasion as Opposition leader to embarrass the present Prime Minister in the presence of Indian delegates by claiming that certain Indians in the PNM sold out their birth-right for a wig, jacket and tie and a mess of pottage.

The word culture is an extension of the word cult and they both go hand in hand in the UNC because that is the image being portrayed. That is why they continuously “cry wolf,” claiming that they are being discriminated against, marginalised, treated as second-class, under attack. They also remind the followers of the “blood, sweat and tears” of their forefathers. All this is said before a people who believe but they surely aren’t saying this for Jack, Wade, Gypsy and the other “disciples” like them in the UNC.

It is a fact that none of this type of language is practised on PNM platforms despite the commentators’ attempts to generalise it as being the political culture of this country. They just don’t have the guts to call a spade a spade and this is why I make absolutely no apology for supporting a political party that is healthy, stable, organised, professional, genuinely united and inclusive of all races.