Forgotten lesson

April 29, 2005

Dear Sir,

It is 8.40-8.50 a.m. on Friday morning at the bus stop opposite Global Travel/Sash and Trim. Two individuals, one, a five to six years old, crossing in front of a bus. The bus driver (female) is assisting by steering the nose of the bus half way out of the lane. Has no one learned anything?

I believe Minister

April 28, 2005

Dear Sir,

I would like to share my thoughts on the American Airlines incident involving Minister Randy Horton. After hearing Mr. Horton?s side of the story, I personally found his version of events totally credible. I think that it?s too bad that people have chosen to embellish the facts and that the whole episode has become so sensationalised.

First of all, if what the airline steward said is true, I find it most puzzling that the airline decided not to pursue the matter. Could this be due to the fact that the ?culprit? turned out to be a high ranking Government official and not some thug? Could this also be due to the fact that once the ?culprit? was identified, the steward?s grossly exaggerated story lost all credibility?

As we all know, airline security is taken very seriously. Therefore, if Mr. Horton was enough of a ?threat? to warrant his arrest, the airline would have pursued this case to the fullest. The notion that there is a police cover-up is absolutely ludicrous since the airline (as the complainant) would have the legal recourse to pursue the matter regardless of who he is.

Furthermore, I personally don?t feel that the question Mr. Horton asked was inappropriate and certainly wasn?t grounds for arrest. Unfortunately, as people of colour, we have been delegated to the back ? no questions asked ? for too long now. I feel that Mr. Horton shouldn?t be criticised for having the guts and fortitude to ask what he did.

Incidentally ? contrary to popular believe - being married to a person of another race, as the steward claimed, doesn?t necessarily mean that one is not a racist (by definition one who thinks that one?s own race is superior).

Gimme shelter

May 2, 2005

Dear Mr. Cooper,

The cruise ships are back on Front Street and so are the horse and carriages! This is a welcome sight for most of us ? Bermuda?s economy desperately needs the cruise ships, and the carriage drivers certainly appreciate the business. Sadly, the horses that have to trudge their way around Hamilton, inhaling the traffic fumes and dodging being struck by impatient motorists at every turn, aren?t so thrilled when they see those majestic ships.

For them it is nothing but hot and sweaty work, and given that the Corporation of Hamilton can?t get their act together enough to fix the structure to provide them a little shade when they are at rest, they never have a moment to cool off. What will it take for the horses to get some shade while they wait patiently on Front Street for their next fare?

I would like to remind the Corporation and the carriage owners that there is a law in place regarding this specific issue that states:Where possible, horses should be kept in shade during the hourly rest periods and whilst standing for hire and that ?A horse shall not be worked during adverse weather or other conditions which are a threat to the health or safety of the horse and the public?.

The Corporation has to ensure that these animals have shade in accordance with the law while baking in the sun on Front Street.

We?re all in tourism

April 29, 2005

Dear Sir,

Unfortunately, yet again, we find letters such as ?Tyred of Poor Service? and ?A Rude Welcome? in today?s paper. These are just two recent examples of why tourism is suffering. It is not the numbers of planes we can get to fly direct or the number of attractions we can offer. When are we going to get it? We are the main attraction of Bermuda and many of us have forgotten how to be ?in service?. We have some very fine people in the hotel and service industries but there are just too many instances of managers of all kinds of businesses settling for people who are ?sitting off? or using an ?ugly tone?. We can?t control the weather or how cheap a package deal to Las Vegas is but we can sure do something about how we as a people are remembered.

As a resident I have seen the same lack of service/lack of quality of service. It is one thing when I am the victim but it is absolutely mortifying when you witness a tourist become victim. We all know the prices that are being charged in this country for hotel rooms and restaurants. The educated traveler can understand that our prices reflect our need to import. But no one understands the unprofessional attitudes of those in the service industries. The attitudes of each person a tourist comes in contact with, the impression they take away with them of US is what is important. It is the difference between feeling what you spent was warranted or feeling you got ripped off.

Gas station attendants, store clerks, wait staff, certainly government staff ? we are all responsible for the tourist?s experience.

Needed: Black history

April 29, 2005

Dear Sir,

Mr. Dale Butler?s letter was suffused with the quiet music of his usually good nature. He is quite right. Bermudians tend to ignore their heroes. I always liked this about Bermuda. I don?t like heroes. We only really appreciate them when their dead which is no good. If they are alive, when appreciated, it becomes tawdry, ceremonious and awful. Doing good is its own reward. But I know I am in a minority by holding such opinions.

Another thing Mr. Butler is right about is the lack of a black Bermudian history. Like Mr. Butler, when I was growing up I got the white history. That made white people look not so bad. My picture of history did not quite fit but I attributed that to my lousy education. I am white so my concern was not pressing. My uncle is William Zuill, a local historian, so many of the inconsistencies of my education were corrected by him. Two books on slavery in Bermuda came out and that changed a lot of people?s point of view.

But the history of Black people on the island, even with the recent ?Bermuda Five Centuries? by Rosemary Jones, simply isn?t written. The travail of the first colonists is thoroughly covered. The narrative of Bermudians blacks from the west coast of Africa, through to Bermuda, via (or not) the Caribbean or the United States, through slavery, to not-really-free in the Nineteenth Century, and on to complete citizenship in the late 20th is an astonishing story (or it might be ? we don?t know). This would be a tremendous service to Black Bermudians and to me.

I?ve had to listen all my life to a series of half-truths and maybe-trues about how awful my ancestors were. I?m sick of paying for them. I cannot countenance their behaviour and I am tired of being asked to be morally liable for their misdeeds. We need to get this stuff on the table and sorted.

Another thing is the various stories among blacks: The mixed history of black Bermudians? relationship with those from the Caribbean; who were the Red Indians?; there were some rich blacks in the past ? who were they and how did they do it? We know all about the old white families ? what about the black families? Where did the Beans come from? Who are the Stovells? Why is Dandytown called Dandytown? Every Bermudian should know this stuff.