The Tribune

Last weekend, the video of a young lady who had just returned home and was in government-sponsored quarantine at Breezes Hotel quickly went viral as she whined and complained about everything including the snack she was given prior to the dinner she received later.

It was yet another display of the obnoxious sense of entitlement of many Bahamians, who believe the government’s primary role is to cater to their every need and desire.

The video and the explosive outrage it evoked cast a spotlight on the echo chamber of whining, complaining, negativity and profound ingratitude engulfing many Bahamians in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

This echo chamber is not new. But there is a new level of perverseness as the world struggles through a deadly virus and an economic collapse nearing the levels of the Great Depression. The spirit of ingratitude by some has become toxic even as record levels of Bahamians will soon have to be fed by the Government and others.

There are reports the video may have been encouraged by some who manically try to manipulate the outbreak for political gain. The contemptible political behaviour by some of the most noxious, chronically dark, brooding and unpleasant characters in the country is not going unnoticed by a majority of Bahamians.

Some of the backlash to the video was crude and vicious. But the overwhelming and rapid tidal wave of opinion, which included Bahamians of all political stripes, evinced a spirit of patriotism and a powerful rejoinder to the petty ingratitude of the young lady.

Even some wonderful and dear people of goodwill were initially ensnared by yet another social media concoction and the negativity of the video-cum-trap that was designed to spark outrage against a supposedly uncaring and callous government.

Many others in government quarantine pushed back, offering a broader portrait including how well they felt treated and how well they were being fed.

Unprecedented

Similar to other countries which have performed generally well during the outbreak, there have been inevitable missteps and errors during what is an unprecedented health, economic and social crisis of gargantuan proportions for which there was no playbook.

For the most part, government and health officials have responded quickly, admirably and smartly, while under daily pressure on many fronts, including the political games of some who have decided they will utilize even hurricanes and pandemics to score points and advance their agendas.

Contrast our situation with the colossal failures in other countries, including the meltdown and disastrous response of Donald Trump in the United States; the proliferation of body bags with COVID-19 victims in Ecuador; the slow response of the Russian and Indonesian governments leading to untold infections and deaths; and the sluggish responses by quite a number of other countries.

Many of the things some have complained about during the outbreak are mostly small bore, especially in contrast with the disastrous and life-threatening mistakes in other jurisdictions.

Some of the complaints at home are justified, while some are mostly about cosmetic matters voiced by the smug outraged nitpickers endlessly fulminating about what is incorrect, though they have little to no appreciation of the hard and complex work of government.

One senior journalist has again advised his colleagues to set aside their gotcha journalism. His plea will fall on the deaf ears of those equally tone-deaf journalists and editors in the echo chamber of their unyielding loathing of certain leaders, whom they wish to see fail, justifying their contempt and the barrels of ink at their disposal in their war of attrition to destroy their target.

By contrast, there are judicious and fair reporters like this journal’s Rashad Rolle, a counterexample to the shallow reporting by some reporters who believe it is a feather in their proverbial cap to try to catch a politician in a trap. Many of them are not well-served by their seniors in the profession.

Though some in the political realm believe they are being clever and manipulating events, many see through these self-serving stratagems which will likely fail, with the manipulators the political casualties of their own manipulation. Such gamesmanship by some who are admired and who have given so much to this country is profoundly disappointing. Boredom can be a vexatious companion.

Encouragement

There is a young Bahamian of 27, mature for his age, at the dawn of his political career, who consistently demonstrates a spirit of encouragement even when offering constructive criticism and advice. He can teach his seniors.

Complaining is a human phenomenon that is also a major national pastime in the Bahamas. Some of this reflexive kvetching comes from the negative space, poor psychological states or inadequacies in which some people live, their unhappiness and pathologies projected outwards.

It is curious and laughable to observe some of the smug and pampered elitists at the highest levels of elected office, who repeatedly screw-up, causing problems for colleagues and whose stupid and arrogant outbursts and statements in the press have constantly to be cleaned-up by the very people they enjoy criticizing, often as a deflection from their own seemingly incurable communication and policy gaffes.

A beloved parent, who sought to correct firmly but always with a spirit of encouragement, often warned this writer to be chary of those who typically only offer criticism when something does not work or go well but who rarely reach out to offer encouragement or acknowledgement when something goes well.

There are those who rarely, if ever, offer positive feedback, but who relish an opportunity to whine and complain, often in patronizing, condescending and haughty tones that are unproductive and unhelpful.

Growth requires the pruning and constructive advice and criticism by others. Especially during times like the COVID-19 pandemic, we should avoid rose-coloured glasses and blinders. But neither should a spirit of negativity and darkened mindsets reign.

Realities

The late Roman Catholic Archbishop Lawrence Burke, S.J., evinced a spirit of hope and joy. Even during his battles with cancer and other challenges in his priestly and episcopal ministry, he demonstrated a spirit of encouragement.

He disliked and eschewed whining, complaining and negativity because he knew they retarded a good and productive spirit. He often reminded others that among the greatest sins against the Spirit are hopelessness and despair, whose devilish companions are negativity and cynicism.

When we look at the reality in The Bahamas, including during this pandemic, we are doing better than many countries in the world. Yet, we often let the bitching, moaning, whining and complaining outstrip the spirit of gratitude and goodness in our hearts and in our country.

Take for example the excellent work of the Ministry of Education and its many administrators, teachers and staff, who are feeding hungry children and who in a matter of weeks reoriented their instruction to an online platform educating thousands. The Ministry is also scheduled to get devices to those students without tablets or computers.

What is galling but unsurprising is that it is often the more privileged and the economic and political elites in our country who complain the most and often about the smallest of things.

Maria Branyas was born in Mexico on March, 4, 1907, but lives in a residential elder care home in Olot, Girona, in Spain. The supercentenarian, who is 113, is one of the oldest people in the world to survive COVID-19, which she battled for several weeks.

She has lived through two world wars and survived the 1917 Flu Pandemic, often coined the Spanish Flu, which she contracted and survived as a child.

One of her daughters told a Spanish publication: “Now that she is well, she is wonderful, she wants to speak, to explain, to make her reflections, it is her again.” She reportedly has an extraordinary sense of gratitude to those who cared for her during her illness.

A life like hers and what she has witnessed and endured for more than a century is a moral, spiritual and emotional reminder and rejoinder to all of us, especially those who have so much, yet who are often susceptible to the negativity, cynicism and dark spirit of knee-jerk complaining, from which life and light will never arise.