July 8, 2003

Dear Sir,

I respect the fact that Calvin Thomas will be voting, but I have to smile to see that he is voting PLP and supporting work permit caps, caps are not going to secure your future, because if the PLP insists on retaining caps, eventually there will be nothing to cap.

Can you imagine Immigration approaching Mr. Ned Johnson of Fidelity International and his heads of department and saying you only have one more year, then you have to go, sure I will just take my company with me.

Where does that leave you?

ROBERT HENDERSON

City of Hamilton

Party differences

July 17, 2003

Dear Sir,

Since my photograph appeared in last weekend's Bermuda Sun, along with a comment attributed to me about the arrogance of the PLP, several people (black and white) have asked me to elaborate on my comment.

Since it's actually quite funny , here's the story behind it:

Not long after the PLP took office in November ‘98, I was on duty at the Airport Police Station one evening. As you may be aware, there is a parking area outside the said Police Station which is outlined in yellow and clearly marked, in block capitals, “Police Only”.

I walked out of the station to find a GP car in the Police parking bay, and two teenage girls unloading luggage from it. As nobody had come in to ask if they could use our designated parking area for their own purposes, I enquired as to why it was there, and was told by the girls that they were flying out, and that “their daddy was an MP, and it was OK to park there”. I said, “Well, fair enough, but it is the Police parking bay, and the Police would appreciate being asked if it's OK before anyone else uses it, MP or not. Please have it moved as soon as you've finished.”

And that, I thought, was the end of the story. Wrong! The girls told their daddy about it, and “Daddy” had the nerve to complain, in writing, to the then-Commissioner of Police about the overbearing conduct of a large white English Policeman at the Airport on the relevant evening! I'm still wondering whether “Daddy” thinks that all whites are Englishmen, or has simply never heard of Scotsmen.

Contrast that with the attitude of then Premier Pamela Gordon one evening about nine months earlier. She came into the Airport Police Station and asked if she could use our parking bay while she was waiting for an incoming passenger. As it was quiet, I said: “No problem, Ma'am.” She replied: “Oh, thank you sweetie,” to which my reply was: “Excuse me, Ma'am, that's Constable Sweetie to you!”, and she was laughing her socks off as she left the station!

Just as a matter of interest you might like to know that, in the 30-plus years I've been voting, I've frequently been canvassed by the UBP; I've occasionally been canvassed by the BDP, NLP and Independents; but I've get to be canvassed by the PLP. That couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that I'm not black: could it?

DAVIE KERR

St. George's

Voter apathy

July 18, 2003

Dear Sir,

“Every effect that one produces gives one an enemy. To be popular, one must be a mediocrity.” - Oscar Wilde

I am a 24 year old, white Bermudian law student who plans to vote for the UBP. There, I have said it. You know who I am and where I stand on my political affiliations. Now, I invite you to put that aside and to consider what I have to say.

There are a number of well-informed and articulate young people who are taking an active interest in Bermuda's future, appreciating that their economic and personal goals are inextricably linked with how efficiently the country is being governed. These people consider current issues and express their opinions.

No better example of enlightened youth can be found than in Mr. Gavin Smith. Here is a young man who is an example to the rest of us. Whilst you may not agree with everything he has to say, Gavin is to be saluted because he is eager to stand up for what he believes in, regardless of what other members of contemporary society have to say about it. While some of us content ourselves with throwing rocks from ivory country clubs, Gavin is out there arguing for what he believes in.

Much as I am heartened by the number of politically aware young people there are in Bermuda, I am equally dismayed that so many of my contemporaries claim that they do not have a voice in this upcoming election. They feel that the parties do not care what they have to say because they are young and white, or black, or female, or male, or left-handed, whatever. What astonishes me most is that these people are doing nothing to change this perception. Instead, they just sit off, crack open another beer and roll themselves a spliff, using a torn strip of diploma paper from their daddy-subsidised university for a filter.

I am not going to sit on my high horse and claim to be a politics guru and Renaissance man. Indeed I have been very guilty in the past of the same apathy that I now condemn. I simply am trying to appeal to those of us out there that are currently doing nothing about educating themselves on current issues. We have the power to bring about whatever changes we want on this Island. We are set to inherit Bermuda. It is up to us to get out there and get involved.

Maybe talking about religion and politics was off-limits when we were teenagers but can we not change that now that we are adults? If we begin to take an interest in what is happening, we might find we have a voice that is worth listening to after all.

I heard recently a contemporary of mine say that she had no goals in life except to make a lot of money. She also could not be bothered to vote because she was sure that the PLP was going to win the election.

It is that ignorance which must be stamped out of our collective conscience. We must educate ourselves on the issues and exercise our right to vote. And when we have done both, we should see a result that will give all Bermudians a new hope for the future.

STEPHEN NOTMAN

Paget

No platform

July 19, 2003

Dear Sir,

As at the date of writing this letter, the PLP has still not published its Platform for the upcoming general election.

First, how anyone actually voted for the PLP in the advance polling, I don't know (apart from putting a cross in box which is quite easy!).

They would have had no idea what they're voting for - with no platform out there to consider! Just a lot of hot air right now really!

On the other hand, perhaps we can take it that they don't have any plans for the next five years? Maybe they're just going to wait until all the work permits to expire and then see what they will have to do to scramble to keep Bermuda's economy afloat then? Oh, of course, silly me! The PLP are leaving it so late that no one will have any opportunity to ask any questions. Just how they like it - no questioning! (These days no-one seems to be able to ask the PLP any questions anyway - or at least get any straight answers from anyone! (BHC spring to mind anyone?).

And of course the absence of a PLP platform gives them ample time to ridicule the UBP platform without having to defend their own. At the same time the UBP are unable to question anything of the PLP because the PLP platform is not available to question. At least the UBP have given Bermuda their proposals for the next five years if they win the election. So much for a ‘transparent and accountable' government.

Also, let me say here, well done Sir John Swan for agreeing to take over responsibility for tourism. With his energy and contacts within the international community this will lead to the changes needed to resurrect tourism.

BASICS HELP

Pembroke