Thoughts of a minibus traveller

Pride   "Nah, dem gun be talking about antiman and lesbian and dem ting" the young man said as I was passing after a woman asked him if he was not going to the gender-based violence workshop.  I told him to come and find out what we will be planning to talk about. He laughed.  Another young man in the workshop was concerned about only two genders. He said homosexuality is a mental illness. Hands across chest , defending his masculinity and maleness and his normalness. Another woman in the workshop said something different - everybody is human, June is Pride month.  Workshop has an uneasy consensus that while we might not agree with everyone's way of being human, everyone deserves a right to a life free from violence. Conversation in my head driving me to the Guyana screening of the Queer Cinema for Palestine No Pride in Genocide Walk into the yard and see all the Pride flags decorating the place. Sijan tree provides shade.. Moringa used by many for various hea...

  Ganja smoke The smell is familiar , heavy wafting over use like some kind of blessing over the random interactions of books and poems.  We are next to a man wearing  dirty brownish three quarter length pants and not wearing shoes or not wearing shirt but wearing a smile on his face. He leans sometimes against one of the concrete poles holding up the roof sheltering him and us. I look over and see him put the yellow lighter - bright on the grey day and against the greenish brownish pant.. back in the pocket. The colour of the joint is similar to the colour of the pants. Slight flame at the end. He ignores us except for when he asked for a $100 with the joint in his mouth and I told him nah after giving another man who was barefoot and who explained the calculation of his age to us and was going to repeat it so I gave that man the $100 to move on. Maybe his joint was hidden in the calculations The man with the joint leaned against the iron post and continued to ignore us...

(I do not smoke nor have I ever used ganja in any form.  I am also against the consumption of alcohol. I have advocated that it is better to use ganja than alcohol since anecdotal evidence and medical and social research seem to indicate that alcohol has caused greater harm than ganja has ever done. However, many people mix their substances and it is not as easy as saying one rather than the other. I advocate abstinence from narcotics like ganja and alcohol, I do not advocate prohibition. ) 'Short man, leh de big man sit down outside nah" the driver asked the man waiting for me to go in the car A hot Saturday afternoon - there is one car at the gas station in New Amsterdam . I am the last passenger. I am lucky that I don't have to wait long. The driver is cheerful guy, tall , wearing shades. He doesn't look like he will fly to Georgetown. A young man is in the front seat. I fold myself up between an elderly woman 'Gran' the driver calls her who has ...

Click here first for musical accompaniment by “First Born”  Ganja could be one of the  issues in the 2015 elections for those voting issues and not race. It seems that the PPP and APNU differ on how to talk about ganja and the criminalisation of ganja growers, sellers and users . APNU’s Joe Harmon said that APNU would open the debate on legalising ganja . It seemed that Mr Harmon was thinking of the potential voters who are in jail for smoking or selling ganja who can ‘help to build Guyana’.  Mr Rohee of the PPP said that the Government/PPP has zero tolerance for ganja.   He accused APNU of being immoral by  playing ganja politics and that the PPP will keep the status quo and weed will remain illegal and progress will continue with ganja growers, sellers and users fulling up the jails or doing community service depending on the scales which are used to weigh the ganja which is found. From this Kaieteur News report, it seems that some of the po...

A nice hot breezy afternoon. 2pm. Market. I stop at a cart to buy some onions, potatoes, garlic. Once banned in Guyana. Two young guys running the cart. I smell ganja smoke. I ask them.. 'Man wheh de smoke coming from'. One laughed and pointed to the other.. 'we got one. Yuh wan' two pull'? This is blog post number 300. I have been thinking about something that would be significant and ground breaking and inspiring. But then 300 is just a number. The Critical Thinking Circle was formed in January 2013. I did the first presentation which was along the lines of 'Decriminalisation of Marijuana is good for Guyana"  This is the gist of my presentation. Note: I do not smoke nor have I ever used ganja in any form. I do not advocate its usage. I am also against the consumption of alcohol. I have advocated that it is better to use ganja than alcohol since anecdotal evidence and medical and social research seem to indicate that alcohol has caused greater...