Dear Editor,
One word: hypocrisy. I wrote this before and stated that it will be necessary for me to write it again.: “Those who desire to live honestly, who want their lives to display faithfulness and authenticity make choices based on what is true rather than what is expedient. The integrity of the upright leads them.”
I have said the following on several occasions: Anyone born or living on St. Maarten who is accepted to become a police officer should not go to the police school on St. Maarten. And when that person is ready to go on patrol, he/she should not be permitted to return to St. Maarten within four years. They have to mature in the job, they have to get accustomed to ridicule from everyone. on St. Maarten even from their school friends who either envy them or who do not want them to do that which is necessary to maintain law and order.
Even though my parents are from Saba and St. Maarten, when I came to work in the Windward Islands I was already a 10-year veteran who had worked on Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, experienced in both dominating fights as well as crowds. That is why I can state the above. With the high grade of erratic behavior of the drivers on St. Maarten, why are not the coffers for fines for traffic violations filled?
All of this has being going on since 10-10-’10, where are the statistics to prove what kind of work was delivered by those who are attacking the present Minister of Justice? And why only now is all of this coming to light?
Do I have a right to put “hypocrisy” at the heading of this letter after reading the article “police officers leave to work in the region”? I do not know where they are going to work, but for their sake I would hope that they go to either Aruba or Curaçao, where they will be confronted with a different kind of population and maturing in the police force would alter their outlook on police work.
Again I am not defending the Minister of Justice, I am shedding a light on hypocrisy. Since 10-10-’10, the first government to last this long, to take all kinds of blows from all who know better, who had to constantly endure criticism for lay-and-waiters, which had to tolerate radical behavior from its police force, etc. So my question remains: from when was all this known? I wonder if the present Minister of Justice had done the same as her predecessors who would they have striked against? It was expedient to attack the Minister.
Now this. I am sure that every member of government at one time or the other has done their shopping in either a store, a supermarket or a hardware store and automatically received a receipt. So my question is: why do the proprietors of these businesses feel free to do what they want with prices, spoiled goods, change and anything coming to the shopper and believe that this is the correct thing to do? Is the shopper entitled to an itemised receipt for the purchased goods? Why is it so that the price of a product is listed at $8.99 and if you pay with a $10 bill the cashier tells you nine dollars and, here is the kicker, when the buyer claims his/her one cent he/she is told that we don't have one cent US? Am I to believe that no one in government knows about this practice?
Ask them when last did they get a receipt at any supermarket run by Chinese, where now and then it is alleged that sometimes goods are spoiled. A receipt to substantiate the purchase of the spoiled goods. Those are questions that members of government who claim to be in opposition should ask the concerned Minister. But then again, why would they ask those questions? They would rather not ask questions which would benefit the public, because questions like those would not be good for the permit holders of those businesses which are not usually Chineses nationals. Did I say hypocrisy?
I hope the prices on pens and pencils don’t go up, because if we continue to have to endure hypocritical behavior from members of government, I might have to go on the hill to get writing material.
Tell the businesses to change the price of goods from $8.99 to $8.95 and give us back our $0.05. The going word is “rip off” and intentionally ripping off the people is a crime.
I will repeat, every time goods come out of the same container the price of those goods goes up. And you know something, that is not the Minister of Justice portfolio, but I do not hear anybody threatening with strike, but I am sure that the Economic Department knows about it also. Integrity and politics do not go hand-in-hand.
Actually this should be an open letter to the concerned minister, because government uses this newspaper to communicate with the community of St. Maarten.
Russell A. Simmons
