by Colin Hyde
The reason that I want the next big one to be done and over with is because, bikaaz I can’t wait to say something bad about the PUP. I was in perfect agreement with former PM Dean Barrow when he described what the PUP picked up. Under the circumstances, one had to coddle them. I don’t suggest they were a bad government. Those blues have a lot of points. But show me the person, group that can’t be improved, and I’ll tell you we need to pinch ourselves—why? To make sure we’re still here.
So, it could be 31-0. Well, that’s better than 30-1, and that one is Barrow’s son. I have nothing against BelAms, but Aria and friends should have sent Mario, or Arlie, or Sydney, any of the many illustrious Belizean achievers living in the home of the brave. The one they sent, his glory is only in his lyrics; and if he plays his uplifting, redemptive songs on “his” radio/television, I expect it must be after midnight. I don’t like being harsh. But when it comes to leadership, you have to put the cargo and the passengers first. If S Barrow wants to be part of it, it should be in a supportive role.
I said the blue has a lot of points. And yes, I am voting for them in the next one, because I think they deserve it. But, if I’m still around after the dust settles, and they are still in the saddle, I’ll, ehm, say some bad things about them.
Dropping domestic charges, telling her to leave
Belizean women, mostly, have been calling on our justice system to pursue charges in domestic violence cases even when the one who brought the charge, usually female, decides to not pursue the matter that was brought forward. We are familiar with the nolle pros in murder cases, and that usually occurs when the main bit of evidence for the prosecution comes from an eyewitness, and the eyewitness decides to withdraw or is withdrawn from the case. Where there is no witness, there is no crime; in such cases the court has to throw up its hands, call it water under the bridge.
Domestic violence matters brought to the police, I think all pertain to physical assaults; and, based on what is reported in the press, these can range from hair pulling to a hand lock to being shot at. The Belize Crime Observatory (BCO) said there was a 2% decline in documented domestic violence reports in 2021, compared to 2020. The BCO said: “Reports declined from 2,419 to 2,362. The number of cases lodged declined 13%, from 885 during January to December 2020 to 773 during January to December 2021.” Whoa there, some reports are by males against bully females, but those are the minority of cases.
The BCO noted that not all the reports made it to the court. The report said, “Not all domestic violence reports result in cases being lodged. There are several cases for which complainants decline to take court action.” I think I am on firm ground when I say that in many of these cases the women who made the report are just asking the state to apply some immediate muscle to the physically stronger half. I expect there are reports made in the heat of the moment, and a cooler head later regrets the action and asks the police to stand down.
I believe it is reasonable to expect that the state wants these quarrelling parties to kiss and make up, though the tolerance in regard to cases involving weapons must be low. I sense that the lobby for the police to pursue all reports is gaining support, and I think that before they get there, there should be a full airing out of the matter. As it stands, my take is that many people feel that in most cases the public shaming is sufficient. The uncivilized among us, a small congregation of which I am a member, believe that some people just need a good whipping.
Jumping from the frying pan into the fire, the lobby is loud for females leaving relationships whenever there is any kind of physicality. The story is that the man weh grab yu and push yu against the wall is going to do worse down the road, and worse, even kill you. I think the lobby would do better by investing in a guide for leaving a situation, just in case it is really toxic.
It can be a big story, how to separate from someone who is emotionally attached. It is so that there are people whose validation doesn’t come from within, and in that crowd there are some fragile egos. There is a cautionary lesson about removing your hand when it’s in the lion’s mouth. So, the female walks out of the relationship, and now there is a male out there who might be the nicest guy in every which way but one, who can’t handle that situation. Women, a few men too, have been murdered by associates they hooked up with and then left behind. How many females were murdered while living with the troubled lover; and how many were killed while estranged from the lover? It would be good if the BCO produced that data.
There are some discussions that Belize absolutely has to have – discussions, not talking down to. The men in this country have daughters and sisters, and most, at least many, do not side with their sons and brothers in domestic differences. I push the pause button, for now.
First the wild woke, now the wild anti-woke
There’s no balance in this USA. From the wild woke side, we got gay men adopting children and 7-month abortions. Now it’s the wild anti-woke turn, with vicious talk of expansionism and taxing neighbors to their knees among the programs on their table. This Union, sometimes I think it is too extreme to lead the world. In their system, a small gang of Cuban exiles with their few strategic votes have kept a crippling embargo on the entire nation of Cuba, driven that nation into an alliance with the devil Russia.
Nobody and nothing is all bad. We learned a lot from our brothers and sisters who are wired to be attracted to the same sex when our brothers were allowed out of the closet. Anyone with an open heart and a willingness to learn has gained insights into the world of our neighbors. I will say I did.
In the late 1970s, I “marched” behind Anita Bryant. Last month when she died, I Googled her name to see if she had softened her heart, at least a little, toward the LGBT philistines. Apparently, the answer to that is nyet. The 2021 story, “Anita Bryant devoted her life to terrorizing LGBTQ+. Now she has a bisexual granddaughter”, by Molly Sprayregen, said Anita, whose name is “synonymous with homophobic vitriol”, didn’t soften her heart when the granddaughter said she didn’t like guys. Okay, insights are good, but no one under the sun can/should have everything they want. Gay men who have money and love children should donate to foster homes. Is there a child out there who wants a man for a mother? I think not.
Weee, Anita must have celebrated big when the dangerous religious right took back the USA last November. Now her granddaughter will have to walk the line.
Before I cap my pen, this Trump presidency will show how strong the US’s democracy is. He has many extreme ideas, and he is not alone in his thinking. In the other states in our region that have the Republican system, lock, stock and barrel, what we would have there is dictatorship. It’s intriguing how Belizeans who tout the Republican system don’t see the “monarchy” that is built into it.