It is difficult to understand how anyone can mend an ill if the same person is prone to misdiagnose the problem in the first place.
This appears to be the case of National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds, who has taken a position that 70 per cent of the population wants to see him and his Government fail in their efforts to crack down on crime.
To put it into numbers, with a population of around 1.4 million, if Mr Hinds’ calculation is correct, then 980,000 people are happy with what is taking place in our beloved country.
At a media conference on Monday, Mr Hinds said “it would be nice if I had all of your support in Trinidad and Tobago in the fight against criminals” as he opined that the vast majority of society was working against them.
While we are certain there are some who benefit from crime activity—including some in the political arena—to surmise that 70 per cent of the population do, is a far stretch from reality.
As much as it suits Mr Hinds’ cause to identify reasons for the bad state of the country, other than his Government’s failure to get a grip on things, throwing out numbers like this is a case of what is popularly known as ‘playing smart with foolishness’.
Mr Hinds cannot seriously believe his own words to be true, when in fact most of the nation has been clamouring for the Government to do whatever it takes to fix the crime situation amid a record-breaking year for murders.
It is foolhardy to mistake strong demands for action as something more nefarious. People simply want crime eradicated and the criticism Mr Hinds and the Government face are justified in the face of things getting worse.
To perceive that as a lack of support, or worse, as a campaign to ensure crime continues, is to misdiagnose the problem.
Once again, Mr Hinds is asking the population to continue to believe he is the best person to fix the problem, although we are repeatedly faced with excuses and deflections when things intensify, instead of real strategies and visible impacts.
One can recall just weeks ago when faced with a video of Rose Hill RC School pupils cowering under their desks as rapid gunfire was heard outside, that Mr Hinds described the video as ‘misleading’ instead of condemning the action and offering comfort and assurances to those affected. His words lacked the empathy and care needed, especially from a government that came into power promising to fix the crime problem.
If Mr Hinds were to rightly diagnose the current situation, he would find more than 70 per cent of the country is truly hoping and praying the country can be taken back from the hands of criminals.
The current crime situation is a bombardment on the lives of peace-loving citizens and on an economy that stands to lose more investors as it continues.
Suppressing the spiralling crisis we now find ourselves in is critical for the betterment of 100 per cent of T&T.
It would be nice if Mr Hinds and the Government actually do this.