Dear Editor,
An unfortunate incident occurred a few days when it was alleged that a youngster gesticulated offensively towards the presidential motorcade. What worries me is not just the wrong allegedly done by this youngster but the way the adults are handling the matter.
If what is being reported is true then Guyana is in a bad way for sure; the expectation is that mature adults would not try to justify an act of this kind, but try and correct the youth who allegedly committed it.
However, protesting with placards which seek to bring about an exoneration; putting a slant in print; and walking in picket lines is to send the wrong message to our already wayward young people.
Hopefully my letter is not misinterpreted; if this young man were to be found guilty, I would rather that he benefited from the mercy of the court, and be released into the custody of his parents, not that he be incarcerated. If an alleged gesticulation of this kind had been directed to our daughter/s we as decent human beings would never accept it. So the act which was allegedly committed does not represent “just a finger”; it is vulgar language that must not be encouraged at all.
Let us join together to help create a new mindset in our youths; let us come together and volunteer our energies to reform our youths and some of our adults. Let us not create monsters in the minds of our young, giving them a false sense of decency when they need to be corrected.
Yours faithfully,
Ivan John
