IT is the situation of unfortunate minds and the publications that facilitate it. I make mention of Ms. Lurlene Nestor, one of those people who grace these pages with whatever comes to her mind. Not that she commands any importance where I am concerned, but the ludicrous nature of her reports is so glaring that I am forced to respond. Here is a case of someone taking everything out of context when one questions her lucidity. The case under consideration dealt with the present spate of teen violence and its attendant ills to which my training in conflict resolution was brought to bear. I felt I dealt with the topic quite admirably and brought home the salient facts, one of which is training or “home training” being one of the key factors influencing the upsurge in crime, something separate and distinct from single parenting which Nestor keeps harping on. She kept referring to this matter, as she claims, as a result of some book she read by one Mr. Hudson where the author lambasted single parenting for the root cause or “breeding grounds” for the scourge.
I have never read the book so I cannot give a critique on the gentleman’s work but suffice it to say it would be foolish of him (which I think he is not) to ever take single parenting as the sole cause for teen crimes. It is a real cause nonetheless, one that society has to live with and for which we must address in a mature way if we are to get a handle on societal ills. But coming back to Nestor’s missive; the real problem with her is the fact that when important points strike at the heart of any problem, she being political in her orientation backs into a corner and lashes out in defence. She then comes out with that single causation theory nonsense when the ranting begins to go in the realm of politics ad lib. To stay on a topic and discuss it contextually is difficult for Nestor so I shall make this as kindergarten as possible with a few questions.
Taking her on in the political tone of her last article where a lot was spoken of involving a phantom squad and the killings of the nation’s youth. The insinuation here was that the government was and is the cause for everything bad that goes on in Guyana. Those killings had nothing to do with the story Nestor tries to give, rather it was a situation of rival drug gangs finishing off each other. I would agree the largest group was headed by drug Lord Roger Khan, but look at the source of his recruits; young, strong men of a certain ethnicity, many of them ex-military men, people who knew how to shoot and you tell me Nestor does not know what was going on? Blame it on the single-parent home which I would not, but blame it on people like Nestor and the party to which she pledges allegiance.
They did absolutely nothing to stem the tide of drug killings then and now but turned the other way looking for a problem where there was none. She and her “ass’trological friends” in the opposition ran around looking for scapegoats like the government and the overworked race factor. Granted most of those in Khan’s army came from single-parent homes, but that was not the root cause for their ills. The genesis lay in the fact that those youngsters were goaded into a false sense of security in knowing that they can count on Nestor and the PNC for sympathy when they fell into disfavour with “the Indian” drug lord. To give some clout to my message, I shall tell you the following. I knew of one such henchman of Khan, a young man of the aforementioned ethnicity. He drove a spanking motor car, obvious evidence of Khan’s largesse; listen to the comment he made to me one day: “what y’all talking talking bout Khan he does pay good” I replied “so you are willing to sell your soul to the devil” his response “yes, is Blackman like y’all should defend me.” my response was “certainly not from me bro” I then advised him to get out of that thing but he never gave me an answer. The rest is history: he became another statistic; his body was found riddled with bullets somewhere on the East Coast.
The thing is with all that mounting evidence, Nestor still regurgitates that phantom theory vainly thinking an educated Guyanese public would buy into that nonsense. At a time when young men of the other ethnicity were thinking of getting married, getting an education, building a home or possibly putting an extension to the existing one, others were busily engaged in drugs as the way to “get by” it cannot get clearer than that. This was and I’m afraid is, the modus operandi, “the training” some are getting in that community of persons.
Nestor can, if she wants to, make a fool of herself in questioning my authority on what I have written here. However, I challenge her to give me credible explanations. I await a response.
