Words were correctly interpreted

Dear Editor,

I refer to Dr Henry Jeffrey’s response (‘Trying for five years to indicate precisely what was said’ SN, March 15). One may argue that the perfect thing to do was to submit Dr Jeffrey’s same words. Be that as it may, I didn’t think it was necessary. My summary was accurate. My interpretation was correct. I was under no fear of misinterpretation since in seconds I could have Googled him. Surely, words cannot be so confining and restricting that one cannot use another cluster of nouns and adjectives to convey the meaning of another person’s pronouncement.

Here is Dr Jeffrey’s expression, and then I will juxtapose it with my impression. I honestly think they mean the same thing. “I do not believe that our country is in this condition because over the last half a century our politicians have been wicked and intended this kind of backwardness.” The following is my understanding;   “Dr Jeffrey stated that he could not believe that some of the backwardness seen in the past could be attributed to the deliberate intentions of the two parties that were in government ‒ the PPP and PNC.”

Let us become scholarly and engage in meanings and interpretations. First, Dr Jeffrey points to the “backwardness” existing in Guyana over the last fifty years. Secondly, he uses the word “intention”, meaning that he cannot believe politicians chose to create the backwardness. This is what “intention” means. It is the planned or studied execution of an attitude. It means that the action was a foregone conclusion in the mind of the implementer. Now let’s examine what I wrote. First, I made use of Jeffrey’s word, “backwardness.” Secondly, the words, “deliberate intention of the two parties” were used. This is equivalent to the following adjectives of Dr Jeffrey; “wicked and intended.”

To conclude then, my interpretation is almost identical. Dr Jeffrey for a strange reason will only accept the reproduction of his words. That may be his choice but an interpretation if accurate does not weaken one’s argument and in the situation here, I offered the meaning of what Dr Jeffrey wrote. I did not have to use the identical grammar. He observed that for five years he has been trying to indicate to me what was said. Why does he want to do that? I am interested in the meaning of what he said five years ago. Dr Jeffrey seems to have a preoccupation with the reproduction of his sentences. It is the conveyance of meaning that he ought to write on. To be frank without being rude, I think he wants to avoid that road.

In the end, he continues where he left off five years ago – those are not my words; Kissoon, didn’t use my words. Yes, I agree my submissions are not the words he published. But my submissions contained a meaning identical to his. I cannot understand why Jeffrey spent time arguing over exact quotes rather than defend what he believes in. He believes that deadly forms of backwardness that characterize Guyana were not a result of the deliberate schemes of our politicians who have been in power for the past fifty years (to use Jeffrey’s time-frame). I disagree. I believe there has been wicked (Jeffrey’s word) and deliberately conspired mischief by our politicians that has contributed to our under-developed physiology. No academic can be so short-sighted, so naïve, so ill-informed to deny that the attitude of the Jagdeo and Ramotar governments towards the environmental ugliness of Georgetown was not intended.

I simply cannot understand why Dr Jeffrey thinks politicians cannot be narrow-minded and do destructive things out of depraved thinking with a view to hurting or weakening their enemies. And this has been the shape of our politics for the past sixty years. I do not want to be harsh on Dr Jeffrey, but he of all people should be aware of that destructive instinct because he and I have been in the thickness of it as UG lecturers. It didn’t need genius to see that President Jagdeo had no interest in UG’s future. As I wrote in my original letter last Monday, I could offer numerous examples of this wickedness but I believe it is not necessary because Dr Jeffrey knows what all of Guyana knows.

Yours faithfully,

Frederick Kissoon