April 28, 2014

Dear Sir,

I am compelled to submit this letter to you for publication, that is in response to Ms. Toni Daniels’ opinion piece “Bermuda is like a wounded bird”, which appeared in your newspaper on April 26th. The “real” black Bermudian culture that the Senator chose to criticize in her writing does indeed exist, but not as the insultingly misrepresenting and distorted caricature that she chose to so comfortably employ, and with such a self-righteous, presumptuous, and condescending tone.

I grew up in, and consider myself privileged to be a part of, the culture that Ms. Daniels focused on in her piece, but know it as the rich and beautiful experience and heritage that it is, and not some bastion for the ignorant, petty, and history-obsessed, that can be so easily said to be the “broken wing” of this country, and one of the main impediments to our progress and unity. If Ms. Daniels doesn’t understand this, it’s because she doesn’t know, and because she doesn’t know, then I think it’s very much fair to say that she and her comments are, at best, very much out of touch. And if Ms. Daniels does indeed know, then why the heck did she decide to write what she did?!

We lack unity because any efforts to unify, meaningfully and enduringly, cannot be dictated by the terms and beliefs of any one group of people. If Ms. Daniels is so easily able to insultingly stereotype an entire racial community, with confidence and comfort, in the very name of unity and progress, instead of humbling herself as a leader of this country, and identifying opportunities to understand those with whom she disagrees, the frustrated and struggling apparently, then jeez, there really is much work to be done.

Ms. Daniels naively employed and reinforced a stereotype of black Bermuda that I believe will only serve to deepen the divides that exist in this country. I respectfully hope that the OBA endeavours to distance itself from her comments, and that the Senator moves to rectify the perfectly justified offense that she and her unfortunate perspective have surely caused.

Rajai Denbrook

Sandys