Don’t feed the dealer’s egoSeptember 12, 2006The late Martin Luther King Jr. declared, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” He went on to say, “Great leaders have good people skills, and they can get people to compromise and work together. But they also take a stand when needed.”

Evangelist Billy Graham wrote, “When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.” John C. Maxwell wrote, “Smart leaders believe only half of what they hear. Discerning leaders know which half to believe.” My last piece of philosophy is an Old Arab Proverb which states, “An army of sheep led by a lion will defeat an army of lions led by a sheep.”

Where am I going with all this? As I read the in September 6, 2006 edition of The Royal Gazette articles, “Reformed drug dealer spills the beans on the illegal drug trade” and “Customs, police, defend their services, officers”, I was encouraged by the support of the Collector of Customs Mrs. Fostine-DeSilva and impressed with her explanation which in effect contradicts the so-called drug dealers version of events and if by chance, there is any merit to his story, it would certainly have been years ago. Mrs Fostine-DeSilva did not feed into this imbecile’s ego.

However I was completely disturbed at the lack of courage demonstrated by the Acting Commissioner Roseanda Young. She totally lacked the courage to stand against allegations made against her officers; instead, she fed into the lies told by this uncircumcised Philistine, a demon of Satan. Surely she must realise that Satan comes but to steal, kill and destroy, but leaders must have the courage to stand and support their charges from untruths. All she did was to glorify lies and deception. Great leaders take a stand when needed and this is one time that her charges needed her support.

As for the investigative reporter, why not do some homework in future before printing your stories? You would have discovered:

1) that Narcotics do not drive around in Paddy Wagons

2) that prior to 1997, these allegations may have had some merit. Why 1997 you may ask. During that year there was a Commission of Inquiry conducted into the Narcotics Division (Department at that time). And interestingly enough, the current Commissioner and Deputy formed apart of the senior leadership of Narcotics Department at that time and came in for some severe criticism. Isn’t that amazing that they now run the entire organisation, well that’s where the Old Arab Proverb comes in, “Lions being led by Sheep.”

3) that out of that Commission of Inquiry came stringent security measures to prevent the contamination, the compromising and the mishandling of drugs once they have been seized, documented and stored at the Narcotics Division.

4) that there are quarterly inspections conducted by the Narcotics Division Custodian, an independent Superintendent and a member of the Bar Counsel to ensure that ALL drugs are accounted for before being destroyed.

So what do we have, a wannabe drug dealer seeking to destroy the integrity of HM Customs and the Bermuda Police Service but instead of challenging him head on, the Police cowardly fed his ego and supported his story by agreeing that there maybe a degree of corruption and inviting allegations to come forward. If there is inappropriate behaviour of officers involving drugs, whether it be use or distribution, it certainly would be prior to the drugs being documented through the system and once again, if these allegations have any degree of merit, than that individual needs to be weeded out and prosecuted because they are no different than the uncircumcised Philistine whose fabricated this story and officers need to be defended from uncorroborated stories.

Sadly though, the leadership of the service may have changed, but the mentality remains. It is as if these two have been cloned by the former Commissioner. It’s all well and good to speak of transparency; however when it’s necessary to defend your officers, exercise leadership qualities (courage) and take a stand, because if you want others to follow your directives and to be productive in doing so, you must support them against unfounded allegations. I note that the Commissioner is off Island once again during a major Bermuda crisis. Open your eyes Governor open your eyes Hon. Derek Burgess, this guy is constantly shirking his responsibilities. Still Committed,LARRY SMITH

Florida.

Former Inspector in charge of Narcotics<$>Productive despite racismAugust 26, 2006

Dear Sir,There have always been productive black men despite the racism in the society. That is one of the reasons why there is so much emphasis and concern, particularly among the older generation of Blacks, about the men “on the wall”, the men in prison and the self-destructive behaviour of black men. First there are too many of them. Racism has always been more destructive to black men than to black women because of the very nature of the society in which men are the dominant and controlling ones. It is particularly destructive to men to be demeaned and devalued.

There has always been a policy to devalue black men. Dr. Kenneth Robinson in Heritage describes the consideration, even during slavery, to bring in whites to undercut what was being paid to free blacks. Then in 1849 when a grant was given to bring in a number of Portuguese, free blacks wrote in a petition that “the plan was aimed against them as a class and its intent was to do them serious injury”.

The fact that today “guest workers” can live so much better than many blacks is merely a continuation of an ongoing policy over many years. The difference is in the nature of the black community. When blacks saw themselves as a community and when “success” was linked with the contribution made to improve the plight to blacks in a racist society and not merely to the accumulation of wealth for the individual, it was a more supportive community for all black men.

Today, it is not only the easy availability of drugs but the sense of alienation from other blacks that makes the racism in the society more destructive. Moreover, at one time every one in the black community knew that all Blacks would be victimised by racism in one way or another and parents and teachers attempted to prepare young people for what they would experience. Racism was overt, Government-sponsored and consistent.

Today, when it is not Government-sponsored and it is so much more subtle, varied and inconsistent, many young people are blindsided. Then there are the many black voices that are “tired” of hearing about “black and white”. Teachers feel that they dare not tell young people about racism in the society and there are blacks who seem to be “integrated”.

Thus the racism that is experienced is so much more poisonous and destructive and results in so much more resentment and anger, even from those who do not have the personal experience. They see, and some experience, the tremendous gap in the society and the fact that some Blacks appear both to be on the “other side” of that gap and equally indifferent and insensitive to the plight of those who are not, adds to the sense of disillusionment, despair, hopelessness and sense of powerlessness and alienation.

Early awareness that racism is still present, determination and hard work can still lead to productiveness but because “success” today is defined by the accumulation of material things and not by the contribution to improve the conditions of the black community, it is much more difficult to achieve and thus also is the sense of satisfaction that comes with social approval. But for those who can refuse to accept the value that a racist society places on them and can recognise their own value as an individual, they can also learn that a productive life brings its own satisfaction and reward.EVA N. HODGSON

PS.<$> Terminologies for blacks to define — productive successful beneficiaries — contributions accumulation of money. One maybe one, or all, or only two or three. We should not confuse them.Young men must wake upAugust 29, 2006

Dear Sir, My last letter to your good self was written with the intent to devastate those guilty of the totally despicable behaviour described therein. Also, I always write/speak in the context of “if the shoe fits, wear it”. But there was a rebuttal by a Mr./Ms. Williams that, to me sounds like a put-up job. Williams was either put up to it by his significant other or, he’s never been a victim, or my letter has hit home to a woman who can’t take the fact that I’ve got the “goods” on her. As a rule, I never engage in a battle of wits with those unable to defend themselves, but in this case, I’ll make an exception.

To quote my letter in part. ‘... and are willing to take responsibility for contraception. Also, bring their own condom.” But no, Williams’ letter insinuated that I somehow, didn’t write that. Typical of people who want to discredit any hint of hard hitting truth, Williams took my letter completely out of context. Rambling on about other pitfalls of human sexuality. One would have to be blind to not see the social rot that permeates (and I’ll say it again) black society.

I’ll be the first to admit that social problems are not totally confined to the black demographic, but let’s face it, that’s where it is most apparent. So lets make this real simple. “Our” young men are the ones who need to wake up. They need to take charge of their fertility and if there’s any hint of that being compromised, move on! There will be other times in other places. It will be proven (in time) that “anything/anyone worth having, is worth waiting for”. QED!! C.K. SIMONS

Sandys