Dear Editor,
Now that we have accepted capitalism as our development paradigm, it is sometimes tragic to watch how private sector interests seem to triumph over matters related to social and human development.
With all our talk of concern about alcohol use in Guyana, there is a slap in the face of those who have to deal with the consequences of alcohol use when we see in our sports pages a Stag Beer and El Dorado Rum cricket competition (and other beer sponsorship and ownership of cricket and other teams). Take that, it seems to say; the alcohol is here to stay, it will be promoted not only culturally, but also economically through sports and whatever means necessary. The alcohol sellers must know why they sponsor cricket and not the programmes needed to support those who have suffered directly and indirectly from alcohol use. There is more news about the Stag Beer and El Dorado competition than there is say about a campaign to ask the sellers to stop selling alcohol to children.
There are no more posters or so to put on any shops and nothing gets more sniggers than when the law against selling alcohol to children is explained in communities (or at cricket matches).
The rum sellers also describe the Caribbean as a paradise when branding their Authentic Caribbean Rum (http://www.truerum.com) and the glowing tributes paid there ignore those whose paradise was turned to hell by users of the authentic Caribbean rums.
And from rum to racism. Thanks to TV and the Internet, some of us would have been as appalled as many Americans are at Donald Trump’s attack against Barack Obama.
This attack was criticised by many across their political divide as racist. Donald Trump’s empire includes the Miss Universe thing, and in addition to resisting the sexism in beauty pageants, those Guyanese who like beauty pageants might want to consider whether they would continue to endorse Donald Trump, his products and his politics, regardless of how they feel about Barack Obama. Boycotting the Miss Universe could be a good protest by saying no to the kind of racial politics which plague our world.
A long time ago though, one Principles of Business teacher told me that the market has to do what the market has to do and it is up to the society to pick up the pieces of the fallout.
Many people though, would say it is okay to enjoy cricket while it is being used as a vehicle to glorify alcohol use, and enjoy ‘beauty’ when its promoter has been accused of racism, so that they could forget why some of us do not prosper.
Yours faithfully,
Vidyaratha Kissoon
