Business as usual in murderland

And business is good.

Criminals couldn’t find a better environment for the unchallenged prosecution of their murderous exploits than here — the murdertopia of the Caribbean and, who knows, maybe soon enough the world.

Government, the opposition, business leaders, the police — they are all full of it. With a weekend polling an unprecedented number of killings, the leadership class of this country trot out the same tired, dog-eared platitudes. The police talk about increased presence. That’s enough to make the most equanimous among us hawk and spit in fury.

The headline in one newspaper reads Enough is Enough. Ridiculous. The fact that such a headline can appear in any newspaper unironically defies belief.

This is more than a “we’ve been here before” scenario. We never left the morass. This country has been trapped in an infinite loop, passing the same blood-smeared mile marker again and again, albeit etched with the expression of a new low on our inexorable descent into madness. Make no mistake — this is madness we’re dealing with.

There’s no upper limit to the depravity and blood-letting this country will tolerate. There’s no "bottom" to this savage land over which a confederacy of dunces preside; secure in the knowledge that their influence, control and wealth remain untouched regardless of how high the bloodtide surges.

This is truly the perfect ecosystem for the uninhibited expansion and predation by the criminal element. In many ways, it parallels the out sized reach of the moneyed and political echelons. Criminals feed on us tooth and claw, our leaders feed on us with silverware; as above so below.

This administration is undisturbed by the commonplace culling, so why should you be?

Fitzgerald Hinds is the longest-serving minister of national security in ten years. He has also watched over the steepest rise in violent crimes in our history. In no other world would this paradox be permitted. The public can only interpret Hinds’ iron grip on his portfolio as a reward from the prime minister for standing watch over the explosion in murders and collapse of law and order.

Hinds stands proud; a totem of this government’s appetite for failure and abdication of responsibility.

The minister’s arrogance-powered confidence isn’t conjured from the ether or H.I.M. It comes from knowing others share his inability and apathy; people who invest far more effort in deflecting and attacking critics rather than marching on a crisis that’s eroding national stability at an alarming rate. Hinds isn’t the only one given the government’s seal of approval.

The police commissioner’s contract was extended for another year…more than you or I might have left, given the rate of criminal predation. The recent shooting spree in the car park of a fast food outlet reinforced the truth that anyone can easily get caught up.

Most of us worry about home-invasions or being tailed by robbers. Add to the list of threats catching stray bullets while filling up with gas, or putting groceries in the trunk of your car. Gangsters will settle old scores wherever they can pin down their quarry. If you happen to be there, God help you.

Speaking of God, Erla averted her gaze from the firmament long enough to enthusiastically claim before a joint select committee (political dinner theatre) that violent crime is down by 15 per cent. The commissioner is playing with numbers again; playing smart with foolishness.

She claimed a seven per cent reduction in reported serious crimes. This, of course, could also mean fewer people are reporting crimes because they have no faith in the police.

After my robbery last year, I was determined to help the police in every way to catch the bastards. Investigators consumed countless hours of my time and attention only to ghost me. If I’m robbed again I wouldn’t waste my time reporting it.

Just days after Erla did her numbers before the JSC, 15 people were killed. Perhaps she should have held her tongue…and rosary beads.

Horror weekends are nothing new in TT, so to hear the typically timorous business chambers crying out in unison against the bloodshed was a bit rich.

These invertebrates have been soft-pedalling this administration's bungling of violent crime for years. One of the heads of these groups once told me in person, “We need to give the government a chance.” Suddenly business leaders found the unmute button. Give me a bloody break.

When leaders aren’t made to face consequences for their incompetence, citizens face them on their behalf. So, we die. Business as usual in murderland.