Boy, oh boy! What a contrast! I'm talking about Integrity Commission Chairman losing his firearm (Newsday, February 14) and the generally muted response of the media to this unpardonable incident.
It makes me wonder if the lethal weapon was equipped with a silencer? Seriously! Come on, media houses! If it was Anand or Jack, you guys would have shifted Carmona off the headlines without any urging from anyone and substituted a string of strident calls for them to be fired. Why the apparent different treatment of Ken Gordon? Why the almost silent treatment? Is it a tribal thing, seeing he earned his stripes through journalism? Or, is it because you feel it's no big deal?
I am so very happy and relieved the Police Commissioner has refused to return the weapon to Gordon. All things considered, to me, even if the law didn't require such response, he has lost the right to such a privilege. It's a privilege because so many law-abiding citizens have applied for gun licences and are still awaiting word due to the overly stringent background checks that have to be done, along with other considerations.
We need not be reminded that sometimes a person's negligence can have disasterous consequences for him, her or someone else.I thank God the young man who found the lost firearm had the broughtupcy to carry it to the police. If he was negligent in doing that, who knows what harm could have come to others? The authorities should encourage this young man by rewarding him appropriately.
As I said, I really don't expect the authorities would favour my suggestions because it wasn't Anand, it wasn't Jack.
Sais Beharrylall,
Balmain Village,
Couva