APNU/AFC MP’s statements wrong, offensive, and racist

Dear Editor,
As the saying goes, “If you allow a lie to be told over and over again about a group of people without anyone objecting to it, it becomes believable, and difficult with the passage of time to prove it as being a lie or concoction”.
This quote rang true in my head as I listened to one Opposition Parliamentarian speak with professor David Hinds on his ‘Politics 101’ podcast. This MP is Amanza Walton-Desir from the People’s National Congress Reform-led A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change coalition. She said that PPP supporters were not seemingly “free” to decipher what’s wrong or right, make decisions for themselves, and were happy with not questioning the various rationale put forward by the PPP politicians.
If this wasn’t bad enough, the MP then said the PPP supporters/members were “trapped”, “in bondage” and are “mentally lazy”.
She ended her diatribe by comparing us to the PNC/R/APNU+AFC supporters, whom she described as being “far more enquiring and inquisitive, and have a far (greater) appreciation for the democratic process…”.
Firstly, I confess I thought the MP was living in a world that had no Guyana when she made those statements. The MP could not be speaking about a part of our population, or Guyanese for that matter, in the way that she was speaking. I forgive this lack of knowledge, evidence, critical analogy and conscience that she seemingly displayed, which has been a feature of far too many political talking heads in the party.
But I will never forget what she truly thinks about PPP supporters and members. That she thinks we are not able to decipher for ourselves is almost laughable and crazy at the same time.
I want to give her an invitation to come into the PPP family and you will see what makes our politics worthy of being superior to the current Opposition in terms of track records while in and out of Government, development and thinking. We are critical thinkers. We know what or who we want as our leaders. We could decipher for ourselves. We know who we can trust with the governance of this country and our future. We are responsible, grown and mature Guyanese. We are not enslaved or “shackled”, nor are our backs in a corner. We are not trapped or mentally lazy.
The fact that Walton responded the way she did is mentally lazy. It’s unintellectual, unscholarly and bankrupt. It is unreasonable, and it is politicking. It is a critical analysis of a sitting member of a political party or legislature. It is a school boy synopsis of things or people in the modern world. It is racist.
I resent this shameful level to which this MP has taken her “reasoning skills or lack thereof”. It must be condemned, and points to a wider problem in society that is leading to many of the dilemmas we are faced with, including racism and pent-up anger.
The supporters/members of PPP have contributed to this country in critical ways that have to do with thinking far more than any politician has in the current Opposition. Just look at our infrastructure and agriculture development for example.
We hold this disgraceful politician as an example of the way the APNU+AFC thinks about the people that they wanted to lead at the last election.
When they come to our homes again, we will shun them.
You see, we are a proud and peaceful people. We don’t fight our leaders in the public or malign them secretly or covertly, like the PNC/APNU+AFC does. Just look at your own house while throwing stones.
Finally, if the Opposition really can think critically or freely, as Walton-Desir suggests, why are we still reeling from their attempt at rigging our national elections? Why are we still trying to make sure everyone who participated in the rigging is held accountable for their actions? And finally, why is the Opposition still losing in all the courts?
This is an unfair assessment of one section of the population. I might be even bolder to suggest it is indicative of a racist, narcissistic and narrow way of thinking.
Guyana deserves better thinkers. The PNC APNU+AFC does itself a disservice if it is going to think like this.

Yours truly,
Attiya Baksh