Dear editor,

I read Juliet Cuthbert’s recent post on Twitter, and I must admit, I feel mixed emotions. For one, I can empathise with her being irked by the young man who reportedly left dirty water on her windshield after she refused his offer to clean same.

In fact, my husband and I actually fear these lurking windshield wipers, many of whom often harass you and your vehicle the moment you are inescapably standstill at a traffic light. I usually feel that if I am travelling alone, especially as a female, they might attack me, physically or verbally, as a consequence of my refusal to oblige their “service” and reward them with cash thereafter.

I understand that everybody, like this wiper, wants “a food,” and everybody needs to “mek a food,” but certainly, everybody cannot be allowed to do so by any means. We cannot excuse or justify people’s insolence or lawlessness on the basis of their social station or need.

Furthermore, too many of us feel justifiably entitled. We believe that everybody who is in a better financial position than we are should be giving us something or “letting off a t’ing”, and if they refuse, “them tan bad” and “nuh memba weh dem a come from.” Mind you, I am not against charitable acts. I am against the felt entitlement to charity.

Admittedly, the last part of Cuthbert’s statement is highly suggestive of a personal indifference that a person with her formal responsibilities as a member of Parliament should not show in the given situation.

Yes, she is human and, like most people, will naturally be incensed by discourtesy. However, we would have hoped that even after being honest about how she felt, she would have acknowledged the grim reality of many of our people, and would have therefore concluded with a resolve to have wipers, like the one she encountered, reconditioned, and facilitated in improving their financial status.

Altogether, he was wrong, and she was wrong for her concluding remark. Enough of the flak! Our focus should now be directed on ensuring our collective progress.

Shawna Kay Williams-Pinnock