Pin The Tail On The Scared Donkey: The Questions Of Assassination, Terrorism and Grand Theft Auto

First, we had the dousing of a PNM candidate with red paint and the threat on Kamla Persad-Bissessar's life. And then, yesterday, we had the apparent plot to sew chaos in the General Election - complete with a single AK-47 and 48 rounds of ammunition as well as the carjacking of the UNC political leader.  I know, there was a thrown object that hit Mrs. Warner a glancing blow as well, but the police and media hasn't even been able to say what the object is other than it was metallic. That could have been a bottle cap for all we know.

Of all of these things, what disturbs me most is that there quite simply aren't a lot of facts and way too many theories. This morning I've already heard my share of theories that fit all of this and I've even thought up a few on my own. To be clear, violence has no place in an election. That's for those of you who might be wondering - and for the children who are growing up with this as their first experience at democracy.

The AK47.

I don't know whether my time in the military has me jaded about a single AK47 with 2 clips. Frankly, I'm more worried about all the H&K MP5s ('room brooms') I see in the most arbitrary places - like crowded fetes. So that someone had a single AK47, while a crime in Trinidad and Tobago, doesn't necessarily mean that they intended to use it or could use it effectively. But it did make the election more about fear.

Further, if there really is a terror plot, I daresay it would extend beyond one person with an AK47 and 2 clips of ammunition. After all, they probably didn't order that on Amazon.com and have it shipped to them - no, they got it from someone, and that someone knew someone to get it in, and so forth. And if you're going to bring in one weapon and 2 clips of ammunition, you might find a few more somewhere... and reporting it to the media puts the others on their guard.

And it does seem convenient that the police found out about it. The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service doesn't exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to solving simple crimes. Meanwhile, the fear level goes up preceding the General Election.

The Hit

I've already written that the real hit is on the people when it comes to this general election. The Acting Police Commissioner, James Philbert, has stated that the evidence on the alleged death threat doesn't add up. Fair enough. They could find the needle AK47 in the haystack yesterday, so maybe he's right. Maybe he's wrong.

But there's the issue of perception. Whether real or imagined, the death threat and its response have raised the fear level preceding the General Election.

The Theft Of The Prado

And then we had the carjacking of Kamla Persad-Bissessar's SUV yesterday. From Facebook, a few people have said that some 'UNC documents were stolen' but 'nothing else was taken'. The vehicle was recovered and no one harmed.

But again, the fear level has been raised preceding the General Election.

Pin The Tail On The Donkey.

There are as many theories as there are people discussing them. If each one of these things is related to separate groups, we have 3 groups of people who seem intent on causing fear. Even if these events or some of these events are less than true, we still have some groups trying to cause fear before the General Election. Does it matter who? Yes, it does. But also - no, it doesn't.

Regardless of who you are supporting in the General Election, you should be certain that you are safe - and that safety may well depend on someone supporting the other side in the General Election. Instead of polarizing the nation and making it easier for the politicians to count votes before they are hatched, these things should pull the nation together to assure that a proper election happens.

Fear shouldn't have a place in the General Election and fear mongering needs to be removed from the political platforms.