June 26, 2006<$>

I AM a member in good standing of the Bermudian medical profession. I am a member of the Bermuda Medical Society and the Bermuda Medical Association. And I am outraged that Drs. Butterfield and Gaugain chose to write to the Mid-Ocean News on the Dr. Chris Johnson matter in their capacities as presidents of the BMA and the BMS rather than as individuals. They might well be outraged at your coverage of the Johnson affair. But they certainly do not speak on my behalf. And they do not speak on behalf of any number of other Bermuda physicians.

The fact Dr. Johnson's career in the US was "destroyed" when his position at the Riverside Memorial Hospital was "terminated" because his behaviour so antagonised colleagues has been an open secret in the medical community ever since he arrived here. The fact Dr. Johnson's behaviour is antagonising surgical nurses at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in the self-same manner it did his California colleagues is no secret at all to anyone who works at KEMH.

Dr. Johnson made his private life an "open book" when he used his sexual orientation to unsuccessfully defend himself against charges of unprofessional behaviour in the US. It's perhaps unfortunate this aspect of his life has found its way into the local media as a result of the toxic working situation that now exists at KEMH because of the stand-off between Dr. Johnson and the nurses.

But surely it was unrealistic to expect otherwise given allegations of "homophobia" were used by Dr. Johnson to counter most of the 19 complaints brought against him in California (13 of which were upheld).

There were sensible actions both the BMS and the BMA could have taken months ago that would have prevented the Johnson matter from ever exploding across the front pages of the local press. Suffice it to say, no such steps were ever taken. The entire Bermuda medical community is now suffering as a consequence of this inaction. That, to me, is the real outrage.DOCTOR X

City of Hamilton

Brilliant reputation

June 25, 2006

THIS would be my first time writing a letter to the editor and I felt compelled to do so after returning to the island only to read the June 16, 2006 Mid-Ocean News headline: "Gay US surgeon marries a Bermudian woman." What has happened to the quality of news on this island? This story reads like an article out of a US tabloid! Unless the Mid-Ocean News editors are peeking in people's windows to confirm whether one is gay or not, I cannot fathom how such trash is allowed to be printed!

My point is this: yes, Dr. Johnson admitted in a court case in 2003 that he is gay, but what confirmation do we have that he is gay in 2006? The only person or persons that can confirm this would be Dr. Johnson's love partners.

Is there someone at Mid-Ocean News who is in a position to confirm this? Mr. Finighan, maybe?

I don't know Dr. Johnson personally, but it is obvious that someone has a personal interest in trashing this brilliant surgeon's reputation via his PERSONAL life. I capitalise the word personal because I cringe to think that such trash can be printed about anyone's personal life in this country with no stated reason. Has this story been printed to awake the Immigration Department to "marriages of convenience?"

I am sure Dr. Johnson's marriage isn't the first suspect marriage. Not with expatriates from Europe, the Caribbean and Canada doing the same thing. Remember, people do not walk around with the words "I AM GAY" on their foreheads!

Mid-Ocean News editors should be careful that they are not being used as a pawn in someone's sick game to destroy a man's career! MISS T

City of HamiltonPS: As a FORMER reader of the Mid-Ocean News, I do not want to know someone's sexual orientation — it is none of my business!

Send him packingJune 25, 2006

I WAS staggered to read the letters supporting Dr. Christopher Johnson, particularly that of Drs. Gaugain and Butterfield. Why, one is compelled to ask, did a doctor with the incredibly awful working history of Dr. Johnson get hired in Bermuda in the first place? Did no one check the man's background? If his curriculum vitae had been thoroughly checked there can be no possible reason for allowing him to practise in Bermuda. What was the Immigration Department doing when he was given a permit to work here? Does Immigration just rubber-stamp an application to practise medicine in Bermuda if the applicant is approved by the Medical Society or the Medical Association? Does Immigration do no investigation at all? All the information disclosed in your paper was available on the Internet.

When most of the surgical nursing staff at the King Edward VII Hospital refuse to work with one of its surgeons, surely it is the business of the press to investigate the causes.

And it turns out that Dr. Johnson's problem here is exactly the same as his problem was at the Riverside Community Hospital where his contract was terminated. His difficulties with those with whom he must work move along with him from country to country. This problem never should have been permitted to get here in the first place. The Bermuda Medical Society and the Medical Association failed in their duty to the public in not properly investigating Dr. Johnson's record. They should be apologising to the public, not expressing outrage.

The fact that Dr. Johnson is gay is irrelevant. What is relevant is his professional background — and let's not forget he made his private life a matter of public record in his failed legal attempt to challenge the numerous disciplinary charges that led to his "termination" from the Riverside Community Hospital. In fact, claims of homophobia appear to have been his chief defence against any and all charges of unprofessional behaviour.

It's understandable why some might perhaps speculate that he has entered into a marriage with a Bermudian woman to try to make another end run around our Immigration laws.

It's also understandable why some might perhaps speculate that if Dr. Johnson had not thoroughly ingratiated himself with a certain clique in the Scott Government he would already have been sent packing by Immigration.

No wonder so many Bermudians now believe that to escape the even application of our laws it seems now only necessary to have friends in the right places.

The simple, honest and obvious solution to the problem at the hospital is for Immigration to send Dr. Johnson packing immediately. With other people it is done quite regularly. Why is Dr. Johnson being given such favoured treatment? INQUISITOR

City of Hamilton

Lives destroyed

June 25, 2006

I THINK it utterly disgusting the way in which Dr. Johnson is being literally "crucified" in your "rag" of a newspaper. Dr. Johnson has been an outstanding addition to your community. Shame on you for allowing such "rubbish" to be printed about this intelligent, bright doctor, who has worked so diligently since his coming to Bermuda. The only thing you should be concerned about is his ability to help people their on your island. I will not spend another penny reading your newspaper. I have watched and read over the past few years the way in which people's lives have been destroyed by your paper.

K. PEARMAN

Burgess hypocrisy

June 26, 2006

HYPOCRISY really has become the Progressive Labour Party's inseparable companion in recent years. Just imagine an openly gay white (or Asian or Hispanic) expatriate surgeon came to Bermuda because his unprofessional behaviour had "destroyed" his ability to practice medicine in his native country. Imagine this surgeon's chief defence against accusations of unprofessional behaviour were blanket charges of homophobia and "Aids"-phobia against his former employer that the American courts found unconvincing and rejected.

Imagine Bermuda's Immigration Department, for whatever reason, approved his work permit despite the fact he was listed on the US National Practitioners Data Base (created by an Act of the US Congress "to identify and discipline those who engage in unprofessional behaviour; and to restrict the ability of incompetent physicians, dentists, and other health care practitioners to move from State to State without disclosure or discovery of previous medical malpractice payment and adverse action history.")

Imagine the expatriate surgeon, once here, then set about antagonising and alienating Bermuda's surgical nurses in precisely the same manner that led to his "termination" from his former hospital.

Imagine such a surgeon, one who by his own admission has limited career prospects at home, then married a Bermudian woman.

You don't have to imagine the PLP reaction to such a scenario - the Government would put him on the first aeroplane home.

So why did we have to suffer through the spectacle of Derrick Burgess rushing to the defence of Dr. Christopher Johnson in Parliament last week?

When he was still president of the Bermuda Industrial Union, Mr. Burgess would have been the one leading the charge against our hypothetical white (or Asian or Hispanic) expatriate surgeon! Heaven knows, Mr. Burgess has been at the forefront any number of times in the past when it comes to ridding Bermuda of expatriates he deemed "undesirable"!

Could this double-standard perhaps be explained by the fact Dr. Johnson has close friends in the PLP hierarchy? Certainly the only times I have ever met the man it has been while he has been out socialising with members of the PLP. Perhaps his friendship with these politicians explains how a man who has only been in Bermuda for a couple of years was "fast-tracked" to chair a Government board.

In any event, as a gay black Bermudian whose private life was criminalised until relatively recently and whose rights are still not protected under Bermuda's human rights legislation (thanks to the cowardice of people like Mr. Burgess), I am not particularly impressed by this "circling of the wagons" on Dr. Johnson's behalf.

Mr. Burgess regards your reports on this matter as "nasty"; what to my mind is really nasty is the fact people like Mr. Burgess are hypocritically rushing to the defence of an American expatriate just weeks after telling gay Bermudians they are not good enough to have their human rights protected by law.

Oh well, I suppose blaming a politician for his hypocrisy is about as pointless as blaming a skunk for its stink!BLACK & PROUD ... & GAY

Southampton

Wake-up call neededJune 26 2006

I REFER to Monday's Report From The House in Monday's Royal Gazette. One article is headed "Media Criticised for 'nasty' coverage of Dr. Johnson". The article quotes Government backbencher Derrick Burgess as saying that Dr. Christopher Johnson is only under investigation because he is of African descent. He added: "I know they will continue to investigate people of African descent and people who support this party. I ask that this behaviour be stopped and that this newspaper (the Mid-Ocean News) decides to be more responsible". He goes on to say: "They need to leave him alone. He is a citizen; he needs to work like everyone else and not to be harassed by the media for whatever reasons". Mr. Burgess also criticises the media in general for "seeking out" negative stories about black people.

I for one have certainly followed these articles in the Mid-Ocean News for the past two weeks. They have uncovered some pretty serious allegations involving Dr. Johnson — the most crucial being that, by his own admission, he is effectively no longer allowed to practice as a surgeon in the US.

Does Mr. Burgess think that we the general public should not know about this because Dr. Johnson is black? Is it not imperative that patients know as much as possible about their surgeon before they commit to going under the knife? Does he think that because Dr. Johnson is a "citizen" (I think that most people are citizens of somewhere or other) that it is OK for him to still practise medicine in Bermuda after he himself said he only came here because he was, in effect, unemployable in the United States.

I am sure that had Dr. Johnson been white then Mr. Burgess would be leaping all over the place demanding his resignation.

But, no, he's black and needs to work like everyone else so he should not be harassed even though he is a surgeon with people's lives in his hands and, I must say, some pretty "nasty" complaints surrounding him.

Mr. Burgess needs a huge wake-up call (or maybe a brain cell implant courtesy of Dr. Johnson). It's as if in his mind being a surgeon is not dissimilar to being a hairdresser. It doesn't matter whether Dr. Johnson is black, white or yellow the fact of the matter is that he was terminated from the last hospital where he worked and his name placed on a national computer system that "flags" doctors with "adverse" histories!

Mr. Burgess, a leading trade unionist, should check to see why almost none of the surgical nurses at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital will now work with Dr. Johnson. And while he's about it, familiarising himself with the grievances of these working people, he should also take the time to note that the nurses in question are black, white, mixed race and Asian.

Of course, it makes no difference that Dr. Johnson is gay and has got married (to a Bermudian woman). I have nothing against that. But I am sure the marriage will raise all manner of questions in people's minds. For instance, some people will be wondering why these particular nuptials took place.

Some people will be wondering if Dr. Johnson plans to break away from his practice with his Bermudian employer and go off on his own now that he is married to a Bermudian. Some people will be wondering if this is a good idea given his dubious professional record despite the fact no one would argue competition is a healthy thing.

My main bone of contention is that every time a black person commits some form of misdemeanour the Progressive Labour Party don't even bother to see whether there is any reasoning or truth behind it. The automatic response, just like a broken record, is, "It's because he's black or of African origin" or whatever. It's getting very boring. It's the 21st century. Can't we please move on?

Slavery was more than a very unfortunate part of history. It was an abomination. But our forefathers are all dead. None of us living today are former slaves, none of us are former slavemasters. Are we supposed to pay penance for the wrongdoings of others even until Doomsday?

And it also goes without saying that in those areas of the world where slavery still exists (even flourishes) — mainly sub-Saharan Africa — black people are enslaving other blacks. But that is rarely mentioned by the likes of Mr. Burgess

I will end this by saying that it is Derrick Burgess who is manifesting attitudes that might fairly be deemed racist. And not only that, he is doing so in an uninformed and ignorant manner! His rantings in Parliament carry no more credibility than those of a poorly educated schoolchild.SINCLAIR LEWIS

Paget

Abide by the rules

June 27, 2006

WHY is it that so-called Christians speak out of both sides of their mouths? How is it that when a gay person marries a member of the opposite sex these so-called Christians criticise your journalist because he is seeking to discover the truth? Sounds fishy to me.Maybe Dr. Christopher Johnson is a good doctor. Maybe he does help people who cannot afford his services. Still doesn't alter the fact that he's gay. And Rev. Vernon Lambe and others have told us that being gay is not Christian-like (although I thought God loved all of us and He did not discriminate).

So why are some of these so-called Christians rallying around Dr. Johnson on the one hand while telling the public that God does not approve of gay or lesbian people on the other hand? Please explain this to me as I am totally confused now.

Who married this couple? Was it a church? If it was a church, was it one of the ministers who has been speaking out against homosexuality who married a gay man to this woman? I'm not trying to be rude but this whole situation is ridiculous and makes a mockery of what the church has been saying recently — that God does not approve of homosexuals.

Whether he is a good doctor or not does not give Dr. Johnson the right to treat people without dignity — which is apparently the case at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. Out of 24 surgical nurses, 22 will not work with him because of his demeaning manner.

Our nurses work very hard and most are very kind. The Bermuda Hospitals Board really needs to figure this situation out quickly. Let our nurses get back to what they do best — helping people. If this doctor needs to be told to watch what he says, then tell him. If he does not abide by the rules and regulations of our hospital and does not know how to treat people, then send him on his merry way.M. DUBOIS

City of Hamilton

June 25, 2006

HEATHER Wood does a weekly article, On The Scene, which should be read by everyone, if indeed they are able to read, but - as Ms Wood herself points out - one-third of Bermudian adults effectively cannot. Mr. Calvin Smith writes reams of wildly hopeful nonsense on why we should not fear all the obvious risks, costs and pitfalls of Independence. One would suppose these are aimed at the two-thirds of Bermudians who, in fact, can read, and thus might be influenced by what he writes and somehow or other then cast experience and education aside in favour of a momentary blast of emotional self-satisfaction no one else in the world will notice - before sinking into the morass of tiny isolated nonentities ruled by money grubbing despots no one has heard of.

Instead, his specious arguments, when presented to educated readers, merely reinforce their belief that Independence for such an insignificant place as Bermuda would be a tragedy that the wider world will never even hear of.

The only audible accompaniment would be the sighs of relief from London at us letting them off the hook of having to see to it, as our passports all admonish immigration inspectors everywhere, "requests and requires in the name of Her Majesty" the rest of the world to look after us properly, or the Brits will indeed be there to call them to rights.

Mr. Smith has doubtless convinced himself (if no one else who can read) that P. will be equally effective: "His Majesty Alex I requests and requires everyone, whether they look like him or not, etc, etc. . . ."

Gallows humour aside, one wonders whether Mr. Smith has been so blinkered in life that he actually believes what he preaches, or is simply doing what he is told in hopes of remaining within the Progressive Labour Party inner circle, those few who hope, like Papa and Baby Doc, and many other self-serving despots, to get to strip the coffers bare.

It may be a coincidence, but Ms Wood's illiterate one-third of Bermudians very roughly match the number who are pro-Independence or don't care. These people, unable to read properly, cut off from informed comment and the experience of others who have been irretrievably burned in Independence disasters, are influenced instead only by the local demagoguery of con-artists on radio shows, absorbed and digested into an educational vacuum that ill-equips them entirely to challenge the dangerous and self serving nonsense put out by people like Mr. Scott and Mr. Smith, all exacerbated by the racism of Col. Burch.

It would appear from this that only a successful long-term educational programme, aimed at improving the educators rather than throwing money at grandiose buildings, should hopefully end the enormous waste of time and destructive uncertainty of the Independence "debate".

The better the public is educated, the better it will see through the fallacy of detaching ourselves, like a leaf falling into a river, from the myriad benefits we retain, free of charge, all options open, by being firmly integrated and interdependent with the First World. GALLOWS HUMOUR

St George's

Churches of hypocrisyJune 23, 2006

FOR some months now I have been challenging the obvious hypocrisy, prejudice, mean-spiritedness and lack of basic Christianity mainly to be found in our black Churches. I will name the churches that lead this phalanx of prejudice and hate. The churches of hate and prejudice are the AME Church, The First Church of God, and the New Testament Church of God. There are, of course, others less vehement.

I have addressed the question of why this hatred and prejudice seems largely to be the province of predominantly black churches. It is notable that the coming schism in the Anglican Church is being fomented furiously by the Anglican churches of sub-Saharan Africa led by the unspeakably hate filled Archbishop Akinola of Nigeria. The only notable exception to this general rule within the black Anglican churches of Africa is that of the Anglican Church in South Africa, led by one of the great Christians of our time, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

The local clergy has not addressed my cautious possible answers to the question of why this prejudice and hatred seems largely confined to black churches. Neither have they addressed the clear hypocrisy of their erroneously Bible based arguments in favour of prejudice.

It can only be assumed that they do not answer because they cannot answer, affirming by their silence that they are indeed hypocritical, prejudiced, filled with irrational hatred and, in the most basic sense, entirely unchristian.

On June 22, the most astonishing sectarian rant was contributed to the letters page of TheRoyal Gazette by one "Rev." Larry E. Smith from Orlando in Florida. He cherry picks his way through the Old Testament and a few of the letters of St. Paul offering his own seemingly misguided interpretations, but making nothing much in the way of a point. Not once, in the considerably more than full column of his rambling diatribe against Christian charity (and Renée Webb), does he quote a single verse from the Gospels.

The Old Testament is, quintessentially, Jewish Scripture. Christianity was forced to torture its supposed prophesies concerning the coming of Christ into a form that was intended, but failed, to bring the Jews on board the new faith. The Jews knew their own scripture better than that. My own take on the early Jewish God Jaweh is that he, obviously male and patriarchal, was a hard- bargaining real estate dealer who traded away someone else's land to the Hebrews in exchange for worship.

The kind of God supposedly behind the Old Testament is best observed in his direction of one of the first recorded holocausts, the obliteration of the Canaanites, man, woman and child, and their neighbours, by the invading Hebrews in their brutal conquest of the "Promised Land". Even the most cursory reading of the book of Joshua should be enough to turn anyone off Jaweh.

Yet the Old Testament is what these prejudiced, hate-filled, unchristian clergy cherry pick their way through to justify their hypocrisy. Never once do they so much as mention the Gospels of Our Lord Jesus Christ. They don't because the Gospels shoot them down and expose them for what they are, purveyors of prejudice and hate.

Anyone who wishes to think of themselves as Christians should abandon these self-styled churches and seek out a church that preaches the Gospel and teaching of Jesus Christ, not a hand-picked selection of hate from Jewish scripture.

If they want Old Testament cherry picking they might try Isaiah 56, 10 & 11 (King James Bible). "His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark, sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his own gain, from his own quarter." That's not a bad description of some of our clergy even even if it is from the Old Testament.STILL PERSECUTED

Warwick Ball of shameJune 26, 2006

TODAY is a sad day for soccer. It's a day of immense shame for the Italians. And it's a great day for the Aussies! Poor World Cup pundits - has anyone told the fans that the winners today are not determined by fair and respectful play, but by cheating and corruption? Shame. Shame on the referee of today's Italy/Australia game. Shame on the Italians, shame on most players. Shame on the management. Shame on FIFA. Shame on the media and the advertisers for supporting this farce. SHAME on the sport!

International soccer has lost my respect and interest - the game has become an embarrassment and untenable with the fake falls, writhing injuries, poor sportsmanship and ugly refereeing: how deeply sad for the state of human affairs.

The one faint glimmer of pride is the Australian restraint, fair play, and sportsmanship when the odds are stacked against them by "The Nasty Game".

BERMUDAPEP

City of Hamilton