UP until now, myself and other letter writers have written extensively on the riotous bullying and oftentimes confrontational attitude of the combined opposition in Parliament albeit in a political sense. However, when you stop to think of it, this attitudinal approach has had grave negative effects on society. Almost everyone these days have become confrontational and downright nasty. No one has any regard for the other person. I firmly believe that these obnoxious people are taking their cue from Parliament. The message sent from Parliament is ‘do as you please…(expletive) the law’. As a consequence, Guyana has become one big lawless society.
Let me relate to you a few horrible experiences, the likes of which I encountered last Christmas. 
Take for example that man who walked close to me, cleared his throat in the crudest way possible, then spat literally inches away from my feet with no care in the world. Very health conscious, I would sarcastically remark. Another encounter, walking along Water Street in downtown Georgetown and you have to force your way through a jungle of illegal pavement and street stalls.
If you should accidentally knock over one of the items on display there then, heavens help you. Garbage is thrown anywhere as the city becomes inundated by rubbish. Solid waste and dead animals litter the environment. The smell is unbearable.  
Public transport still run at break neck speeds with more passengers than it is legally entitled to, plus, they change the prescribed route at will. What is even more depressing is the fact that there is no etiquette, or courtesy afforded you when you board these buses.
I was practically bundled into one of these going all the way to North Ruimveldt. The conductor/tout shouted “straight to south.”
I know that to be up South Road into Homestretch, along Mandela Avenue then up South. Well all of that changed when I entered the bus because it was straight High Street and into Norton Street’s race track heading South.
I did not utter a word of protest because I was going to the last stop in North Ruimveldt. Why worry. However, I did have cause to protest because no sooner he hit Norton Street several passengers boarded the bus and now we were overloaded way past the legal limit. I vividly remember being squashed between an obese woman and the conductor around that section of the bus where the heat of the engine make you most uncomfortable. By this time there was no place left for him to take a seat so he just squeezed himself in leaning over me for the rest of the journey.
As the heat from the engine rose, so did his odour which was higher than Guyana’s cost of living. I had no choice but to speak up so I politely said: “Sir, this is not right you know”, to which the conductor rudely replied “eh eh you cyan come down yuh know or ketch another bus.”  That was not all, the obese lady sitting beside me chimed in “whey yuh come from mister; mussy England…this is Guyana.”
I did not utter another sound for fear of the barrage of hostility around me. So I decided on my own method of protest, when I reached my destination I refused to pay, which made him more irate.
Well, that was the mistake of my life. That conductor gave me a grand cussing-out starting with the genealogy  of my grandmother, finally stopping at me. Now this kind of behaviour is a regular feature of Guyanese society and I was told it is even worse at nights when those late night shift workers are at the mercy of these unscrupulous conductors and drivers.
Who said that tinted windows are against the law?
Well think again. Tinted fibreglass is everywhere, some as black as midnight. And nothing is said or done about it as they drive right past the traffic cops. Like the woman on the bus: “this is Guyana.” Beautiful Guyana! Rather a chaotic lawless society. I have highlighted just a few of my experiences while in Guyana. Most of these took place in Georgetown which is indicative of city life.
Lawlessness is symptomatic of the wider society, a trend that comes from the top down. It is a top down syndrome and the message is do as you please, it is okay to break the law. After all, this is Guyana!