In Defense of Louis...

Never in a million years did I think that I would find myself writing in defense of the like of Louis Lee Sing as for the most part I abhor his arrogance in the way he conducts his affairs in much the same way I do not like pit bull dogs for their savage nature and unpredictability.

That said, in the current climate of kill or be killed, there seems to be no better personal defense short of a gun than a pit bull for your property, and in these 'doh care' and lawless times there may be no better man for the job of law enforcement than an arrogant self opinionated man like Louis.

Look, there is no escaping the fact that Trinidad has quickly become the land of 'Advantage,' where everybody who gets a small opportunity uses it over others for their own gain. Further, the break down in the observance of law & order in this society is the fruit of this tree and we are living subhuman lives because of it.

How long must the argument go on as to 'who should make a jail first?'

'when they deal with them big boys and them they could deal with we.'

I say with all due respect that ALL manner of lawlessness needs to be treated with the same degree of tenacity and purpose, and while I (like almost everyone else) would like to see the corrupt Judges, Ministers Police and Public Officials knocked from their perches, prosecuted for their crimes and jailed for the abuse meted out to the citizenry, that should not allow anyone a pass for littering, parking indiscriminately or otherwise breaking the law.

This thinking is precisely where Commissioner Gibbs made the most foolish of blunders in his bid to be crime stopper extraordinaire, when, presented with the perfect opportunity to demonstrate fairness and firmness in his deliberation and the exercise of his authority, he did the complete opposite, capitulated to power and let Nizam Mohammed off of the proverbial hook.

What message do you think he sent to the criminal element in society and those who would contemplate breaking the law?

With a Commissioner in the like of Louis we may have had resolution to all manner of crime already and a cessation of arms and gang violence. When I hear my friends reminisce on the type of Commissioner Burroughs used to be I think to myself maybe that is the damn post for the man self.

The laws at his disposal to enforce are the very laws we should be obeying, and it is time we the people put an end to this culture of entitlement to do whatever the hell we want and contribute to the type of society that deep down we all want to live in.

We are too lawless a society and this free reign to do as we damn well please has led to abuses ratcheting beyond human reason as manifested in the murder of an eight year old child over the weekend.

There will always be a hue and a cry when the screws are tightened, but at some point we Trinidadians have to learn to behave at home the same way we behave when we go abroad, with a certain level of discipline in all affairs and respect for the law.

We have been planting the seeds of the very breakdown in society we decry and lamenting the crops for too long. Farmer Louis has come along to pull up the weeds and I dare say he ought to be emulated in his approach and respected for having the fortitude to do what none of the other vote seeking politicians can or are prepared to do.

At the end of the day, we have to stop this foolishness of making laws just to break them; with all the people pulling together in the same direction, who knows what we will harvest.

Something to think about...