No to public bullying

Respect for the rights of others is the life blood of any civilized society. If we are so classified, then we are hemorrhaging copiously. Democracy allows for workers and citizens to engage in protest action to highlight their plight; real or imagined. So peaceful marches and public meetings are quite in order.

What should not be tolerated is the destruction of property, the intimidation of workers, the public, and the denial of treatment to the sick and vulnerable. These constitute barbaric acts of bullying and should be criminalized

It has now become commonplace to block roads with burning debris. This not only damages, in many cases, the already unacceptable condition of the road but may also place the lives of those seeking emergency medical care in grave jeopardy by making entry and or exit impossible or exceedingly difficult.

Those who engage in the blocking of roadways should be held accountable for the damage to affected public property and the disruption and inconvenience to the public at large.   

Judging from the behavior of some protestors shown in news broadcasts, it would seem that the coverage is a trigger for more outrageous behavior and the protesting bullies come to the conclusion that they are being lionized. Thus maybe the time has arrived for reporters to focus mainly on the damage done to public property and the trauma suffered by the Haripauls and Harrisons.     

The entry roads to the capital city are quite vulnerable to the whims and fancies of those wishing to intimidate the public. Measures must be put in place to make these acts of sabotage more difficult. There have been far too many instances of acts of intimidation and robbery on the Beetham Highway to not put measures in place. One is troubled by the fact that both sides of the parliamentary aisle have not yet gotten together to effect a solution.

Only recently a former minister of the previous regime was robbed on the very highway and this is in addition to the periodic acts of mass robbery and damage to passing vehicles. The ongoing action by unionized workers at the Mt Hope Medical Sciences Complex has resulted in several clinics being made nonfunctional as patient notes cannot be accessed.

So the poor, the sick and the vulnerable are being denied medical treatment because of the very union bullies who are professing to be standing up for the poor and oppressed in society. Maybe as far as the unions are concerned, the sick and vulnerable are irrelevant collateral damage in their struggle for what appears to be political power.

Law-abiding citizens cannot but feel deeply concerned by the level of bitterness, hate and vitriol that has been manifested. To go along this path can only lead to chaos and pain for all. There is a definite need to rectify the existing social ills but we are going about it the wrong way.

There is an urgent and definite need for all Trinis, irrespective of political affiliation, culture and ethnicity, to take a unified stand to stop our slide into the river of no return. It has been suggested that we are on the edge of the “energy abyss”.

Frightening as that may be, it pales in comparison to the social chaos that can be borne out of what appears to be, in many cases, politically instigated protests by community groups and unions.

The productive law-biding citizenry who constitute the silent majority and who suffer the trauma of the intimidation by the bullies, who constitute a raucous minority, need to act now, to stand up and be united in the cause of country. Being silent and inactive is no longer an option.