Contempt of our leaders

Paolo Kernahan

HOW DID you as a citizen feel when the Swiss Army minister Stuart Young steupsed in your face and walked off? Did you feel grateful?

Because that's what happened. The minister contemptibly waved away a journalist pestering him on your behalf. Young sucked his teeth in the journalist's grill with enough force to pull a manhole cover out of place.

The multifarious minister could do that with almost palpable disdain because there aren't any hot coals being stoked by vigilant citizens over which he would be hauled for his haughty derision.

Politicians, like horses, will behave as their handlers permit. The relatively docile temperament of most Trinis has conditioned a cadre of cads answerable to none but themselves and their masters.

In most cultures, politicians are little more than lecherous familiars of the moneyed classes and slaves to their avaricious impulses.

The purpose of journalism is to faithfully expose these weaknesses and explain the consequences of such failings to you. Whatever you may think about the profession or competence and integrity of our journalists, that's the job.

The PM's most favoured acolyte was "ambushed" by Guardian Media journalist Otto Carrington at the swearing-in of Port of Spain City Corporation members – an event of great insignificance. It's customary for reporters to endure boring community-centre openings, ribbon-cuttings, and plaque-unveilings to get at politicians who cannot (will not) be reached by phone, e-mail, or carrier corbeaux.

That was certainly the case during my era. It was even more challenging as there were no cellphones back then, just the PBX extension that would ring for years on end. The receptionist was probably laughing as they would repeatedly sling calls like a yo-yo to an extension in a room with nothing but dusty filing cabinets and four overturned roaches.

Anyway, back to our intrepid reporter "Otto Clarendon." He went there armed with a question about the peculiar "donation" of a firearm to the TTPS by the one-stop minister. This story was missin' people, as my mother used to say.

Young approached "Otto Templeton" oozing artificial obsequiousness – "How yuh going? Yuh good?" That mask dropped after the question dropped and Young's ensuing steups sucked all the air out of the room.

He turned away and muttered to himself, perhaps fed up with all the attention the story had attracted. "Otto Preminger" was left there holding his microphone like a limp lettuce, but he's been in the game long enough to know the profession calls for an "alligator back."

Journalists face brute contempt from ordinary members of the public, business owners and trade unionists, many of whom believe they're under no obligation to answer any questions.

In some cases that's true. When it comes to public officials, however, none can claim immunity from the interrogations of the media.

In my day some politicians cornered at public functions would give you a kind of crab-walk with evasive, non-specific responses. Others would refer you to their communications officers – usually a person more useless than a condom machine at a eunuch's convention. The kind of blind arrogance seen today was far less common in my time, though.

Speaking of eunuchs, politicians who dismiss journalists' questions in the fashion chosen by Stuart Young typically do so for two reasons: there is no good answer but they lack the grace and deftness to disguise that fact. Also, they may simply fall short of the intellectual rigour to navigate controversial issues on the fly. So they give in to more readily available, base instincts – aka aggression and badjohn posturing.

Several years ago Randall Mitchell was rudely interrupted while doing an interview at the San Fernando General Hospital – "Ah livin' in the hospital. Ah want ah house!"

Mitchell steupsed and the whole nation steupsed along with him.

Mitchell, however, seeing the impropriety of his dismissive attitude towards a constituent (and PNM-engineered practitioner of entitlement) subsequently apologised. Mitchell understood then what the majority of his cabinet colleagues do not.

While politics is not without its obvious privileges, an election isn't a coronation beyond oversight and censure. If you don't want to answer questions about your behaviour in public office you're more than welcome to shield yourself with the anonymity of private life.

Guardian Media journalist "Otto Galvatron" was doing his job, searching out the truth for members of the public. Every politician should keep that in mind the next time they feel that contempt rising in their throats.