protecting the bluebirds.

Social issues, he told the audience at a forum on race and the environment, must be tackled as a matter of priority.

"If we are seriously concerned about the environment, let's get concerned about the people who are most likely to destroy it first. Go make sure their environment is, at least, as comfortable as yours,'' he said.

Sen. Smith was one of three speakers yesterday at a forum organised by the National Association on Reconciliation. He told the mixed audience of about two dozen that far too many black folks had internalized an inferiority complex.

"I am white,'' declared the senator to make his point. "My great-grandfather was white therefore I'm white.'' He reminded the audience that it wasn't too long ago that black people could only occupy the lowest rungs of society.

"Once we've been embittered, depressed and deprived, is it any wonder that it may seem that we don't take the environment as seriously as our white counterparts ? I say `seem' because they don't seem to care so much about the environment either.'' People destroy the environment for material benefit, he said. But he said that to expect homeless people not to build houses on land lying empty was unconcscionable. "I find it difficult to protect bluebirds,'' he said. "Don't get me wrong. I like bluebirds.'' Other speakers were Bonnie Critchley and UBP Senator Kim Swan. Mrs. Critchley paid tribute to the spirit of volunteerism in Bermuda and called for alliance building in tackling society's issues. Sen. Swan lamented the fact that people who had tried to encourage dialogue about race in the past had been attacked.

And he warned that social issues needed to be tackled "proactively''. The UBP Senator also told his audience that one of the most crucial questions facing Bermuda was `what was the optimal population size'.