Unfortunate use of word

THE EDITOR: While the world protests at the injustice meted out to people of African origin at the hands of the "white" imperialists, there is one particular voice that stands out from the loud chorus calling for equality. However, this voice stands out not only for the message but mainly because of the messenger and the office he holds.

Prof Hilary Beckles is the vice-chancellor of the entire University of the West Indies (UWI). Over the past couple of weeks while the world protested, Beckles published a few statements in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement.

However, while everyone is entitled to their views, they must be cognisant of the office and institution they represent. UWI has an intake of students from all walks of life. There are different races, religions and cultures, all melting into one body for academic purposes.

Therefore having read Beckles' messages, one would have to question the wisdom of such statements from the CWI head. Beckley said, "Not only the souls of black folks have been scarred forever by this latest event in the genocidal war against young black men; the soul of the world is awakened."

Some may say nothing is wrong and that statement is true, but the term genocidal is unfortunate. When the professor was writing his statement, the Israeli prime minister was saying his soldiers erred in the shooting death of an autistic young Palestinian man. He was shot dead because he looked like a terrorist. This is an almost daily occurrence in Palestine.

In Guyana historically there have been attacks against mainly East Indians by supporters of opposing political parties. In Jamaica and Trinidad the number of people killed by police as opposed to being killed by their own race is way disproportionate.

There are many more examples to cite, but the goodly professor did not need to cite Marcus Harvey, Martin Luther King or Malcolm X. He could have used his own successes as an inspiration to his students and other young people and encourage and show that it is possible to achieve. However, with his narrow statements, students may become disenchanted and feel less important than others.

STANLEY THOMAS

St Augustine