Who was the racist … Who was the political opportunist? – Part 1

Dear Editor,
Recently a Billboard was set up depicting former President Dr Cheddi Jagan as “The Father of The Nation.” It is a fitting tribute to a man who has done so much for his country, over and beyond what an ordinary Guyanese could ever achieve during that period. And for such selfless contribution, he is duly respected as the father of this nation.
Now, this honour granted to our former leader has brought out the ire of the PNC, who have come out swinging in public denunciation of the sign, as well as of the PPP/C Party who authorized it. They contend that Dr Jagan was a communist and a racist, one who should be erased from the political landscape of Guyana. They, in typical PNC style, would go about denigrating him on every available platform they can stand on. But is that narrative true? Does that narrative have any documented proof to support it? And the answer is a resounding no!
The person they want as the father of the nation is Burnham and here’s the disgraceful problem they have on their hands, that is, to prove that Burnham was not a racist himself. So, permit me to ask the question, who or what makes one a racist? The meaning of word racist is defined as one who is prejudicial or discriminates against people of another ethnicity. That definition if taken as a singular cause does not give the true meaning of a racist, however, further scrutiny of the word racist would reveal that a racist is someone who believes that his race makes them better, more intelligent, and more moral than people of other races, this was Burnham’s peculiar problem.
In the first place, Burnham never respected the other races in Guyana, he never saw them as equals to his own race. In that regard he went about shoring up The Black Race as superior to other races; if that is not racism or Black Apartheid then what is? He buttressed that concept in a strategy of systemic rigging of every election held here in this country, thus ensuring that he stays in power for life. That Black triumphalism theory of his was brutally played out on every front here in Guyana, Burnham ensured that no other race would have that God-given privilege to choose who governs them.
No wonder the present-day dingbats tried that same strategy when for five months they desperately tried to deny another person of Indian descent the right to winning, as well as, the right to govern this nation. It was that inherent racism, the notion that drove them to it!
So, to call for Burnham to be acclaimed father of the nation is simply asking for the impossible to take place. The PNC must first free itself of its racist ideology which is institutionalized through the system of rigging. When that mentality is wiped clean out of their minds, then and only then can that party gain some form of decency or political standing in modern Guyanese Society.

Respectfully,
Neil Adams