Clearly living in a world where multi-millionaires have a different responsibility under the rules, Gregory fails to see that his (mis)use of whatever influence his inheritance buys him is one hundred and fifty seven trillion times worse than the man who steals to feed his children, or the next rung up, the gangster who rationalizes taking from those who have too much because he has little or none at all. Or anyone who cheats you because they could. One of my favorite quotes is from Wayne Dyer, who quipped - “When we rationalize, we tell ourselves rational lies,” and that is exactly what is at work here. The gangster is lying to himself by dehumanizing his victim even if he does not understand that that is what he has to do to violently rip from someone what is rightfully theirs. Gregory too is rationalizing, lying to himself that not only does he deserve more, society owes him a special ride because he already has so much. Like the joke that says if less is more imagine how much more more can be, Gregory is upset that the police and the wreckers are enforcing the parking regulations too effectively.
Take a minute to let that sink on in.
And because his customers insist on parking wherever they feel he has no choice but to pander to their lawbreaking by advocating on their behalf or lose business to the malls, because (surprise, surprise) the malls provide parking. They have to. By law. You know how much good tenantable space is wasted around malls? But back to Gregory; flinging aspersions willy-nilly as to whomever owns the wreckers and pocketing big money which, for some reason summoned the Minister of Everything Jack Warner, who showed up wearing his Minister of National Security cap (he actually has one) to discuss with the head of DOMA how the government might find ways to subvert the state's law enforcement machinery, in direct contravention of the law.
This is where it gets dicey. What Gregory wants is that the law be stopped to accommodate his needs. The fact that his business is SUPPOSED to (by law) provide its own parking is unimportant to the issue as far as he is concerned, and what he gets away with is nobody else's business but his own. He does not want to contribute to a solution, he does not want to provide parking, he wants the parking regulations adjusted to suit him. Now, if the Government through the Cabinet interferes with the state in this matter, if it even advises the police service on this issue it too would be breaking the law. The Police Service is guided by the law as handed down by the legislature, and if the government wants to assist Gregory all it has to do is write a law that favors a special interest and pass it. They have some experience with this as that is exactly what they did with Section 34, but that is another matter. Rewrite the law and the police will have to be guided accordingly. Never mind that every PH taxi in this country who runs other drivers off the road for being 'in the way' will be taking their cues from the powers that be where right and wrong are concerned, never mind that this entire situation could have been handled in a mature and reasonable if not professional manner by all involved, this is Trinidad. When in doubt do as you damn well please and see if you can get away with it. What's next, convicted felons representing state Companies? This place sweet too bad yes...
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