Not born yesterday

December 10, 2007

Dear Sir,

Time's getting short – we had better get our Dear Dr. Brown letters in quickly.

I'd like to ask for no more land tax – no more tax on food – free college education in any country – free airline tickets twice a year – at least until Independence – after that, we won't be able to go anywhere – no money in our pockets and too much trouble with visas. I guess the same goes for the college education, so, scratch that.

What is it the Bible says about false prophets? I think it starts with "Beware" and then it has a few, uncomplimentary words for those who believe everything they want to believe. Dr. Brown thinks we were all born yesterday.

Populist in Paget

Points to ponder

December 5, 2007

Dear Sir,

1. Whoever heard of a town without a police station? Jennifer Smith did nothing to keep a police station in St. George's.

3. Paula Cox in charge of Finance. Her father would not approve of what is going on.

4. Dale Butler: No more Bermuda for Bermudians.

5. The Immigration Department lets every and any into this Island.

6. Wayne Perinchief wants to close down the drug houses. There are two major ones in the area in which he lives.

7. This Government is spending the people's money like drunken sailors, bringing in all these so-called experts.

8. Lots of new GP cars. These cars are being used like private cars, shopping, etc.

9. Oh Laverne Furbert, I also am a cousin of Ewart Brown but I am not brain washed.

10. Buses should not be free to all. This is income.

11. When the Premier packs and leaves the Island, will he go back to California, or to New York where his wife has a business? Or take a slow slow boat back to China?

H. WILLIAMS

Pembroke

It's about superiority

December 9, 2007

Dear Sir,

Mrs. Irwin is wrong (Royal Gazette December 1). It is not their race, or their skin colour which matters. When whites show that they are as anxious to "integrate" with the black community as blacks show that they are to"'integrate" with the white community and when they no longer see us as so inferior to them that they value us less and pay us less, even when we are qualified, than they do whites who are unqualified, and when we are so"'integrated" that it is no longer headline news because a previously white institution recognises the superior skill and contributions of a black person then I will not care what colour governs!

But if whites do not wish to "integrate" with us who are black why should we wish them to govern us? They ostracised Sir John Swan socially when they were finished with him politically. I wonder how much genuine social interaction there is even now with black UBP candidates, apart from the political value of their votes?

As long as the white community shows that they perceive the black community as inferior to them, I certainly do not want their representative to govern us, with all due respect to those whites who are the exceptions. I am puzzled by those blacks who do wish them to do so. People's past actions are the best predictors of their future actions. When the white community truly sees us as of equal value to them I will not care who governs us. But that is not likely to happen before December 18, 2007.

EVA N. HODGSON

Crawl

Giving UBP one shot

November 23, 2007

Dear Sir,

As a Bermudian university student studying in the United States I am looking forward to returning home for the Christmas Holidays. I must admit I wish that I was not faced with an election decision because I value the whole Christmas experience, especially after being away from home for several months.

Be that as it may, as a political science major, there is only one decision I can make as a former PLP supporter and that is to vote, this time, for my UBP candidate. I voted for the PLP in 1998 because the UBP just wasn't doing what it should for our people. Like all of us we saw a new day coming and Freddie Wade's dream becoming a new reality. Unfortunately it was not to be as the Government of the day has become self indulged and the most needy have been left to flounder. I can only imagine what would happen if they were given a third term.

When I said "this time" voting for the UBP I really meant it. They will have only one shot. On the other hand if the PLP is voted in they will have a license to do whatever they wish (sanctioned by us). Ask yourself what have they really done for "US".

I like the idea of the "newbies" (like us) as opposed to the "oldies" who have been there for 8 years enjoying the benefits of their position. There are a lot of good "newbies" who I, personally, have a great deal of respect for. Let's try them out and if they crash we'll do something different next time.

STUDENT ABROAD

Evanston, Illinois

Yes to three strikes

December 11, 2007

Dear Sir,

As I read the PLP's negative advertisement in The Royal Gazette today about the three strikes rule, I cannot help but say to myself, what is wrong with three strikes? If you have broken the law three times, you are definitely on your way to being a career criminal.

To imply that someone "only" sold crack shows what is wrong with their morals. To publish a quote from his Mother "he didn't kill anyone, he didn't rob anyone" is very heart wrenching, but who he sold these drugs to, may have robbed or killed someone to get the money to buy the drugs from him.

Everyone should know that selling these drugs leads to helping the ones who are buying them to steal, lie and cheat and yes kill to get what they want, more crack, which increases Bermuda's crime rate.

It only helps facilitate criminal activity. I would think that the statement, "more black and Hispanic kids in prison than in college" should send a message to you about Bermuda's education problem not, once again, use it to bring up racial divide. Why don't you make Bermuda's real problems your priority as I hope the UBP will do?

Everyone knows education is the way to a better life, socially and economically, not breaking the law. Mirrors is a great programme from what I have read, but you still can't let someone keep breaking the law. If they have reached three strikes, Mirrors isn't working anyway.

A BERMUDIAN

Paget

Loss of civility

December 11, 2007

Dear Sir,

It is clear from this election campaign that the word of the month is "free"; free buses, interest-free loans, free daycare, etc. While I agree that everyone could use a leg-up, why isn't either party focusing on the social problems that are dragging this Island down? Why are we focusing solely on economic issues when we have so many social ones?

When did we stop saying 'hello' to people passing us in the street? When did it become OK to scream the 'F' word in traffic? When did it become unsafe for us to get into our cars without looking around first? When did it become unsafe to walk around our neighbourhoods at night? When it become necessary for police to carry semi-automatic weapons at Cup Match? When did we lose the politeness we were famous for?

Unfortunately this lack of decorum starts at the top. The Government's campaign has been about negativity, personal attacks and the idea that old-fashioned manners are no longer the way we live on this Island. What message is this sending to the next generation?

Perhaps we will have to re-write the song that used to fill us with pride, and call it 'Bermuda Is Getting Like The Rest Of The World'...

KENT SMITH

St. George's

Police recruiting

December 6, 2007

Dear Sir,

Last evening at the Port Royal School, Mr. Burch took a few minutes to speak on the Bermuda Police Service.

He made some interesting comments with respects to increasing the size and number of officers. He stated that Bermuda will look to the Caribbean for recruits, however, not actual police officers but recruits who we will train for our service.

Surely we can do better then that, we need experienced police officers. This proves yet again that PLP is not serious about fighting crime.

Wake up Bermuda, its one thing to have experienced foreign officers its another to have inexperienced recruits, surly we can find and train Bermudians for the positions. If we cannot attract Bermudian because the wage is low, then maybe we should increase the starting wage.

Another interesting comment Mr. Burch made was to have police vehicles, I believe he said unmarked vehicles, driven by civilians, who will have no authority or police experience, to drive about the island to give the impression of more Police on the road. I get it – shadow police! These brilliant ideas are just what our criminals need!

Way to go Mr. Burch, and when it doesn't work, you can just blame the governor again.

Sal Cantarella

Southampton

Old scores to settle

November 29, 2007

Dear Sir,

It is beyond belief that the Government of Bermuda would attempt a hostile, and the operative word is just that, hostile, takeover of the BCC.

For the Premier to tell us that BCC was holding the Island to ransom is absurd. In point of fact, the reverse is true. Wedco/Government are doing exactly that to BCC and, in the process, have created a potential Island-wide crisis in the run-up to the election. Who is to know if this was the intention of Government, or an inevitable result of typical bungling and mismanagement from which we all have suffered since the PLP came to power.

In his recent speech to the PLP faithful at the Fairmont Princess Hotel, the Premier exhorted the party to gird their loins for a "war" in the run-up to December 18. He told an enthusiastic audience to expect all manner of underhanded, vile and malicious dirty tricks from the Opposition. I think that most sensible people would agree that this was a typical example of blaming the victim, particularly in view of the remarkable restraint by the UBP to nasty and provocative rhetoric from the Premier, who concluded his jeremiad with an in-your-face Black Power salute and thunderous applause from his fans.

When Dr. Brown returned to Bermuda from the US and was elected to the House of Assembly, he made a prophetic statement to all and sundry that he "had old scores to settle". Could it be that Mr. Jim Butterfield is seen as a white man of privilege and, therefore, a natural target for retaliation for past injustices, no matter whether real or imagined?

When Jennifer Smith was overthrown as Premier by an in-house coup d'etat in favour of Alex Scott, Ewart Brown apologised to the PLP rank and file by saying: "We had to deceive you". He claims that is not what he said, which was: "We had to mislead you". Either way, it doesn't much matter. The word "mislead" is a synonym for deceive — lie is another word which means the same thing.

More recently, on the floor of the House, he said: "We will relegate the UBP to irreversible obscurity". From this statement it is quite clear that the Premier does not want a viable opposition which we must have. Without it, the result is dictatorship!

What is happening in Bermuda today is eerily reminiscent of Germany in the 1930s when Adolph Hitler bamboozled the German people into believing he was their Messiah, and he, The Fuhrer, was the only way forward for Germany. Something very similar could very well happen here. The outcome would not be the same, but certainly a very unpleasant variation on the theme, as a number of countries around the world have discovered to their great regret!

Some PLP members, in and out of the House, believe Ewart Brown to be a liability for their party. The truth is, he is a liability for Bermuda and its people.

A VERY CONCERNED BERMUDIAN

Smith's

Question of integrity

December 14, 2007

Dear Sir,

It has occurred to me throughout this unfortunate "political season" that people may have lost sight of what the election is about. This is not "Cup Match", this isn't about wearing the right colour because you support one team. We must not lose sight that the individuals putting themselves forward as candidates to become Members of Parliament are applying to you, the voter. Ask yourself these questions, are they qualified for the job, do they have the best interests of your beliefs, does their personal integrity meet your own very high criteria?

Leaders should remember that power is given to them by others, it is not theirs but rather held by them in trust for the people and it is a great responsibility. Power should and must only be used for the beneficiaries of that trust.

Like many people I was raised to have high expectations of leaders based on the principles and the values that I was taught. We must not lose sight of the fact that we all are responsible for carrying a leadership role that influences the youth of our country, whether you are a Premier, a parent, a teacher, or an employer.

If all of us were to take responsibility for setting the standards high in our leadership expectations then isn't it true to say our leaders will follow? The standard of leadership depends not only on the qualities and beliefs of those who would wish to lead us but also on the expectations we have of them both individually and as part of the group they represent.

If one leader's conduct is called glaringly into question then those who would stand with him or her should surely suffer the position of having their own integrity and quality called into question. It will not suffice at a later time of reckoning to stand and say I was told to do this and ordered to do that in the name of the party but I did not agree.

We should dig deep within our true consciousness when making the fundamental choice placed before us. I believe that if we do this and stop thinking in terms of black community or white community but rather as a Bermudian Community moving forward we will indeed get what we deserve. We will get a government that reflects the true principles and quality and value of leadership that exists within each of us. What more could we ask for?

I know that the application of this approach for so many has been gleaned from the truly great moral leaders of human kind from Gandhi to Mandella. We as a people must ask ourselves the rhetorical question: "Do we want our leadership content to degenerate into the type of polarisation and lack of substance in ideology that we have seen in this campaign?"

Our leaders need to give us plans for a future vision that resonates with all people, a middle way that compels even the most polarised of views to acquiesce for the greater good. Stop talking the talk but walk the walk!

There is only one group of people in our Bermudian community that has given a significant and solid plan for the future, one group that brings today, across the board, principles and values to our table of plenty. It is up to the voter to examine the issues presented, have courage and honesty within themselves to make an honest decision that will benefit all.

Our Country, our future, rests not in the people running for office but rather in the voters.

I implore you all to approach your significant decision on a principled basis with a vision for the future that is embracing of all people in our Community and I ask in what should be a significant religious and spiritual time in our calendar for peace to be with all of us whatever the outcome of the election.

MARK PETTINGILL

Editor's Note: Mark Pettingill is the United Bermuda Party general election candidate in Warwick West.