A significant number of persons, including those who have deluded themselves, have written about the habit of rationalisation. Ayn Rand, the philosopher, wrote: “Rationalisation is a process of not perceiving reality, but of attempting to make reality fit one’s emotions.” It is too early to make an assessment whether Gary Griffith …
Read More »Dear Editor: Westmoorings barrier betrays spiralling security concerns across socio-economic strata
A video of a young man removing a barrier strategically placed across the road in a community somewhere in west Trinidad raised some serious concerns. Initially he was thought to be villain. It turns out that the barriers were illegally placed across the roadways. It also became apparent that the …
Read More »Dear Editor: Has T&T reverted from Police Service to Police Force? And at what price our liberty?
“When police are militarised, they are more likely to be attacked (Carriere, 2016). The militarisation of police does not reduce crime. Elite teams neither reduce crime nor enhance public safety and become used routinely in low-income communities. “There is no evidence that this practice enhances officer safety nor lowers crime …
Read More »Gilkes: Happy In-Dependence: reviewing 56 years of cynicism and self-hate
Happy birthday Iere; yuh tun 56… which means yuh mature, and with maturity comes reasoning and a clearer understanding of who you are and what you still need to do to reach where you want to go. But that’s when yuh mature, not when yuh eh sure of yuhself, confused as to …
Read More »Daly Bread: The charge of the light brigade; a look at govt’s new direction on crime
With hoopla and fanfare, a Commissioner of Police and a new Minister of National Security have been appointed within days of each other. The Commissioner is Gary Griffith, a former military captain and a Minister of National Security when the Opposition UNC was last in power. The Minister of National …
Read More »Demming: The Captain vs the Major General; will T&T benefit from Dr Rowley’s new direction?
Is it any surprise that National Security Minister Edmund Dillon has been removed? The Prime Minister has chosen to sacrifice one of the persons who brought home his political victory in preference for an opposition player. PM Dr Keith Rowley is either a masterful collaborator or the rocks he studied …
Read More »Dear Editor: Crime, corruption and cockroaches; Griffith was appointed to protect elites, not regular Trinbagonians
“The national conversation on crime—as advanced by the same elite—has been about a few devious miscreants holding the country to ransom; and once they are brought to heel, the country’s crime problem will be solved. “Unfortunately the wider public has for lack of any other voices openly countering the rhetoric, …
Read More »Satirically speaking: Super-Gary-gets-appointed-Live-Wire-gets-nauseous…
Someone somewhere at sometime once said: “That’s so crazy it just might work…” The phrase caught on. But the person who uttered it and the ill-judged venture he or she had in mind? God alone knows. Maybe there’s a clue there. Regardless, the Dr Keith Rowley-led government sought to repopularise …
Read More »Griffith vows to implement “Intelligence led policing”; MPs vote ex-minister as Police Commissioner
“To those law abiding citizens who have been skeptical of this decision made, it is my intention to win over your trust and support in the very near future. “To those within the Service who may also share concerns, I assure you, I am well aware that I can never …
Read More »Demming: Death of a “Baby Bandit”; Ector’s sobriquet says much about our failed war on crime
How could it be a “Baby Bandit?” My attention was attracted to the sobriquet “Baby Bandit” in reference to a slain youth-man—David Ector—who turned out to be known to the Police and the community. Both groups knew this person to be euphemistically “walking on thin ice”—allegedly involved in criminal activity. …
Read More »Dear Editor: Cockroaches, gun talk, and mamaguy; Griffith as Police Commissioner would be a travesty
“[…] Gary Griffith is not unknown to us. What is unknown, is the justification for this claim that he is a ‘change agent’. How has Mr Griffith’s presence in public life enhanced life in the Republic? “For those who argue that Mr Griffith has the passion and the drive to …
Read More »Dear Editor: Racist, dehumanising language and militarised approach to crime will make things worse
“There’s no serious analysis of the observation—that even the Acting Commissioner of Police once made—that ‘crime’ is as much a social issue as it is a law-enforcement/security issue. “No, it’s easier to use words like ‘pest’ and ‘cockroaches’, strip the criminalised elements of their humanity—which they themselves often do as …
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