Comment was insulting

November 18, 2008

Dear Sir,

In today's electronic edition (November 18th, 2008), I see the headline that "white Bermudians wouldn't have voted for Obama, claims Premier".

According to your paper, Premier Dr. Ewart Brown claimed on Friday that if white Bermudians had voted in the US presidential election like they vote in Bermuda they would have plumped for John McCain rather than Barack Obama. Quite frankly, I find his comment insulting. I think it is time that the good Doctor put down his sword and dropped the racially charged rhetoric and started running this country for the benefit of all Bermudians.

I will tell you, for the record, that I am a white Bermudian with a local family history that dates back to the 1600's, and yes, I did vote for the UBP in the last election, but it was not a vote on a basis of race. I believed that the UBP brought more to the table. I believed in the concept of a united Bermuda, not one divided on the lines of race, as our honorable Premier would seem to drive home again and again and again, despite his repeated comments to the contrary.

Also, I know my UBP candidates. During the last election, I was actually visited by the UBP candidate for my area and was given the opportunity to discuss my concerns. I have been able to vote in the last four elections, at different areas of the Island, and I have yet to see a PLP candidate cross my threshold.

And just to let the good doctor know, Obama would have got my vote if I was American. This is because he is a man of integrity, a man of honour and a man of character. President Obama brings a fresh look to a stale government – again, something that needs to happen here – and I believe that he was the right choice for the current times. Obama did not play the race card, and did not rise to the occasion when race was mentioned as a possible platform. He does not see himself as Black American, he sees himself as an American, full stop.

Perhaps Dr. Brown may consider that approach next election, if he lasts that long as the PLP's and our country's leader. Run as a Bermudian, not a black Bermudian, drop the racially charged rhetoric, and put together a platform not made up of spin and vague statements, but a platform with a clear path forward and a united message, and maybe I will consider voting PLP.

The PLP as a whole has some good ideas, I don't fault them. It is the leadership that needs adjusting, and quite frankly, the reason why they ultimately did not get my vote.

TOM PANCHAUD

Southampton

P.s. My white wife and her white family, who are all American, all voted for Obama. Race was not a factor. He was the better candidate.

PLP's politics of division

November 18, 2008

Dear Sir,

Too long I have sat by in silence. I can no longer suffer fools of this magnitude. Our so-called leader, Dr. Ewart Brown's comments that "whites in Bermuda would not have voted for Obama" is one of the most asinine and desperate assertions ever uttered in the history of this country.

Yet I am not surprised. What happened on November 4 was a watershed moment in the history of the world for race relations. It won't solve problems the way we all wish, and there is much work to be done, but the election of Obama by blacks and whites alike in the US is a huge blow to the PLP's politics of division.

Dr. Brown needs racist whites to exist in this world in order to stay in power. Election day in the US was not only a blow to the PLPs identity, but an enormous conflict of interest for them. Racial harmony in Bermuda is bad for business for the PLP; surely we all know this by now.

Mr. Premier, of course whites in Bermuda would have voted for Obama. I'm sure you know that. You just don't want your constituents to, because President-elect Obama and you are nothing alike. President-elect Obama has come to power using rhetoric of reform, change, and unity. You cling to power by convincing voters that the caucasian boogeyman is coming to reinstate a plantation-based economy.(your words, not mine) Lets take a look at Obama's rhetoric:

" ... it was a phrase uttered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights. ... yes we can."

Note the inclusiveness of "they". Nice detail. And now let's look at the rhetoric of your party:

"... a vote for the UBP is like voting yourselves back to the plantation ... "

Or, my favourite:

"The only thing different about the UBP is its suntan."

McCain tried calling Obama a terrorist, a Socialist, a Marxist, A Communist, and a traitor. And nobody fell for it. I can't wait for the moment when people stop falling for your empty semi-subliminal messages of division and hate.

When Obama speaks of change and moving forward from our old ways, you are not exempt from what he is referring to.

DANIEL D. FRITH

Paget

P.s. As a dual citizen I voted for Obama. Last I checked I was white and Bermudian.

White who voted Obama

November 19, 2008

Dear Sir,

I am a Bermudian living abroad in the United States. I am a White Bermudian, and as my mother is American, I have had the privilege to vote in the most recent Presidential Election.

While it may shock our Premier Dr. Brown, I voted for Barack Obama. I am 26 years old, and for the first time, I was voting because I was truly excited about a candidate. Young people came out in droves, white and black alike, to support a man that they believed in; in whom they saw a beacon of truth and dignity.

I voted for Barack Obama because in him, I saw a true leader for an America that has seen better times. I saw in him hope, a future I can look forward to, and a change in the way that Americans see race and politics.

When Barack Obama speaks, he does so with conviction and an unwavering faith in what America is, and what it will be again under his leadership. He is a head of state to be proud of, to be boasted about.

Do not make the mistake Dr. Brown, of comparing yourself to a Barack Obama. While Obama seeks to reach across partisan lines and racial barriers, you seem to welcome the divide, even adding fuel to an already roaring fire.

Why ask the question of whether white Bermudians would vote for Barack Obama in the first place? All you and your administration are doing is creating an atmosphere of hate and a culture of fear. In making a sweeping generalisation like that, you only push more Bermudians away from you and your camp.

This is where you and President-elect Obama differ. Where Barack Obama seeks to unify, you support a divided Bermuda. Where Barack Obama represents a change, you represent stasis, a lack of effort to create a unified Bermuda under one banner, not multiple races.

So in short Dr. Brown, I voted for Barack Obama for all the reasons that he is different from you. I think you should count your lucky stars that Barack Obama is not the head of the UBP.

GRAHAM OUTERBRIDGE

New York City/Pembroke

Is this la-la land?

November 27, 2008

Dear Sir,

When I open a newspaper and read that David Burch and Walton Brown have not only questioned the credentials of XL chief executive officer Michael McGavick but also told him he was 'wrong', I truly believe that we have now reached a la-la land where no man has been before ! Are these people really saying this stuff or is the RG just making up things ?

I guess my first question is, other than the fact that they belong to the most powerful and brilliant political party on Earth, what are their credentials for even questioning his ?

My second question is more to the people who voted for the PLP: Are you really believing all this stuff or is it just noise that you like to play in the background ?

Yours in the land of delusion,

AUNT POLLY SAWYER

Southampton

Be inclusive, Dr. Brown

November 18, 2008

Dear Sir,

Unless Dr. Brown with his medical expertise has direct access to the white Bermudian brain, there is no way he can lay proof to his statement that the 'white Bermudian would not have voted for Obama'. Many white Bermudians voted in the last election for his party though he seems to believe that was not the case. I have numerous white Bermudian friends who were ecstatic over the possibility that the new president would be an African-American and were ready to cast their vote in his direction had they been able to do so.

I firmly believe that it is time for our Premier to be all inclusive in his thinking, in his doing and in his speaking. President-elect Obama has set the standard for all world leaders to follow.

Come on Premier Brown, it's time to take at least one foot out of the mud so that you can begin to walk in the US president-elect's footsteps.

EVER-HOPEFUL

Hamilton Parish

Bermuda's 'true' history

October 19, 2008

Dear Sir,

Last week the Premier said that the Sally Bassett statue represented the "true" history of Bermuda. Did y'all catch that? What was that all about?

Anyway, on to the latest divisive remarks that white Bermudians would have voted for McCain. That voters traditionally have voted blah blah blah. The Premier just doesn't get it – does he really believe this?

Tradition went out the window with the all-inclusive Obama. People saw him as genuine too. Obama awakened a hope in us, a yearning for the coming together of a nation. That's what the American election was all about and in the current transitional period, the President-Elect is keeping true to his word. We need that spirit here too.

Mr. Premier, your negative remarks have no place any more in local politics – or in our personal lives. We don't want to hear it; the young especially don't want to hear it. Not after what just went down in America and the positive ripple effect felt around the world. Proof of a new world order, America setting the pace, the door swinging both ways. What a revelation to hear Andrew Young and other black Americans saying recently: "We have no excuses anymore." (Echoes of Chris Rock's "there I said it, I said it!").

As for Bermuda's future, change and fervour will sweep here too. My children who have dual citizenship voted in the US election. Guess who they voted for and what does that say? Unfortunately, positive change won't happen until a dynamo like Obama appears on the local horizon. PLP or UBP – he will be resoundingly accepted with our symbolic welcoming arms.

PAMELA H. WILLCOCKS

Smith's