Senators from both political parties called on anti-Ewart Brown protesters to be "more civil and more effective" in the Upper House yesterday in an impassioned discussion on the Motion to Adjourn.

PLP Senator Marc Bean started by alluding to the House of Assembly, where last week's rallies and their predominantly white crowds were repeatedly brought up during Friday's no confidence vote.

"We can't have so much hoopla in the other place and not have a discussion in this place," he said.

While Mr. Bean defended the rights of the protesters, he did not condone the provocative language that some have reported hearing from the crowd. "Liberty, which is attached to free speech, does not give a licence for bad behaviour," Mr. Bean said.

UBP Senator Michael Dunkley supported Mr. Bean's comments, saying he was disappointed to hear of "unacceptable behaviour" at the protests, but adding that he felt some reports "might have been stretched a little".

He applauded the organisers of the protests, saying: "It was very moving on many levels to see Bermudians stand up and be counted."

Mr. Dunkley also extended a "small thank you" to the Premier for coming out and listening to protesters at the Cabinet building during the first rally last Tuesday.

Fellow UBP Senator Jeanne Atherden spoke of the racial issue that last week's demonstrations have sparked, noting the importance of realising that there are people at both ends of the spectrum with "extreme views". She said these views must be condemned as unacceptable by those close to these extremists.

PLP Senator Walton Brown supported Mr. Dunkley's recognition of the Premier, noting Dr. Brown's "strength and fervour" in coming out to address protesters. Of those present at the rallies, he said: "It was disconcerting that you had a cacophony of sounds but not a desire to listen."

His colleague, PLP Senator Thaao Dill, told the Senate that he had been criticised in the public space for his observations on the racial make-up of the protests. He acknowledged that the "vast majority" of demonstrators arrived at the Cabinet building with no conscious racial animus.

"What we saw was an old model that is representative of so much of our history," he said, describing Dr. Brown and his wife Wanda Henton Brown's arrival at the protest as "a black man and a black woman being screamed at by hundreds of while people".

"That's going to provoke an emotional response to that practical reality," Mr. Dill said.