It is amazing in Guyana how some relish the spreading of negativity and pessimism, especially when it pertain to national achievements that reflects governmental success, even when these successes will benefit the entire nation.

Unfortunately, many Guyanese have become gullible to rumours, hearsay and pessimism and fall prey to these gigantic and well constructed rumour mills and as such become blind to positives.

A case in point is the new Skeldon Sugar Factory, a project which all Guyanese should be proud of because its success will benefit this entire nation and it is the most modern factory in this part of the world. Instead, some were making “minced meat” out of the start up problems and blowing them out of proportion. Some went as far as spreading the outrageous rumour that the factory may not be able to become operational because of poor design and shaky foundations to name a few .

These rumours persisted despite the fact that the construction company made it clear from the inception of the project that a project of such huge proportions is bound to experience initial start up problems. And when the factory was indeed completed it did experience some problems but here again the construction company assured that they will be fixed.

What is interesting that the very people who were blowing the initial problems out of proportion suddenly became absolutely quiet when the problems were fixed, but as expected they did not highlight or mention this fact. But rest assured that should any problems develop they will awake from their slumber like a dormant volcano unleashing their salvo with full vigour. They seem so excited and enthused to pump up failures, which are inevitable, but become paralysed when successes are achieved.

The President of GAWU, Komal Chand was spot on in this regard when he declared on May Day that the operationalisation of the Skeldon factory has proven the prophets of doom wrong.

Some of us just love to shoot ourselves in the foot. These people seem to have lost all sense of patriotism and fail to see progress as part of national achievements. Perhaps an excerpt from Michael Shermer’s book: “Why People Believe Weird Things” would help these rumour mongers and pessimists in our midst.

Rumors Do Not Equal Reality
“Rumors begin with “I read somewhere that…” or “I heard from someone that….” Before long the rumor becomes reality, as “I know that…” passes from person to person. Rumors may be true, of course, but usually they are not. They do make for great tales, however. There is the “true story” of the escaped maniac with a prosthetic hook who haunts the lover’s lanes of America. There is the legend of “The Vanishing Hitchhiker,” in which a driver picks up a hitchhiker who vanishes from his car along with his jacket; locals then tell the driver that his hitchhiking woman had died that same day the year before, and eventually he discovers his jacket on her grave. Such stories spread fast and never die.”

“Caltech historian of science Dan Kevles once told a story he suspected was apocryphal at a dinner party. Two students did not get back from a ski trip in time to take their final exam because the activities of the previous day had extended well into the night. They told their professor that they had gotten a flat tire, so he gave them a makeup final the next day. Placing the students in separate rooms, he asked them just two questions: (1) “For 5 points, what is the chemical formula for water?” (2) “For 95 points, which tire?” Two of the dinner guests had heard a vaguely similar story.”