debut: 2/16/17
35,068 runs
T&T ..Racial insanity; legitimate concerns
It was one of those disjointed calls from an acquaintance. He was decidedly against my going on a UNC (United National Congress) platform to speak. He declared: “That was the nail in your coffin. I cannot defend your honour anymore.” When I asked him if he had listened to what I said, he retorted: “I do not listen to them; I will not listen to them. I have no business listening to that forum.” I don’t know if he heard what he was saying, but to my mind, his rampage constituted the definition of racial insanity. It suggested the following mode of thinking: “I don’t know; I don’t want to know; and don’t bother with your explanations.” Logic, it seems, had taken leave of his mind, overcome as he was by his emotions. His ears were closed to the world of rational discourse. As a loyal supporter of the PNM (People’s National Movement), he had to assert his loyalty to the clan. It is perfectly acceptable to criticise statements I make. I am obligated to treat such criticism with respect.
On a i95.5 FM morning programme, Dale and Tony made the reasonable point that they could not accept point six of my crime plan, even though a majority of their listeners endorsed my position 53% to 47%.I qualified that statement by saying, “If we wish to break the hold the gangs and criminals have on our society, we must use an iron fist to take them down. We know the mayhem is caused by no more than 200 or 300 people. The police authorities say they know who these criminals are, so we can be surgical in our approach in fighting them.” It must be organized, surgical, and deliberately targeted. We must be cognisant of the human and civil rights of our citizens, although certain human and civil rights will be violated in the process. It is the price we must pay for our freedom.
However, the framework of my discussion is important. I began my presentation with the words of the grandson of a slave and ended with the sentiment of Frederick Douglass, a slave who escaped slavery. I will say more about this later. My PNM acquaintance may not have wanted to listen because I spoke from a UNC platform. Would my contribution have been more palatable if I had delivered the same sentiments from a PNM platform? Would it have mattered, if he were not prepared to listen anyway? Closing one’s mind to logical analysis is the first step towards the entrenchment of a totalitarian state. It is almost as though one prefers to countenance madness at the expense of reason.
We should face the perilous situation before us rather than opt for the nihilistic outcomes that cast bleak shadows on our future.
—Prof Cudjoe’s e-mail address is scudjoe@wellesley.edu. He can be reached @ProfessorCudjoe.
It was one of those disjointed calls from an acquaintance. He was decidedly against my going on a UNC (United National Congress) platform to speak. He declared: “That was the nail in your coffin. I cannot defend your honour anymore.” When I asked him if he had listened to what I said, he retorted: “I do not listen to them; I will not listen to them. I have no business listening to that forum.” I don’t know if he heard what he was saying, but to my mind, his rampage constituted the definition of racial insanity. It suggested the following mode of thinking: “I don’t know; I don’t want to know; and don’t bother with your explanations.” Logic, it seems, had taken leave of his mind, overcome as he was by his emotions. His ears were closed to the world of rational discourse. As a loyal supporter of the PNM (People’s National Movement), he had to assert his loyalty to the clan. It is perfectly acceptable to criticise statements I make. I am obligated to treat such criticism with respect.
On a i95.5 FM morning programme, Dale and Tony made the reasonable point that they could not accept point six of my crime plan, even though a majority of their listeners endorsed my position 53% to 47%.I qualified that statement by saying, “If we wish to break the hold the gangs and criminals have on our society, we must use an iron fist to take them down. We know the mayhem is caused by no more than 200 or 300 people. The police authorities say they know who these criminals are, so we can be surgical in our approach in fighting them.” It must be organized, surgical, and deliberately targeted. We must be cognisant of the human and civil rights of our citizens, although certain human and civil rights will be violated in the process. It is the price we must pay for our freedom.
However, the framework of my discussion is important. I began my presentation with the words of the grandson of a slave and ended with the sentiment of Frederick Douglass, a slave who escaped slavery. I will say more about this later. My PNM acquaintance may not have wanted to listen because I spoke from a UNC platform. Would my contribution have been more palatable if I had delivered the same sentiments from a PNM platform? Would it have mattered, if he were not prepared to listen anyway? Closing one’s mind to logical analysis is the first step towards the entrenchment of a totalitarian state. It is almost as though one prefers to countenance madness at the expense of reason.
We should face the perilous situation before us rather than opt for the nihilistic outcomes that cast bleak shadows on our future.
—Prof Cudjoe’s e-mail address is scudjoe@wellesley.edu. He can be reached @ProfessorCudjoe.
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