Just days away from the election and a certain “newspaper” is wondering where the candidates’ manifestos are, actually asking if it was the paper’s responsibility to actually seek out the candidates and the parties to get them, or just sit back and wait for them to be hand-delivered to their offices.
Hey Desmond – do you want the candidates to write the story, edit it, lay it out and publish it too?
Of course it’s the paper’s responsibility to seek out the information and report that information to the public. Are you kidding me?
I love this quote from the Not News’ editorial today:
Perish the thought that any of the candidates or parties should deliver copies of their manifestos to local media for reference purposes. Presumably that never occurred to any of them. No doubt it’s looked upon as our responsibility to seek out what each candidate stands for rather than the other way around.
No, Dismal. Perish the thought that instead of complaining about something you actually did something about it. That not being the case here, I can say that apparently there is some doubt (at least in your small mind) as to what exactly your “responsibility” is regarding reporting this or any news.
In the absence of any motivation by candidates to do anything other than post their ideas on a public and easily accessible website – to which you, I and everyone in the world has unabated access – it is indeed your job to go get it. Your only alternative is to keep doing what you’re doing which is pissing and moaning because someone isn’t living up to your expectations and doing your job for you.
You see? This is part of the problem. People in positions of power or authority in Cayman seem all to willing to point the finger and blame someone else for not doing something without any consideration as to actually standing up and taking responsibility to do the job themselves.
While Dismal seems peeved that he and his staff might have to do something other than sit on their collective asses and wait for information to come to them (a la GIS), he shows yet again that he doesn’t get this very point. And he doesn’t get the simple concept of what it means to be a journalist nor does he get the concept of what this election means with regards to mission statements, position papers and manifestos.
I’ll put it as simply as I can. It means absolutely nothing.
Dismal is upset because candidates have not delivered to him a bunch of useless and meaningless propaganda. The news isn’t why there are no manifestos being delivered to the press – the news is why there are no manifestos that map out a clear and concise plan of action.
The Not News seems to stumble across this concept only to abandon it in favour of pointing the finger at the Tribunal as a potential cause for voters voting without the benefit of knowing exactly what each candidate stands for – and more importantly how they plan to back it up. Again - pointing the finger of blame in the opposite direction.
But instead of promising voters that he will take some initiative and fulfill his obligation as a journalist and go after the candidates in order to seek out the information with all the vim and vigour he uses to berate them, he chooses instead to show his true colours and head to his corner to pout and cry like the spoiled little baby he is.
Pay attention here everyone.
This election isn’t about concepts. This election is simply another popularity contest between the reds and the blues and it’s becoming more and more apparent that all candidates are taking a page from the recent US presidential election campaign concept of “Change You Can Believe In.”
And just like the US, the “change you can believe in” is still just “change you want to believe in and hopefully you do, because if you believe in it enough you might just overlook the reality that we have no idea as to how to actually bring about change.” Suckers…
So here we are – less than two weeks away from an election and no one knows what’s going on; and you have a member of the press complaining that no one has dropped off manifestos that by his own admission are meaningless and do not give Cayman voters a clear idea of “how” any sort of change or reform will take place.
And instead of putting a microphone in each candidate’s face and asking them “How?” Dismal chooses instead to sit back and wait for this information to mystically find its way to his office. Am I the only who sees the absolute idiocy of this?!
I’m thoroughly convinced that if Desmond’s house caught fire he would put down the garden hose, pick up his camera, expect his neighbors to call the fire brigade, and then blame everyone but himself for the fact that his house was destroyed. Proving yet again that Dismal was, is and always will be nothing more than a significant part of all that is wrong with Cayman.
So voters, here’s the deal. It is up to YOU to demand this information. It is up to YOU to rise up in righteous indignation and get what is owed you because no one will do it for you; especially not Dismal and the Not News staff.
