And That's The Way The Cookie Crumbles

“Life goes on.”- Andy Nguyen

Hey, there.

OMG, Election 2015 was intense!

For most of the campaigning, I was a passive observer to the goings-on, not really invested in either party winning because, you know, life goes on after the 7^th. A lot of people did not feel the same way.

Imagine my surprise when, on the night of the 7^th, I woke up from a short nap (that day was rough) to see 489 unread WhatsApp messages. These ranged from ‘OMG, PNM losing’ to ‘another five years of Kamliar’ to ‘meh heart cyah take it’ to ‘that announcer kinda cute’ to ‘Lawd, Desha!’ to ‘go, Tanty Kams’ (this would have been my response, since I like being contrary for no apparent reason).

Naturally, I went to Facebook. Here, a lot of voices came out of the woodwork, sending prayers to the heavens, and calling for the blood of Jesus to intervene and lead PNM to victory. And everyone knows that, when you call on the blood of Jesus, tings serious!

Some forewent religion and placed the blame on those who didn’t vote; they admonished them for not coming out and hinted that they deserved what came their way if the PP regained power.

PNM seemed to be losing; the prospect of another five years of Tanty Kams set in; abandon ship, abandon ship! To say their reaction was a hasty one would be an understatement.

Then, out of nowhere, PNM had more seats than the PP. ‘Thank you, Jesus’; ‘We red and ready’; ‘God doh sleep!’ were the popular refrains. On television, more balisier flags were appearing out of nowhere while the yellow-clad supporters left in droves, looks of incredulity and disappointment etched on their faces.

There was no end to the shade as cameramen zoomed in on faces, and reporters commented on the box to people ratio at the ILP camp and the music going down several decibels at the PP camp.

Then, there was the “Decision Desk” guy on TV6. His bias and over-zealousness knew no bounds. It was clear that he was pro-PNM, which was very unprofessional on his part. I mean, there were supporters of each party tuning in. He couldn’t wait for the powers that be to call the elections; he bounced on his seat on the brink of salivating, sending us back to Fazeer in studio, all frenetic energy and no tact. #NotCute

They called it. The PNM was victorious. Balisier House was a sea of red. Music trucks and radio stations played “Bye Bye, Kamla”. Dr. Uncle Keith gave a rousing speech. It was over. Onwards to September 8^th; fina-frickin’-lly.

But, wait…

Is Tanty Kams delivering her concession speech from Siparia, and not Rienzi? Did she congratulate Dr. Rowley and the PNM? Has she accepted defeat? What is this popular vote she speaks of? Is this even a concession speech?

That was only the tip of the iceberg. In the days since, she’s launched a campaign to have the results cited as null and void. What!?! And I’m still waiting for my ‘thank you’ email. I never deleted a single one; how yuh could do yuh boy dat?

Tanty Kams, no, Mrs. Persad-Bissessar you are a sore loser! That much has become apparent. And it makes me call into question your level of maturity and your interest in what’s best for Trinidad and Tobago.

Yes, you’re probably going through the Five Stages of Grief, but you need to get to Acceptance, like ya mismo. Just concede defeat, send congratulations and get to work. You can cry and have your existential crisis behind closed doors. Sheesh!

NB: Since writing and editing this post, I’ve received a 'thank you' email from Tanty Kams and have seen the words being shared on Facebook. Better late than never, I say.

Luckily, there were no overtly racist comments on my Facebook Newsfeed. I must have good taste in friends. That’s not to say that there weren’t some iffy outta-timin’ posts, which suggested that: 1. a lot of people actually believed the smear campaign against Dr. Rowley, and 2. some persons are not racist, but rather prejudiced and discriminatory against certain sectors of society.

To all those spewing vitriol and threats and warning Dr. Rowley to bless his premises to ward off Hindu spirits, thanks for alerting us to your existence. You’ve got the attention you were craving. Now, crawl back under your rocks or into your suits, and fester in your hatred and ignorance. Meanwhile, the rest of us can continue to enjoy the perks of living in a multi-cultural society. All yuh know ah love meh parsad!

Ultimately, I think a lot of people were dissatisfied and fed up of Kamla. Her intentions were good, but the PP seemingly disintegrated from the very beginning (there’s a blog post referencing this). If I’m being honest, her campaign became more about “The Kamla Show”, than presenting a united front.

The country needs a strong leader and united party to steer us through our closet recession and move us forward. At this moment in our country’s trajectory, the PNM is the best bet. So, the Management and Staff of Garvin’s World congratulate Dr. Rowley and the PNM on their victory.

I think they deserve a chance to prove themselves. I’m waiting to congratulate them for the good, and call them out on their shit. It’s a democracy after all.

Until the next post.