Patriotism, race, fear and facebook at the Guyana National Youth Council gaff

The Guyana National Youth Council  hosted a discussion event ' Conversations with Professor Danny Shaw - On Movements, Advocacy and Activism' at the Georgetown Club - Monday 12 Jan, 2015. I was curious as Professor Shaw's bio did not seem to be a man who would be encouraged by any of the donors.

I was cautious though, because I not young . I know that these conversations could be dominated by people who like nuff talking.

Nuff people come. One of organisers said they did not expect that amount. Two others kept muttering and grumbling about how they would not have come if it was not for the white man professor (my words.. they said 'guest' ). I thought maybe Georgetown Club was a nice safe space..rather than the streets for a protest.
People dress up nice. I know why I aint see nuff of dese people before.. I does deh in some of dem protest pun de road and I doan really deh in youth forum and dem nice sounding ting.


One of the girls did say that she is political and already get warn at work about things she said. She don't like street protests though because she said the Government gets immune. I don't know which political party is teaching her that.

A man talk about singing national songs and patriotism. Another woman remembered the Not a Blade a Grass time when she said 'every guyanese felt that they could win the war against Venezuela'.. I shut me mout and say dat some of we Guyanese knew dat was a big campaign to deflect from Burnham stupidness at de time. But is true.. nat a blade a grass now going to China and India and Brazil and mussee Colombia and Marriot owners.

The Professor said.. beware the media. He said he watched how overwhelmingly negative it all was and he said remember the news is created, not reported. A woman talked about using the media though.. the importance of the pen and writing.
Some youths I know had gotten into trouble for a letter they had written in the Chronicle (so tings are really tough out there).

The talk though sounded familiar and I recognised.. it was from Facebook posts. A lot of the rhetoric was the same.  And then I recognised some of the names, and during the night it was nice to say hello to people who were my Facebook frenz and who I would never have met otherwise.

I shut my mout .... except when I felt some people were talking too long. Another bad habit some young people get from old people.

 A woman talked about how she resigned from Office of the President in 2011 after being asked to campaign for the PPP/C.  I wanted to tell her that she should have posted the whole episode on Facebook .. make it all public. She talked about risk though.. about how when you married it is a risk, and how risk taking is already part of life.

A lot of talk about fear of speaking out and so. Plenty stories.. . I wanted to shout about Audre Lorde's silence will not protect you.. and also try to share successful stories of people who did speak out, and dealt with fear and so.  And I see how some young people are rewarded for being 'good leaders' and so on.. but I never seem them protesting anything at all, even protesting the protesters.

Talk about voting and know where to put the 'x'. It was painful listening to how young people still believe in elections and that their political party will do wonderful things for the country..  and even as one young man reminded the group that politics is divisive, it is not meant to be uniting. The political system is meant to divide and to create winners and losers and the constitution protects the winners .

But the young people believe in their political leaders.

Another man talked about moral education and so.  There is moral education, and then there is the accountability afterwards when people are immoral. I wanted to ask him what he gun do about de chatree coolie, rass who think people gun shoot up Kaieteur News, but then what have I done anyways.. what is the point of asking what anybody else would do?

Another man said he had a draft constitution for a young people party that 65% of them are voting age. I was like.. shoots man, voting why? Dey had young Bharat Jagdeo as President already and young don't mean fresh and good.

People talk about how they go in shop and that coolie people and black people and white people hear different price and so and get different treatment. I wanted to ask.. so what can we do about that.. even as people talked about how do we challenge the prejudices and so around us.

One young woman talked about feeling alienated in Guyana. She noticed how the elections talk seemed among young people on Facebook reflected the same kind of crap from the politicians. Some other persons talked about the cycle and propogation of the crap from generation to generation.


People stayed. It was clear that people wanted to vent and those who were not talking wanted to listen and hear.  The Professor said .. the circle seemed to be therapeutic. (I thought the circle was a lil too big so it had this big open space in the middle, not to self, let people know that circles good if you have up to about 20 persons.. more than that , is arite to jumble people up in other ways. )

This blog is my therapy so I don't diss therapy.



I big up Tiffany Daniels who was moderating.. she had to moderate a session which was evolving.  There were no ground rules . I wanted to hear some of the quiet folks and to shut up some of the loud folks. But people stayed.

One woman asked for the camera to turn off but I saw people making furious notes and I wondered if there were spies there. But a good thing. I wanted to say.. talk your story plain. Own your story.. of what are you afraid?

I am glad it went. The professor was skilful, very good at encouraging the group to talk. No one bothered really with anything he had to say about capitalism vs self-annihilation and is class rather than political party thing or about organizing and going door to door and so ( I don't know if any of the people there would go door to door anywhere.. that requires skill and so and I admire the Jehovah Witnesses )



Next steps/Action
A man said no more workshops please. I know how he feel.. but if he aint want to go on the street to protest or block road or so.. what then?  A woman talked about 'conflict resolution' .


I wanted to tell them about the lil groundings thing that I was involved in and which I hope to do again .. go on Main street or somewhere for an hour or two and talk to people or share poetry and quotations and so , but  I shut up because I not young.


The GNYC wants to continue the conversations, the open spaces and so. Is not my ting but I would be terrified if dey just talk talk talk about 'what other people should do'.

There is need for safe spaces.. but wondering now about the unsafe spaces and who will go in them.