Dear Editor,
In a letter captioned “Pollsters all over the world express political opinions” (07.03.15) the pollster Mr Vishnu Bisram defended his right to offer political views, rather than only measure them. He does indeed have a right to do so, but not without injury to his future as a pollster.
His case is based on the fact that American pollsters regularly express their views in various media. But something eluded Bisram here. The American pollsters are usually interviewed about polls they have conducted. Mr Bisram, on the other hand, goes beyond his polling material, and makes regular deposits of his own opinion. These are not dispassionate pieces of analytical writing, but activist interventions. I very much doubt that his future polling data would be taken as seriously as they have in the past.
What is more troubling than Bisram’s pollster/pundit quandary though, is his soft neocolonialism.
Bisram makes the case that Mr Burnham was wrong to break away from Great Britain. Referring to a poll, he states the following – “The findings consistently showed Guy-anese prefer to return to rule under the British.” He goes on thus -“On a related note, last year when I moved around Guyana polling on which party would win the elections, everywhere people…told me they wished America could invade and take over Guyana…”
Mr Bisram is not simply reporting poll findings here. He is being an advocate for neocolonialism. It is astounding that in the 21st century you will find a political analyst who cherishes colonial and neocolonial domination. Even the British themselves don’t want this anymore. Michael Manley once said that the pro-British Jamaica elite are more royal than the King. Bisram should ponder that admonition.
On a more technical point, it appears that Mr Bisram took a well known refrain, for a finding. Perhaps Bisram might remember when Guyanese once said “don’t call me Comrade, call me Senor”. The point was they were fed up with the situation, and they expressed it in the above refrain. If taken literally, it would have meant that Guyanese wanted Venezuela to invade Guyana.
LFS Burnham did a lot of harm to Guyana, but he also was principled on a number of issues. Mr Burnham was indeed a champion for the destruction of apartheid in South Africa and Rhodesia, for the NIEO, for a strong Non-Aligned Movement, and for a stronger regionalism. Guyanese should be proud of all of these, and this, notwithstanding the enormous burdens the nation had to face up to internally.
If Mr Bisram wants Guyana to return to British colonialism, or if he countenances an American invasion, he should say so. He should not use Burnham’s rule as a subterfuge.
Walter Jordan was right to suggest that Bisram cannot be both a pollster and a pundit. I kindly ask Mr Bisram to think about which of the two he wants to be. This is important for everyone, because by all accounts, Bisram has done some really good work as a pollster.
Yours faithfully,
Dr Randy Persaud
