Dear Editor,
With reference to Akola Thompson’s missive titled ‘I believe objective truth to be subjective depending on who is telling the tale’ published on 9th December, why is it so hard for this columnist to defend her statements by providing the evidence? The columnist basically responded to my criticisms of her column by going around in circles with no evidence to defend the sweeping assertions about Indo-Guyanese being the most privileged ethnic group in Guyana. Editor, I know what an opinion is, and I also know what a column is, but do keep in mind that a column published in the leading newspaper in Guyana, read by thousands of people daily, those readers may expect from that columnist an understanding of the art of persuasion. Can’t a sound argument be made to substantiate generalised statements of wholesale privileges and discrimination in Guyana? Convince me that what was written has some merit, make me ponder over those claims rather than look up, down and under those utterings for proof. Why should a member of the public from poor Guyana (the normal folks I’m referring to) pay for a copy of the Stabroek Newspaper and reads a claim that cats are falling from the sky, or Afro-Guyanese are the least privileged ethnic group in the country, or that Indo-Guyanese are automatically economically privileged because of ethnicity without a single reference to any easily available statistical information or citation of credible sources? Why should I believe, and why shouldn’t I feel offended if I belong to the ethnic group labelled as privileged, yet my circumstances do not show this, and I’ve not received any preferential treatment because of my ethnicity? By making general statements about privilege and discrimination in a country where claims of discrimination and oppression are made by persons from all ethnic groups, half-baked statements offer no enlightenment on the subject, but shows a bias towards an entire ethnic group.
Editor, your columnist believes objective truth to be ‘very subjective and dependent on who is telling the tale…’ really? This statement is quite contradictory. Objective truth does not have to be ‘subjective’ if one can make a sound argument to justify that position and/or present information from credible sources when making sweeping assertions about an entire ethnic group. Ms. Thompson did not use terms such as: ‘many, few, or some’, instead statements were made about Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese regarding privilege and discrimination without one supporting sentence to back up her claims which she tried to pass off as facts. By using broad terms and omitting qualified adjectives, she makes generalised statements. A reader takes writings in a newspaper at face value and should not be expected to know what the writer meant or wanted to say. Ms. Thompson now claims that her family members and friends are systematically targeted yet cannot provide one example to the public. She responds to my rebuttal of her column and does the same thing I criticised her for. Instead of going around in circles and making sweeping assertions that she pulled out of thin air, she should have defended her column ‘Privilege in building economic wealth’ by backing up her statements with the evidence she examined when she arrived at her conclusions. Editor, your columnist comes up with new statements about privilege and discrimination and again does not provide any evidence to justify her claims. She states ‘There are numerous studies on the higher incarceration rates Blacks face and the reason why.’ Do tell us why, and please keep in mind that I’m living in Guyana, not the USA or UK. Then she asserts ‘understanding the colonial genesis of these institutions will make it apparent that even those who are Black can buy into anti-Black beliefs and stereotypes.’ She provides no source for this information that the public can look up. Is she saying that Blacks are racially discriminated against by other Blacks in Guyana? Did she conduct her own studies and where can we get hold of these? Do tell, Editor, I’m dying to read more wonderful and enlightened writings.
Ms. Thompson then goes on to tell us about her academic achievements at the university level as if I should be bedazzled and ashamed to ask for something so lowly as proof or a sound argument. And she says that her work is easily provable… should I visit her classes to get the proof? Editor, I also received a university education which I sought on my own and didn’t receive any handouts from the government. In fact, I faced blatant discrimination which I can prove when I sought a scholarship to complete a field of study that I couldn’t undertake with the resources I had. This Stabroek News columnist challenged me to do my own research on anti-Black ideologies and policies in Guyana because she wrote about this topic and was asked to present the evidence, or at minimum, make sound arguments to justify the conclusions in the column. I can honestly say that I wasn’t offended, I was just bewildered that a columnist can make such statements without an iota of persuasion or evidence. It’s like saying that the sky is falling, and when I look outside and don’t see this happening, I’m left wondering if you’re talking about the sky in Berbice or Essequibo. Editor, if the standard for your columnists is to just make broad statements on charged topics that bring about lots of arguments/debates in the public without any sort of justification to consider, then all Guyanese should be able to get jobs with your newspaper, and all letter writers who make sound arguments on issues that affect Guy-ana which you publish, should be paid something, or at least be invited to your Christmas party for a drink as remuneration.
Sincerely,
Narissa Deokarran
