The Parrot
The Parrot is aware that some people always encourage others to do something. This encouragement can be either good or bad. Basically all would agree that these are the only two categories in which people can encourage others. Really?

What about the category of stupidity? Ah ha. I have got you thinking. Now that your thoughts are being zeroed in, some of the things many of you have encouraged others to do and which can now be categorised as being in the realms of stupidity, you may tend to believe that some, if not most of the things some encourage, can be categorised as stupid. No insult intended. Just think. Some of you may not have to pressure your “grey matter” since some of the stupid things you do cannot be forgotten.

Since I am no Librarian, I would not venture to get involved in any form of categorising. My intention is to squawk about some who, based on what is evident, are clearly encouragers of what is categorised as being undesirable. There is a man, a big man with some amount of influence based on his line of work, who seems to be encouraging “slackness”. The man has a paper; newspaper. He has catapulted himself into the unenviable company of some who are known “slackness” encouragers.

Immediately the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and our own long-overripe Mayor of the Capital “garbage” City come to mind. These people represent the closest to the highest “standard” anyone can hope to achieve as a cheerleader for “slackness”. No further explanation is needed to so enlighten anyone or to confirm what is already known. In the case of the WICB and the WIPA, they have effortlessly “-issed” off millions in the Region. They have indeed achieved much and must be “awarded” for their efforts in promoting “slackness”. What? There must an award they can get; “Rotten Potatoes Award” or the “Ganda-Egg Award”. I am sure you can be creative and can think of a few others.

In the case of the Mayor…, do I really have to add another word in explaining? Do I? No? Thanks for being considerate on my typing “wings”. But back to the man in question; the cheerleader of “slackness” and who is the basic subject of this squawk. This man has his own mechanism to so “promote” his “slackness” and even has people to assist. He has publicly taken umbrage when another man tries to promote “unslackness”. This “unslack” man has been relentless in his efforts to “deslack” the country. Dem boys seh that this said “deslack” man always straightening things out. They want to know how he does it when his name connotes differently; Benn, the Son of Robe.

This Son of Robe has not been afraid to take on the established cheerleaders of “slackness”. He even confronted the Mayor on many occasions on which he had to enlist the services of an excavator (Hymac) to “uproot” a sitting Mayor (no pun intended) who sat immovable upon an illegal structure on Camp Street which the Son of Robe was about to “de-illegalise”. The rest is history; the excavator was extremely effective. Recently, this said Son of Robe took actions to rid the Lamaha embankment of its last remaining illegal occupant. The others voluntarily left after being given adequate notice. All were asked to vacate the stretch of land so that the improvements in the electricity sector can continue unabated.

After all, all including the Mayor and the big man referred to above, complain everyday how Uncle Bharrat, not Uncle Prezie Bharrat, the other Bharrat over at the GPL (Getting People Livid) can’t fully “de-blackout” the place. In fairness to this Uncle Bharrat, the improvement process does entail a period of inconvenience. However, the illegal occupant referred to wanted to prolong this period. The Son of Robe would have none of it. He descended, with excavator and all (seems his equipment of choice) and proceeded to rid the embankment of its encumbrance. In the process, the occupants arrived and shouted KP, KP. The sounds were muffled given the sounds made by the excavator. By the time it travelled to the Son of Robe, (not the excavator, the KP sounds), he gave a “thumbs up” and signalled the operator to continue. He thought the shouters were shouting “Keep Pushing, Keep Pushing”; KP, KP.

Again, the rest is history. The Mayor chimed in and so did the big man referred to. It didn’t end there. Days after, on the Coast west of Demerara, similar illegal encumbrances were discovered at a place of “public staying”. Some actions were taken. The big man again took umbrage. He put a big-big picture on the front page of his paper. He showed that a place for kissing, a bridge, was also “de-legalised”. Why emphasis on the bridge? Anyway, not to be distracted, this big man and his paper, the name of which is synonymous with water, give much prominence favourable to those whose growing menace in the construction of illegal structures on parapets and reserves, continues. His public support for such and his opposition to the efforts of the Son of Robe are clear testimonies to his cheerleading skills in a choreographed routine of “slackness” encouragement.

The Parrot was, at first, puzzled in trying to understand this man’s real motive for such encouragement in the last of the three categories mentioned above. My “puzzlement” is over. The man is on a campaign; a campaign to either become a member of the West Indies Cricket Board or to join the overripe Mayor.

Watch out Hammie, the Son of Robe may no longer have to deploy his excavator, the Waterfall paper man is lurking. Squawk! Squawk!