In Guyana, there exists a peculiar breed of self-proclaimed “good people.” They are quick to pat themselves on the back for their moral uprightness, yet their actions, or rather, their inactions, tell a different story. These individuals reserve their most scathing criticism for Black leadership, while turning a blind eye to the egregious misdeeds of the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP). Their silence in the face of injustice is complicity, but it is also a calculated act of cowardice that perpetuates the very problems they claim to abhor.
These “decent” Guyanese are not the overt racists or the loudmouth bigots. They are the ones who sit in their living rooms, drinking a beer / rum, and lamenting the state of the nation. They are the ones who will passionately critique every misstep by Black leaders, dissecting each decision with surgical precision. Yet, when it comes to holding the PPP accountable for its litany of sins, they are conspicuously silent. They avert their gaze from the sexual assault allegations against select politicians, the rampant corruption that has become synonymous with the party, and the blatant racial discrimination in the allocation of government contracts. Their silence is deafening.
Why is it that these “good people” are so vocal in their criticism of Black leadership, yet so timid when it comes to the PPP? The answer lies in their unspoken desire, they want the PPP to “behave” so that they can openly advocate for them. They want a veneer of respectability, a fig leaf of decency, to cover the rot that lies beneath. They want to be able to support the PPP without the moral qualms that come with endorsing a party that is manifestly corrupt and racist and one that has refused to clean the voters’ list, and resisted the adoption of biometrics to ensure free and fair elections.
These individuals are not just silent; they are actively enabling the PPP’s misrule. Their refusal to speak out against the party’s abuses of power, their unwillingness to demand accountability, and their eagerness to criticize Black leadership at every turn, all serve to reinforce the status quo. They are the ones who hold our country back, not because they are evil, but because they are lazy and cowardly. They would rather live with the consequences of their inaction than risk the discomfort of standing up for what is right.
The tragedy is that these “decent” people are in the majority. Their collective silence creates a culture of impunity, where the PPP can act with near-total disregard for the rule of law, secure in the knowledge that they will not be held accountable by the very people who claim to value justice and fairness. We are all forced to live with the consequences of their cowardice, a country where corruption flourishes, where racial discrimination is rampant, and where the voices of the marginalized are drowned out by the silence of the so-called “good people.”
It is time for these individuals to take a long, hard look in the mirror. If they truly consider themselves to be decent, moral people, then they must start acting like it. They must find the courage to speak out against injustice, no matter who is perpetrating it. They must hold the PPP to the same standard they hold Black leadership. And they must recognize that their silence is not just a personal failing; it is a betrayal of the very principles they claim to uphold.
Guyana deserves better than the cowardice of the “decent.” We deserve a society where justice is not selective, where accountability is not a matter of convenience, and where the voices of the people are not silenced by the fear and laziness of the majority. It is time for the “good people” to stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution.
