Can DC-type riot happen in TT?

THE EDITOR: Aspects of the shocking riot in Washington DC on Wednesday, the storming of the Capitol building, brought stark reminders of Jim Jones and Guyana on November 18, 1978.

Fed by inflammable messages via social media, mass hysteria may best describe the irrational behaviour of the Donald Trump supporters. What we saw was a cult-like mass belief in the words of a power-mad individual.

Can the same thing happen here in TT? It is my view that our culture and religious beliefs, and the hard lessons learned from the 1970 and 1990 uprisings, will not attract sufficient support for such reckless ruinous behaviour.

Our Westminster system for elections decrees the political party winning the most seats as the rightful government. The composition of cultures and races of TT citizens calls for attracting voters based entirely on political merit.

There is no race except the human race. That is the new reality of global political life as being experienced in a pandemic. We cannot follow the cult of political entitlement.

The Republicans and Democrats in the US fight tooth and nail for political supremacy every four years. In TT, every five years the two largest political parties, the People’s National Movement (Afro-dominated) and the United National Congress (Indo-dominated) put on similar displays. It is my view that to attempt to change to proportional representation feeds into the minds of race baiters. Political entitlement based on race, power and money must not take over TT.

Social media is now being blamed for the Washington debacle. In TT an educated public with access to international social media can make astute comparisons. We will continue to elect the political party best poised to deliver the best governance in the year we are voting.

Rioting creates more problems than solves them. We are nothing else but the sum total of our life experiences.

LYNETTE JOSEPH

Diego Martin

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"Can DC-type riot happen in TT?"

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