Ah not movin!

When Gillian Lucky stood up to Basdeo Panday and said that she would not compromise her integrity I know what she meant and exactly what she felt. One has to be very passionate about one’s career and one has to have strong values to make such a statement. Today I am going to say exactly that: “I will not compromise my integrity!” I am simply amazed by the audacity of some people. I have had the “pleasure” (please note that I am being sarcastic here) of receiving a phone call from an old acquaintance last week related to a recent occurrence in Tabaquite.  She called me early one Friday morning just as I completed my daily prayer asking God for a safe and productive day. Now, I didn’t mind that early call but I did mind the reason why she called me, and the attitude she had when she called.

She called me to tell me (please place some emphasis on the word ‘tell’) how to do my job! She seemed very annoyed by some of my articles. She hoped I would stop “slandering” people, as I did with everything else in Tabaquite. Well, of course I really appreciate it and I take this opportunity to thank her for being such a dedicated reader, but it also tells me that she lacks basic reading and understanding skills. If I write about something in Tabaquite it is because I am genuinely concerned about things in the village and I want better for the people. After all, I live in Tabaquite. I will not just sit around and ignore the problems that are plaguing our once peaceful village and pretend everything is just honky dory.

What she was telling me is that I have slandered Tabaquite by pleading with our non-action government for better roads, for pavements and for police posts, which by the way now exist in Caparo. I have written about students walking like mad people on the road and the general lack of respect for our once highly respected school uniform. Is that slandering Tabaquite? Of course not, it is simply stating the truth and the problems that we face. According to the dictionary ‘slander’ means: a false and injurious report. In what way are my reports false and injurious and to whom? Go down to Tabaquite, and try driving in a straight line and tell me what happens. . . oh and I mean drive in a straight line even when school children walking on ‘de road.’

I state the facts! This way the people of the village (if they had turned a blind eye) will now see the problems and do something about it. It is my job as a writer to see things the way they really are. I will not lie about it and I am not slandering anybody or anything. I am trying to open the eyes of people like my acquaintance who seem to go about their lives everyday and not give a bit about what is becoming of this world. I take my job seriously, and I express my views in the way I see fit. I would imagine just as I respect the views of anyone else whether I agree with them or not, I expect that my own views would similarly be respected.

I will not compromise my integrity. If I were the type of writer who could be coerced into changing my opinion just to satisfy the whim of a disgruntled, ineffectual individual, then I might as well resign my job at Newsday with immediate effect and go home to Tabaquite and sit in a rocking chair! Yeah right! It doesn’t mean that I will not listen to both sides of an argument, but it does mean that I stand by what I say and that my parents raised a child with an extremely strong backbone. Stealing a note from an infamous quote by former political stalwart, Hulsie Bhagan,(who definitely did not bend because someone wanted her to) “Ah not movin’!” Oh! And just a little word of advice to my caller and dedicated reader, in the future if you must call me regarding work, please do so during working hours. Don’t call me on my private cell phone early in the morning when I am in a good mood. Thanks!