The real reason the PLP lost

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December 18, 2012

Dear Sir,

Christopher Famous, in his Bermuda Sun column today, poses answers to what went wrong with the PLP campaign and why white people don’t openly support the party. Here’s my (slightly edited) response to him.

Almost one third of Bermuda’s electorate did not vote. If you want to know who they are, look at the stats for the majority of the PLP strongholds.

Black Bermudians are known to be very forgiving people. The UBP/OBA “conspiracy theory” game has lost its relevance for them. They just want to get down to real stuff that’s affecting their real lives. They’re not scared by the UBP bogeyman cometh anymore.

The dichotomy that white people struggle with in supporting the PLP may be this: When it is perceived to be to its benefit, the party takes ten (100?) steps backwards and sends out fear messages that are devised to separate the people, to shackle black people psychically to the fear that the old white bogeyman is lurching out there to get them and take away all of the progress that they have made.

When Dr Brown publicly showed up on the political scene White Bermudians were ‘cautiously optimistic’ that he would be the PLP leader to take the party forward for all of Bermuda. Unfortunately for blacks and whites alike he came with too many personal ‘scores to settle’ and used the PLP platform to do it. And unfortunately this went on for two terms.

Our young people don’t need to be PLP-ised as Mr Famous’ article suggests. They need to be provided with a future! Could that be one of the messages the absent PLP electorate sent?

The Bermuda College offers a great Appreciative Inquiry workshop. AI looks at the best of what is and builds on it. Our country needs a ton of positive energy to get us through this difficult time. Will the PLP put aside its personal political agenda and pitch in?

FRANCES MARSHALL

Hamilton Parish

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