believe. Politicians who are seeking gain of one kind or another are often very good at making claims which mislead some people. The problem is that the people who are misled often become angry and frustrated and take out that anger and frustration on Bermuda, all of Bermuda.

It seems to us that the people who spread the bad word have to be held accountable. If they would only deal in encouragement rather than depression they would provide young people with hope rather than defeat.

One of the basic defeatist claims made is that there is some kind of plot in Bermuda to repress Bermudians and to deprive them of what is rightfully theirs. That claim usually insists that employers scheme to import non-Bermudians and thus deprive Bermudians of their jobs.

There was even one wild claim recently by Alex Scott, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, that as many as 15 percent of Bermudians might be unemployed.

Mr. Scott was quoted as claiming that there is "a trend toward greater disenfranchisement of Bermudians in the workplace by an increasing number of contract workers''.

That is not true. There are today some 3,000 fewer work permits than there were in 1990 and there were even less at the height of the recession when permits were curtailed to further protect Bermudians. With a building boom going on right now, there is some Bermudian movement from the hotel sector to the more lucrative construction jobs -- necessitating some non-Bermudian staffing of the hotels. That movement is beneficial to Bermudians.

Of course, Mr. Scott fails to explain that many contract workers generate jobs for Bermudians. He also fails to address the fact that most contract workers are filling jobs no Bermudian can fill. Given the controls and the difficulties in obtaining work permits, it is very unlikely today that Bermudians are being deprived of jobs they can fill. But Mr. Scott leads some people to conclude simply that non-Bermudians are taking away their jobs. That is both disruptive and defeatist.

It encourages people to be angry and anti-social and it gives young Bermudians an excuse for dropping out and doing drugs. They can blame the system and excuse themselves for their lack of success.

It is fair to say that a number of young Bermudians, especially black males, have been let down in some areas. First young Bermudians are let down by bad parenting and too often that is followed by poor schooling. But is it also correct to point out that right now every effort is being made to turn around the poor schooling.

Bad parenting is a social problem which will take longer to repair. But as Nelson Bascome has said recently, fathers need to get involved with their male children's lives because development of our young people begins at home. If all politicians would follow Mr. Bascome's lead and make positive suggestions, Bermuda would be a better place. The constant message to young people that "the system'' is designed to defeat them is something which itself encourages their decline. They should be urged to get off the walls because there are opportunities if they will only take them.