KENNY IS NOT AN ELITIST A Close Family Friend and Colleague Defends Kenny From FLOGGeration

 

They think they know me...

Last week, after the Flambeau Convention, The FLOGG was the first in the media to report on the seemingly incestuous relationship betweenPrime Minister Kenny Anthony and UWP Leader Allen Chastanet. The story snowballed, becoming one of The FLOGG’s most popular articles of all time.

Within a few days, a close friend and long time colleague of the Prime Minister’s advanced an unsolicited defense of his favorite good guy. The FLOGG got permission to publish the defense on condition of perfect anonymity.

The following shall be archived and cited for future reference as the standard of HOW TO PUT THE FLOGG IN ITS PLACE. Others who find themselves targets of The FLOGG’s ridicule are encouraged to take notes.

I am Intellectual Prowess!!!! Hear me ROOOOAAAArrrr....cough, cough, cough!

Jason:

It is true that Michele (Anthony) and Raquel (DuBoulay) are very good friends, a friendship that has a long history well before politics and that has bewildered me, but . . . That is entirely irrelevant to the politics of St. Lucia.

As for Kenny being an academic elitist, I beg to differ. Kenny Anthony is the ONLY person that I know  who had the opportunity to go to either Oxford or Cambridge (with a full scholarship) and declined. He chose instead to go to UWI for his LLM and Birmingham for his PhD because he admired the Professor there. This, despite the fact that he is acknowledged in ALL academic and many other circles to be BRILLIANT and still holds the record in UWI of a double first class - a first class in Politics and Socio and a First Class honours - 2 separate faculties at a time in UWI's history when NO-ONE got 1st class honours, unlike today.

Sen. Debbie T: No degree, but Kenny picked me

It is true that Kenny respects education and values it highly, but he knows that many people have a lot to offer even without a degree and some did not have the opportunity, or for some other reason did not perform academically. His nomination of Debbie Tobierre to the Senate was based on self made business acumen, not any degree and I believe that if you spoke to VF people, who know him better, you will get a better sense of the man. 

This is why I am so bewildered when people describe him as arrogant, since I know the accolades he receives elsewhere because of his intellectual prowess and organisational ability and how he constantly understates his achievements. What do they say about a prophet. . . 

I do not know if you have a personal beef with him (so many do) but you are wrong on this one. Allen Chastanet is in a completely different world to KDA. In fact, a little known fact is that during SJC's reign he invited KDA to join his party etc. Kenny, of course, refused. He told me that he could never join the UWP since they do not represent his values. UWP is essentially a right wing party. I see on WIP they are even describing themselves as conservative and Allen said some time ago that they are closer to the Republicans in the US! 

Allen Chastanet: He's not really one of us, is he? I heard he's half-Viagran or something.

 KDA was also lobbied in 2006 by the outgoing Commonwealth Head to be the new Head and  though it was a very cushy job, he refused to leave St Lucia out of a sense of duty. You have no idea who this man Kenny Anthony really is, believe me. The fact that so many people whom he taught over the years literally worship him should tell you something.

He worries every minute of every day for the poor and downtrodden in this country and his life is a constant sacrifice to that cause since with his reputation and yes, education, he could be living a cushy and wealthy life anywhere else and right now he is not - no regrets.

And while I am at it . . .

An academic elite who has no time for 'niggers without a degree' as you said, will never promote universal secondary education; ban shift systems (which KDA initiated), school zoning, start universal computer learning etc. because he/ she would wish to protect their own academic privilege instead of wanting to democratise education as a tool for social advancement.

We must be fair in our criticism if we are genuinely to move forward.

You. Yes you. You should know better, Art Fag. You've read the history.

Incidentally, Jason, you more than most should appreciate that Kenny has always had tremendous admiration for artists, perhaps because he does not consider himself artistic. He was an early member of the Arts movement in SLU (another little known fact).

So - an academic degree is not the only thing. Yes, I am harping on this, but it is one of those few occasions when I felt that I had to defend. And please do not confuse a conservative/ diplomatic facade (style) with a conservative agenda or mindset. Rabble rousers and orators (of which we have had great excess in the Cbean) are often the most conservative in action. He remains the only one in the region who had the balls to stand up to AA and their extortion and to the US attempting to force Cbean to waive the US from international criminal jurisdiction. I can go on . . . Come on . . . 

PMing ain't eazy