Mr. Kissoon’s Unhealthy Comment with African Guyanese
DEAR EDITOR,
Mr Freddie Kissoon seems to have developed a rather unhealthy obsession with many Guyanese of African descent and that long list includes me. I initially chose not to respond for three reasons: First, I hardly read Mr Kissoon’s columns because they do not entertain or inform and intellectually stimulate me. So I had no idea what he was writing – either about me or anyone else unless it was brought to my attention. Second, I was aware of our previous connection. I had considered it an ally and my preferred method of disagreeing with individuals whom I consider to be allies is to directly engage personally to see if any irritants could be repaired. Third, I am aware that responses to her unfounded assertions fuel Mr Kissoon’s imaginary fire. However, following a recent chance meeting where I tried to engage with him personally but he cowardly scurried to retreat behind his computer to anticipate his piffle, I decided as he was desperate for a public response, the least I could all it does is write one response, provide content for another 15-20 of his daily articles and thus help him earn a pay-per-view.
I must admit, though, that I have no desire to fall into the level and type of discourse in which Mr. Freddie Kissoon seems most comfortable. It is anti-intellectual, shallow, self-relaxing, self-absorbed and repetitive to the point of uncleanness. He delights in the slander and murder of a character from behind a computer screen even though his irrational thoughts have long lost their value – if they ever had.
For a presumed intellectual, Mr. Kissoon seems unable to understand the structural and related theories and analytical tools offered by interdepartmental and self-dimensional identities. I am of African descent. I’m black. I’m a woman. I’m a feminist. I’m Guyanese. I’m West Indian / Caribbean. These identities do not contradict each other, nor do they cancel each other out. They intersect and shape my experiences in Guyana and the world. That Mr. Kissoon has failed in our society in the past to recognize my blackness and his feminism is his conundrum, not mine. These are identities I have always cherished, including when I fought for his right to be treated with dignity and respect and led marches in the hot sun on his behalf when his contract as a lecturer at the University of Guyana came it ended in disarray and when I enthusiastically condemned ramming faeces in the face. That Mr. Kissoon is incapable of appreciating the contextual nuances of identity formation is a manifestation of his intellectual deficiency. If he is interested, I will point him in the direction of several excellent sources to aid in his understanding.
Furthermore, Mr. Kissoon is either intellectually dishonest or is manipulated and used to advance someone’s anonymous agenda as his focus is selectively interesting. Apart from expressing my identity as a black woman, in one Facebook post that it distorts, I also expressed other identities and noted my determination to fight for the working class and the exploited. The fact that Mr. Kissoon seems to be concerned only with the issue of my blackness is more likely to be a reflection of his thought processes about blackness and black people, not mine. Please allow me to produce a verbatim for readers, the first part of the post I did on April 12, 2020. These are opinions that I will cherish forever:
“I’m a black kid – always was and always will be! I’m an unapologetically feminist – always will be! I march through this life and world as a black woman.
The position of systemic position is characterized by oppression that this dual identity – black and woman – produces. I understand that the issues I face are intertwined in the dynamics of race, gender and class. Therefore, I will forever fight racism. I will fight any system / structure – local or global – that kills, exploits and / or delegates marginalized people of African descent, to second-class citizenship. I will also forever fight for gender equality and eliminate unequal gender relations wherever and wherever they manifest themselves. I will fight forever for the rights of the working class, the underclass, the exploited, the marginalized and the forgotten. I will always be an ally and supporter of any group that seeks and fights for equality and justice in their particular places. ”
Precisely because of my understanding of the multiple sources of structural oppression that employ cross-sectional identity markers, I note unequivocally that there is no individual – dead or alive – who can point to any occasion where I acted in a discriminatory manner. by anyone or any group. or when I failed to treat someone who came to me in a personal or professional capacity with anything less than decency, equality and respect. I treat everyone the same, regardless of ethnicity, gender, class, religion, nationality or sexuality. I trust that Mr Kissoon can say the same without any doubt.
I would like to advise Mr. Kissoon further that my Facebook page is public. All my views are available for anyone to consider, including my views on rigging the March 2, 2020 elections and my considered view on how to tackle the ethnic insecurity and conflict that has overwhelmed our country and its democratic processes – incidentally, the subject of my successfully defended PhD thesis from the University of Sussex, UK. Before the March 2nd election, I wrote the following in a longer post [February 29th], “For me, voting has never been an option. I do not believe that democracy is ‘voting for everything and putting an end to all’. In fact, I do not believe that this minimalist liberal democracy serves our multi-ethnic context at all. However, the system we have and until it changes to one that facilitates the actual inclusion of all groups (for which I continue to advocate), I will participate in trying to steer the electoral result in the direction I am believes that is better for Guyana. ”My reading of history tells me that historically both major political parties have manipulated their internal and national electoral systems and structures to a greater or lesser extent to produce specific electoral results. Nevertheless, on March 5, 2020, I wrote the following (removed again from a longer post), “APNU / AFC – If you lose, you lose. Stop it, re-calibrate and live to fight another day. ”I repeated this comment on June 7, 2020 when the recalculated totals were revealed. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Kissoon’s spies on Facebook seem to have conveniently missed those comments.
Since Mr. Kissoon seems so intrigued by my opinion, he should join Facebook to see for himself. As a self-described historian, he must be aware of the cardinal rule that one must go directly to the source rather than rely on true, second-hand information so that he does not have to make it through screen shots. Alternatively, he can email or call me and ask me to text any of my posts to him. I would be most willing to do that.
Finally, let me say this about Mr. Kissoon. As one who obeyed when his boss instructed him on the intangible subjects and individuals on whom he cannot offer opinions, he has no legitimacy whatsoever to speak of anyone’s silence on any matter. As one who cannot call out those who helped him build his home, or who gave him free legal services, he has no legitimacy whatsoever to speak out on anyone’s silence on any issue. As one who publicly appealed for jobs for himself and his spouse from the political elite and who stopped when they did not respond to his shameless appeals, he has no legitimacy whatsoever to speak with character, integrity or decency of anyone. Mr. Kissoon’s self-described grandeur, integrity and intellectual ability only exist in his narcissistic and bullying thinking.
Thank you, dear Editor, for allowing this sole response to Mr. Kissoon. I wish Mr. Kissoon good luck in what appears to be his current desperate fishing for relevance, friends, allies and earnings.
Correctly,
Mellissa Ifill