May 9, 2012Dear Sir,It saddens me to hear and read the intentional personal bitterness that has been circulating in our political culture for some time. In particular, that lies within the public supporters of the former United Bermuda Party now One Bermuda Alliance concerning the Progressive Labour Party candidate Rolfe Commissiong in the upcoming election. Mr Commissiong was convicted of a crime many years ago. He has done his time and has elevated himself from the depths from which he came to work for two Premiers in this country. What they (former UBP/now OBA) don’t want you to know or hear about are their own shortcomings. They too also have a former convicted felon within their ranks. One Mr Shawn Crockwell, sitting MP for Pembroke West who, at the time of his crime was a Supreme Court clerk that removed a quantity of drugs from an evidence safe and was found guilty and sentenced accordingly.There are a few things that continue to bother me! The constant jiving of reminding everyone (Mr Commissiong) about his past! We all know what he did, and rest assured he has turned the page and deserves to be treated with respect like you and I would like to be treated. It appears again the same old same old just keeps on happening, people say they have changed but they are just what we have always believed. You are who you are! Anyone who puts their hand up and says they want to serve is, in my opinion, a unique person, no matter what side of the political spectrum they choose to be on. We can’t question, demonise, then attempted to pulverise one and let the other get a free ride. Most importantly in this equation is the silence of Mr Crockwell. For years he has sat on his hands and said nothing about these attacks on Mr Commissiong. We say we want to bring people together and stop the bickering, back-stabbing that divide us in this community, yet you allow this to continue without saying a word to defend the right to rehabilitate oneself and return a productive citizen within the community.Mr Editor, if we send the guilty to prison to be rehabilitated then we must believe that the system will do what it is designed to do. In these two cases the system prevailed. Now, where it is failing the people like Mr Commissiong and others that can’t seem to advance because some of society holds the convicted carrot dangling over their heads. Mr Crockwell, this is the time. It’s a time to bring people together and once and for all and put an end to this. This is a moment that you can change and define, instead of letting this issue define you.BROWNLOW ADDERLEYSouthampton