An answer to a pseudo writer

21.AUG.09

EDITOR: In an article entitled “Hypocrisy and Falsehoods coming from Ralph haters” published in the Friday, August 14, 2009’s edition of the Searchlight newspaper, an author by the name of Susan Banfield-Wilson laid out a list of persons who are labeled “Ralph haters”, among other things.{{more}} I and the Institution (religious and social) I represent came under attack. We were called “cultists”, “immature souls”, and it was said that we are worth little in political knowledge, leadership and commitment to nation building. These descriptions could be nothing farther from the truth of members of the Thusia SDA church and Thusian Institute For Religious Liberty, and here is why.

Firstly, the writer needs to understand that Anesia Baptiste’s work on rights and freedoms education does not express the sentiments of herself and her group only. They are in fact the sentiments of a majority of people, and for that matter any person in SVG. After all, everybody wants to know that their rights and freedoms have greater protection in any constitution reform process. Everybody wants the highest law of the Country to acknowledge their rights and freedoms as God-endowed and inalienable. Any nincompoop who will write such statements about us is against their own rights and freedoms. Besides, if we are so insignificant as the writer clearly seeks to present us, why bother fight us? I mean, why waste your words and breath to point out so called “immaturity” in us and brand us as “cultists”? It seems we aren’t so insignificant after all.

The writer who lauds PM Gonsalves’ education policies does not seem to realise that she is fighting a group of youthful persons in the Thusian Institute who have and are showing great patriotism through their education drives and achievements. We have teachers among us (such as Mr. Ballantyne), island scholars (like myself- who returned home for service although offered jobs in France) and students of excellence at community college (Ms. Sutherland). Is this how you speak of them just because they criticize “Ralph”? What happened to your PM’s love for young people and his education revolution? Did that not rub off on you when you considered dealing a blow to the Thusians? Or is it that he only loves young people who support him and lick his boots every time? Let the readers judge. Well, if all the monies invested in our nation’s youth education is to make us turn out to have “very little in political knowledge, leadership or commitment to nation building”, then you are saying that the education revolution is wasting time and money. Or are you saying that it didn’t intend to make us become persistent scrutinizers of PM’s administration where necessary? Was it intended just to make us rubber stampers of everything he says and does? By now you should realize that Anesia Baptiste writes her own work and not the work of others. Shefflorn Ballantyne is as much a real person as is Kisha Sutherland, writing in their own hand and names. What about you?

There is no such thing as ‘cult’ in religion. There is either true religion or false religion. Cultist activity, however, has been manifested in Communist politics with a party leader who is the absolute ruler and whose will becomes the law and constitution of a Country; a leader who transgresses the rights of the people and tyrannizes the “sheeple”, using the protective services and the military forces to enforce his anti-rights policies. There have been many pictures in the media showing followers of Mr. Chavez beating up reporters in the streets, attacking private institutions and displaying mobbish behaviour. That is cultist and dangerous for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and we must be aware of any absolute leader Chavezizing our SVG.

Anesia O. Baptiste