Dr. JOEY JAGAN and other eminent Guyanese personalities constantly have chided me for responding to Mr. Freddie Kissoon’s ranting in his columns. But it is so difficult to ignore Kissoon’s misinterpretations of the theories or arguments of brilliant thinkers.  Kissoon has a tendency for name droppings (like Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, Marx, Nietzche, Freud, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Burke, Alavi, Fanon, Zakaria, Poulantzas, Sartre, Althusser, Marx, Alavi, etc.) in his writings.  I studied most of these philosophers and theorists in doctoral courses in Political Science, Sociology, Economics, and History, fields in which I have graduate diplomas. It seems to me that most of the times Kissoon misstates and or misinterprets the concepts or theories of these outstanding thinkers.   Stanley Aronowitz, a distinguished Professor in Sociology, under whom I studied at CUNY Doctoral School, is a leading authority on Marxist thinkers.  Kissoon should contact him for an accurate interpretation of the theories of the social scientists he attempts to interpret. KN has a large following. The paper’s reputation is being damaged with Kissoon’s ill defined interpretations of thinkers. I recommend that KN consider getting social science scholars to review and vet Kissoon’s interpretations of social or psychological theorists.  Ravi Dev could assist in that endeavor because he has a quick grasp of social theories and is not arrogant.
On a separate note, it is unheard of for a college lecturer, anywhere in the world, to attack others in the media.  In the US, such public behavior will lead to seriously disciplinary measures with dismissal from the college.  Kissoon recently attacked Drs. Ravi Dev, Prem Misir, and Randy Persaud calling them three musketeers.  He continues to attack Dr. Joey Jagan, Annan Boodram, Vishnu Bisram, etc., without offering substance. It is his trademark to attack anyone with whom he has disagreement.  He seems to be suffering from what social science scholars would call an “inferiority complex” trying to unnecessarily prove he is brighter than those with superior achievement.
One must not forget that the three musketeers were heroes of their day in France and I certainly would not refer to Dev, Persaud, Misir as musketeers in the context defined by Kissoon.
I read their writings regularly and can vouch that I do not encounter any of the kind of misapplications and misinterpretations found in Kissoon’s writings.  They are not blunderers but brilliant writers and they do not attack others personally as Kissoon does.
Kissoon has been repeatedly proven wrong in his claims and his interpretations of the arguments of writers. Yet he refused to apologize for his blunders. Recall, he penned on dozens of occasions that Vishnu Bisram is not a teacher anywhere in the world calling on Stabroek News and Kaieteur News to conduct an investigation and expose Bisram’s claims that he has been teaching for over 25 years.  Kissoon said a New York Times reporter told him Bisram is not a teacher in America. Kissoon still has not stated that he erred in his claim. Recall he wrote that the OAS held a panel discussion on Vishnu Bisram at Miami University.  The OAS and the attendees at a conference said no such discussion took place. Kissoon is yet to say he erred. Now, he claims that Dev is on the payroll of the government without any evidence.  When will he come out and say “I am sorry” for all of his blunders. Kissoon needs to stop attacking people personally and seeks to open his mind to the correct interpretation of theories. He has shown himself to be blundering musketeer as he defines the character.