Rules of towing

April 5, 2006

Dear Sir,

As many drivers may decide to hitch something to the back of their car this summer, would be doing its readers a service by summarising the rules of towing in Bermuda. Let me start by listing what I know, from observation, must be the law then perhaps you can ask an upstanding member of the Constabulary to fill in any gaps.

If you are a regular tower you need to have a black ?T? permanently painted on the front of your truck, whether or not you are currently towing anything, whereas occasional towers don?t need to bother with any signage to the fore.

Nor do you need to bother with any licence plate on the back that would identify either the trailer or the towing vehicle.

Nor is there is any need to have rear lights, brake lights, reversing lights, turn indicators or reflectors on the back of the trailer. Rather, the trailer should be large enough to obscure those items which are on the back of the towing vehicle so that the person driving behind you has no idea what you?re up to.

For increased effectiveness of the above, all towing should be carried out at night.

Finally, under no circumstances should you learn how to tow before heading out on the public road. A simple manoeuvre such as reversing a trailer round a corner is best tried for the first time during rush hour traffic.

Yours toeing the line,

Remember our legacy

April 8, 2006

Dear Sir,

Recently there have been two Opinions printed in the local press concerning the Corporation of Hamilton?s plans for the city?s waterfront. Both stated very valid points as to why this particular plan was not a suitable one, and to build will only cause a great deal of congestion and inconvenience for our citizens and visitors.

Our Government talk about sustainable development. Bermuda has gone past that with our water consumption, the number of vehicles on our roads, the need for up-grading the Tynes Bay Incinerator, the need for a new hospital and the list goes on.

What kind of legacy are we leaving the future generation of Bermudians?

A house divided

April 6, 2006

Mr. Sir,

May I comment on the letter by Dr. Eva Hodgson entitled ?Our divided society? published today?

She suggested that the real question isn?t that we are divided, it is why we are divided. Herein lies my problem with much of her commentary; she is much too focused on the past and using it as an excuse for justifying what is happening today to ever stop and ask the real question of how we get past this division towards true unity.

She suggests that the whites want the divide, the segregation and that they benefit from it. Because of this, the PLP is entitled to exploit this division in any way they see fit.

I am disgusted by this commentary and viewpoint. While I cannot confirm or deny that whites may or may not have promoted segregation in the past for I did not live in those days, I can suggest that efforts are being made today to unify our people by at least some, but not those Dr. Hodgson appears to support.

I want to make my point very clear to Dr. Hodgson. As Abraham Lincoln once said: ?A house divided against itself cannot stand.? We, Mr. Editor, cannot and will not survive as a nation, independent or not, if our house remains divided. I care not to hear what justifications Ms. Hodgson cares to propose as a means to exploit this division for the benefit of her party as we as a people shall perish if we cannot bridge this divide.

My difficulties with this lies in that within our island there is clearly a division between white and black. Expats, our modern day slaves of no rights, sustain our international business community yet are quickly lumped into the white category and made to unrightfully share the blame of yesterday. Expats know little of our history, they do not see the division of black and white, all they see is the division of Bermudian against Bermudian. Our racism is our own creation, of which we lump all foreigners into sharing the blame of which they have no ties to.

When I hear stories from expats who now feel unsafe on this Island because of violent, racially motivated, actions taken towards them, I am ready to say enough is enough! How far will Dr. Hodgson be willing to condone the ?politically expedient? exploitations of racial division for the benefit of getting few ahead at the cost of the many? What happens when division and violence rises from a level of mild intolerance to one of a nature that is serious and severe? Will she condone and promote it then? What happens when we scare away our slaves of today from being willing to come here and fill the needs of our only industry? What happens when we develop a reputation as a place to stay away from because our house is not one worth living in?

What an absurd suggestion that some blacks may feel the need ?to return, symbolically, to the Plantation?. Is Dr. Hodgson suggesting that the black man feels naturally more comfortable if led by a white man? Is she suggesting that it is his nature and the way god intended for things to be? Such an ignorant remark could be interpreted in many ways. I have little knowledge of the Cricket Board, but I would ask why it was not considered that this panel of all black men may have gone so far as to chose the best candidate for the job regardless of colour? I must ask if these men are stupid, for Dr. Hodgson certainly makes them out to be. Somehow I doubt it for I don?t base intelligence nor character on the colour of one?s skin, but of the actions they make.

Considering that the board?s funding just happens to have come from an all-black led government, I am confused to wonder how these men could have been motivated to specifically hire a white man. She makes no reference of this man?s qualifications, nor of other candidates of equal ability and black heritage who were turned down in his place.

But of course, it would seem that her opinion is that quality does not matter, for if they?re not the right colour, they?re not right for Bermuda. I can only wonder if perhaps Dr. Hodgson wouldn?t have said a peep had they hired a black man to lead? This Mr. Editor, is racism today. I don?t care what happened yesterday if you care to act like the pot calling the kettle black. The excuse of ?they did it too? just doesn?t sit right with me.

I can promise Dr. Hodgson that if we don?t bridge our divide and unite our house that we surely will return to the plantation, but in reality not symbolically. It will not be one of black slaves and white owners but one of a people who struggle to barely sustain. Without our industry we have no future, we will not feed ourselves and we will not survive in this complex big world.

The true question Dr. Hodgson should be asking, is who are ready to step up to be the bigger person and start fighting for real equality? It is clear that she is not one of these people.

I for one believe it?s time we had change and once and for all learned to share our house, with our brothers and sisters of all difference race, so that we may finally live together in peaceful unity.