Post by Supertrini on Jul 28, 2009 16:46:19 GMT
This morning I awoke to the news that Manning announced in a function recognizing the anniversary of the 1990 coup yesterday, that an assassination attempt was made on his life this time last year and that he kept it quiet. See link to news article below for details.
guardian.co.tt/news/crime/2009/07/27/pm-bloodshed-averted
Now I'm not sure what to make of this latest twist. Manning is quite adept at manipulating the media, giving them some new bacchanal to divert attention from some other important issue he is trying to force thru secretly. That is the cynic in me talking of course.
The realist has another perspective. Since I began this group over a year now, many things have come to light. Persons write me with their personal stories, perhaps enlighten me to what is going on in the country. On one such occasion last year, I was approached by a member via email to see if i would be willing to assist them. Apparently , I assume, they figured from my writings that I was passionate about my country and extremely frustrated. Frustrated enough that they felt they could ask me to help them organize...to assassinate the PM.
Now you must look at this from my perspective. I had never had any foray into the public eye, or politics until i did this group. I was never in these circles. To me, this was a joke. It had to be. The group was in its infancy, so the paranoid part of me was thinking perhaps this member is a PNM stooge and trying to test me. If I agree, perhaps police will come breaking down my door for treason. Hilarious, i know.
In the end, I respectfully declined. Not because I was afraid of Manning, not because I was worried I was being led into a trap. I declined because it is the wrong thing to do. Despite my frustrations, I'm not a killer. I'm a regular guy, I pay my taxes, I play mas every year, I feed my fish....I don't plot murders???
But even if it wasn't a test, and it was a genuine invitation....I felt it was a good indicator of the state of mind of some of the citizens. Now some people will think, why didn't i report it?? Let's get real people....report what?? Some person I never met spoke to me about killing the PM on facebook??? Since when is that evidence of anything??
Besides, how could I know its not just people just talking out their own ass?? Some fellas who got too drunk one day, and let their bravado get the best of them.
Here's the other thing, I'm not sure If i feel Manning has not brought this upon himself. He has led this country down a road where the average person no longer feels their opinion matters. Where they feel the govt does not care or listen, nor have any intention of listening. It is this feeling of helplessness that creates these thoughts of assassinations, that fuels these discussions, that gives strength to those who see no other alternative.
History has shown that leaders who create an environment of detachment from a significant segment of the electorate, and choose to only attend to the needs of his hardcore supporters.....invariably....lead to their own demise. For a large portion of our society...no matter who u support or believe...they feel the system doesn't work.
This is the worse environment to have. The people have lost faith in the system. They really have, and it is a sad state of affairs. Now the cynic in me is raising its ugly head again, and thinks that maybe this is Manning trying to play the sympathy card to rile up his hardcore PNM supporters. It may also be part of a bigger strategy to justify him implementing new policies to create even greater censorship within the media, and among groups like ours. He can thus say that these are the earmarks of treason and he must safe guard democracy. But how is it any different to what he is doing?
Was he worried about democracy when he went down to that radio station and got those 2 radio announcers suspended for criticizing him on the air? Was he worried about democracy when he got police to crush a legal protest in St James a few months ago organized by the COP?? Where were his concerns about democracy when he got that activist, i forget his name, arrested by the police for putting up fliers criticizing him. (the same flier distribution method used by the PNM in election periods)
I could go on and on , with examples of his hypocrisy and double standards. And an even more important question, why did he wait a full year to disclose details about this attempt on his life if it was real?? Why reveal it now?? What did he mean, he is glad he didn't report it back then because then more people would be dead?? Is he saying if he reported it, he would use his own death squad to take them out first??
This news brings about more questions for me that answers. What do you think?? I would love if you post ur comments and questions on the discussion board under this same topic.
Thanks for your continued support Supertrinis.
The link to the Supertrinis facebook group is below:
www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=36510770462
guardian.co.tt/news/crime/2009/07/27/pm-bloodshed-averted
Now I'm not sure what to make of this latest twist. Manning is quite adept at manipulating the media, giving them some new bacchanal to divert attention from some other important issue he is trying to force thru secretly. That is the cynic in me talking of course.
The realist has another perspective. Since I began this group over a year now, many things have come to light. Persons write me with their personal stories, perhaps enlighten me to what is going on in the country. On one such occasion last year, I was approached by a member via email to see if i would be willing to assist them. Apparently , I assume, they figured from my writings that I was passionate about my country and extremely frustrated. Frustrated enough that they felt they could ask me to help them organize...to assassinate the PM.
Now you must look at this from my perspective. I had never had any foray into the public eye, or politics until i did this group. I was never in these circles. To me, this was a joke. It had to be. The group was in its infancy, so the paranoid part of me was thinking perhaps this member is a PNM stooge and trying to test me. If I agree, perhaps police will come breaking down my door for treason. Hilarious, i know.
In the end, I respectfully declined. Not because I was afraid of Manning, not because I was worried I was being led into a trap. I declined because it is the wrong thing to do. Despite my frustrations, I'm not a killer. I'm a regular guy, I pay my taxes, I play mas every year, I feed my fish....I don't plot murders???
But even if it wasn't a test, and it was a genuine invitation....I felt it was a good indicator of the state of mind of some of the citizens. Now some people will think, why didn't i report it?? Let's get real people....report what?? Some person I never met spoke to me about killing the PM on facebook??? Since when is that evidence of anything??
Besides, how could I know its not just people just talking out their own ass?? Some fellas who got too drunk one day, and let their bravado get the best of them.
Here's the other thing, I'm not sure If i feel Manning has not brought this upon himself. He has led this country down a road where the average person no longer feels their opinion matters. Where they feel the govt does not care or listen, nor have any intention of listening. It is this feeling of helplessness that creates these thoughts of assassinations, that fuels these discussions, that gives strength to those who see no other alternative.
History has shown that leaders who create an environment of detachment from a significant segment of the electorate, and choose to only attend to the needs of his hardcore supporters.....invariably....lead to their own demise. For a large portion of our society...no matter who u support or believe...they feel the system doesn't work.
This is the worse environment to have. The people have lost faith in the system. They really have, and it is a sad state of affairs. Now the cynic in me is raising its ugly head again, and thinks that maybe this is Manning trying to play the sympathy card to rile up his hardcore PNM supporters. It may also be part of a bigger strategy to justify him implementing new policies to create even greater censorship within the media, and among groups like ours. He can thus say that these are the earmarks of treason and he must safe guard democracy. But how is it any different to what he is doing?
Was he worried about democracy when he went down to that radio station and got those 2 radio announcers suspended for criticizing him on the air? Was he worried about democracy when he got police to crush a legal protest in St James a few months ago organized by the COP?? Where were his concerns about democracy when he got that activist, i forget his name, arrested by the police for putting up fliers criticizing him. (the same flier distribution method used by the PNM in election periods)
I could go on and on , with examples of his hypocrisy and double standards. And an even more important question, why did he wait a full year to disclose details about this attempt on his life if it was real?? Why reveal it now?? What did he mean, he is glad he didn't report it back then because then more people would be dead?? Is he saying if he reported it, he would use his own death squad to take them out first??
This news brings about more questions for me that answers. What do you think?? I would love if you post ur comments and questions on the discussion board under this same topic.
Thanks for your continued support Supertrinis.
The link to the Supertrinis facebook group is below:
www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=36510770462