Since about early 2012, the Progressive Labour Party has turned demagoguery into a national sport. It started off very early, with Marc Bean characterising the Bermuda Government as “the demonic, Harry Potter One Bermuda Alliance”. If I had to guess, the “Harry Potter” reference is code for “white boy”, which would then make the OBA a demonic, white boy party. Guesses aside, that opening salvo made very clear that the PLP would seek to polarise its opponents along racial lines as best they can.

This was demonstrated further in its 2015 Founders Day speech, when Jamahl Simmons explained which category its evil opponents fit into.

Here, Simmons literally characterised white OBA supporters as slave masters and black OBA supporters as dogs who await their master’s whistle to do his bidding.

It should come as no surprise, then, that extreme personal attacks upon those who would dare question the PLP would be common.

Terry Lister, Randy Horton, Toni Daniels and the younger OBA women in general spring to mind as having suffered the worst types of personal attacks. But, by no means have they been the only ones.

I have actually lost count of the number of times that I’ve been attacked or witnessed others get attacked.

And to be clear, I have no problem with anyone offering a heated counterpoint; just as long as the discussion remains on the topic/issue at hand. Unfortunately, 99 per cent of the time, these responses deliberately sacrifice discussion of the actual issues for the pleasure of mudslinging.

This weekend was no different. A former PLP politician decided not to address a prior column, or my political viewpoints, but sought to tell the world just what he thinks about me as a person.

This is actually the second time around for this former politician, and the usual boxes were ticked:

• Trew is just a self-hating black man

• He’s just doing what his master is telling him to do

• He’s not dedicating his time or money (I assume my deceased grandfather’s money) to help the cause

• He can’t be trusted — he’s OBA

This is now the norm, even for present PLP politicians, so unfortunately we have little choice but to deal with this kind of venom. There was one thing written, though, that went so far across the line that I feel compelled to draw attention to it. In the middle of this former politician’s generally incoherent rant, the following was written:

“re Peggy Burns ... Man. when it comes to black people and the PLP in particular you do not fool around. That article raised the anger level of many people and I hate to tell you what they say they will do.”

With a comment such as this, we have gone beyond the usual demagoguery/bullying and stepped into the realm of retribution. Please, read it again. Yes, a former PLP politician not only defended one of the most reprehensible personal attacks of recent times, but also appears to revel in the idea of there being some kind of payback for me publishing my points of view.

Unfortunately, this is actually the second time that a PLP supporter has made this kind of comment. During the Pathways to Status protest, one extremely agitated person wrote the following, all in capital letters:

“If it is a riot hope you are right there. Yes I am ignorant ... But I have had enough of your comments”

Like so many other places on planet Earth, Bermudians frequently talk about the need for freedom of speech. Yet, here we have a former PLP politician and a present party supporter expressing threats of retribution.

As I’ve written previously, political supporters tend to follow the example set by our political leaders. If our leaders speak of retribution in such a manner, it should come as no surprise that their followers are inclined to follow their example.

For those who are wondering, no, the ends do not justify the means. Justifying bullying and threats of retribution as a means of re-electing the PLP will no doubt backfire. As has been seen in other countries, the same intimidation tactics being employed now will be used in the future to intimidate anyone of those who oppose a PLP government. It is therefore in everyone’s best interest that this behaviour is rejected and zero tolerance is shown for political retribution.

• To reach out to Bryant Trew, e-mail bryanttrew@mac.com