Weapon to everyone

December 17, 2005

Dear Sir,

It seems to have occurred to no one that the absence of sexual orientation in our human rights protections is a weapon available to everyone, not only to unchristian bigots who like to vent their hatred on those whom they perceive, rightly or wrongly, to be gay men. Everyone, including nuns, Roman Catholic priests and even eunuchs, has a sexual orientation.

Broadly speaking sexual orientations vary from heterosexual through bisexual to homosexual. Within each category there are innumerable sub-categories. One may be “turned on” by blue eyed blondes or dark eyed Asians, by red haired, pale skinned people or by blue-black skins and so on.

If an employer just plain doesn't like an employee he cannot call him in and fire him. But he has a secret weapon. He can call in the employee and summarily fire him on the grounds that the employer doesn't like the employee's sexual orientation, no matter what it may be and no matter that he cannot prove his allegations.

If a landlord is approached by an unmarried mother of five children under four he cannot legally refuse to rent her an apartment because he doubts he will ever see a penny of rent and fears his apartment will be trashed. But he has a weapon. He can refuse to rent to her because he doesn't like her sexual orientation. She obviously has one and a strong one at that. On that ground he can see her off in perfect safety and rent to another tenant more likely to respect his premises and pay the rent.

If a landlord is approached by a Jamaican to rent an apartment, he cannot legally refuse to rent on the basis of national origin, no matter the increased risk that his premises may be used for dealing drugs. He can, however, get rid of the Jamaican by announcing that he doesn?t like his sexual orientation, no matter what his actual sexuality may be and no matter that the landlord cannot prove his allegations.

If sexual orientation is not included as a protected category, the rest of the Act might as well be scrapped. It has no teeth at all. The omission of sexual orientation gives everyone an ‘out', not just religious bigots (they, too, have sexual orientations and can be discriminated against because of them).

Why the recognition?

December 9, 2005

Dear Sir,

I would like to ask you what constitutes being “Bermudian”, as I find it confusing when I hear about children of non-Bermudian parents quoting themselves as Bermudian, through birth or status (achieved from living here long term) and being recognised as just that, i.e. Bermudian.

Then when I read that a child of a Bermudian parent through marriage or birth, and the child/adult lives overseas, maybe has been to the Island once or twice in their lives, has another non-Bermudian parent to which country/culture they follow, and yet is hailed as ‘Bermuda's First etc. etc.' when they win something in terms of sports, fame, etc.

Why is it then if you live and grow up outside Bermuda and are more towards being Canadian, English, American, etc., due to your current life, that you suddenly become a “Bermudian” when you win something?

Why are the children of non-Bermudians then not recognised in their parents' home country when they win something here in Bermuda?

All very confusing.

Keep race out of it

November 29, 2005

Dear Sir,

I am a Bermudian who has read much of the BIC Report and I find it to have a lot of interesting information in it. But it is like an appetiser without a main course. There is so much that goes unanswered. In section 3.9, opinions from the public are dismissed by the BIC as perceptions, but some of the concerns are as valid today as before the Report was issued. I am still waiting to hear some real, tangible benefits for going it alone.

I was amused by the recent statement of Rolfe Commissiong, a member of the BIC, blasting critics of the BIC, calling them a small minority of mainly whites among us determined to hold us all hostage! I wonder if he was speaking for the entire BIC or for himself since he as one who did not sign the letter of apology for omissions to the final Report? Considering both the 14,000 signers of the referendum petition (over one half of the electorate) and the latest polls showing that 66 percent of Bermudians are opposed to Independence, it is hard to take Rolfe Commissiong seriously when he states that it is a minority holding us back from Independence. He just does not want to see the reality and admit the truth.

As only a third of the population of Bermuda is white, I wonder what colour the other third, who are against Independence, are? I am sure, as well, that not all white Bermudians are against Independence. So, Mr. Commissiong, please keep race out of the issue of Independence for Bermuda.

Simple minded, mean

December 16, 2005

Dear Sir,

I felt compelled to write after seeing the ‘review' (I use the term loosely) of ‘Robinson Crusoe' written (perhaps I should use that term loosely as well) by Rene Hill. Oh my, where do I begin … I am aware that we need to strive within our limitations, but just a thesaurus alone would have helped tremendously. Instead of a proper review, it read more like a third grader's report on ‘Our Friend the Octopus'. Quite apart from the appallingly simple-minded critique (‘I liked this part' and ‘this character was great' - that's all well and good, but would you mind elaborating and sharing why you felt this way, Ms Hill?), she got it completely wrong.

The two young women in the lead roles have plenty of natural talent, I had to truly wonder what could have prompted such a mean-spirited opinion.

Ms Burgess had appeared in the recent local production of ‘Tony and Tina's Wedding', and sang a show-stopping piece, ‘Desperado'. She has a warm presence on stage, a powerful, soulful, tuneful voice that is a pleasure to listen to (not bad for an untalented singer - but I suppose she tried ‘incredibly hard' in all of those performances, too), but that said, I happen to like those big, belting voices. If Ms Hill didn't like that type of voice, that's another matter entirely. As an example - a lot of people don't like opera, but one cannot deny the talent that a good opera singer possesses. Again, this points to the apparent lack of thought behind the ‘review'. Perhaps Ms Hill didn't like the choice of songs, or the types of voices singing them, but that shouldn't be equated with them being sung by singers that have ‘no natural talent'. Incidentally, Ms Pearson is only 15 years old - that nasty piece in your paper is no way to encourage this young lady to develop her talent. In one careless sentence, Ms Hill may well have killed the dream of a truly sweet kid. I do hope she considers this the next time she ‘reviews' something. Whatever happened to not saying anything at all? That would have been less damaging.

This might be an instance of a pot calling the kettle sooty in terms of talent, for I cannot imagine why such an untalented writer would take up reviewing (or indeed writing at all) as her profession. A review is supposed to give an insight into a show or exhibition, I frankly cannot imagine why anyone would be interested in whether or not Ms Hill ‘likes' or ‘doesn't like' something. I am much more interested in why something evokes a given response, or what makes something successful. If I want an opinion or a report, I'll ask someone else who has seen the show. If I want a review, I'll have to look somewhere else, because there wasn't one in your paper. It's fine to write a less-than-glowing review, but it should be a review and not a report.

A system we deserve

December 11, 2005

Dear Sir,

It would appear your boy “Bob” somehow got through the process of growing up in Bermuda without anyone knowing he had a brain between his ears. He had a staff of 50 people working for him and he couldn't read.

If the PLP need a more damning portrait of education under the UBP, they're just being mean. In those days the UBP would have asked “Bob” to clean hotel rooms, I guess. The UBP didn't have any good ideas about Bermudian education. They certainly borrowed from everyone else. One solution was throw money at it. Which they did with great wads of cash to no effect whatsoever. They built CedarBridge. Whatever.

The PLP should not gloat. They don't have any ideas either. But they know how to throw money. And they do. The result will be no different. But you shouldn't pout, Oh Bermuda.

Bores like me have been telling you this for years. We have the education system we deserve. Let's hope the drug trade continues to foster the kind of entrepreneurial talent that the education system apparently cannot.

Reconciling the races

December 10, 2005

Dear Sir,

Mrs. Gloria McPhee's attempt to reconcile the races is to be commended. She is correct in stating that racial differences could be done away with, but sadly the only way people integrate is when they are forced to. I witnessed this with “white flight” in certain Caribbean countries, and those left behind integrated quite painlessly.

Bermuda has really much bigger problems in that the lifestyles of the two major groups vary considerably in interest, culture and class. It is sad to hear the whites plaintively say they never understood the problems of the black (or brown) Bermudian. It is equally sad to see race being used as a political tool in a country where rubbing salt in old wounds is short sighted and evil. If the country was forward thinking enough to reject the racial categories that were put in place in the days of slavery and eugenics, that might be a start of the healing but the real progress has to be made in acceptance of each other.

The melanin enriched (blacks) have to stop being Afrocentric and the melanin deprived (whites) have to stop being so patronising and Eurocentric. As Mrs. McPhee says, be Bermudian. Of course the real harvest of separateness comes down to money. One group has had all the advantages and all the opportunities for so long and the other group, now that they have the chance to catch up seem to be actively shunning multi-racial cultural pursuits. The influx of a white affluent guest worker has introduced another dynamic, which is harder to deal with. Canada has made significant strides in integration but when I walk into a “Canadian” watering hole I see very little mixing. It doesn't mean they are bad people. They mix with people they work with. The Portuguese have been largely ignored by the whites for class reasons. When they get rich and educated they are quickly welcomed into white society and so to a lesser extent are affluent blacks. Intermarriage, a true yardstick of true integration, is almost unknown here among Bermudians.

If we look at the world with clear honest eyes, we see Europe, racist, volatile and segregated, and sitting on a potential enemy within. The US is as socially segregated as it was when Martin Luther King first marched in the south. Asia has not even attempted to welcome non-Asians to their midst. South America has made some strides, but it is not as liberal as it might be and the Middle East, the Soviet Union and Australasia are not exactly poster children for integration. The whole world is sadly hung up on “people who look like us”.

Solutions? White business must make an effort to employ blacks. I am speaking here to some of the dentists and doctors and the old Front Street groups as well. Get a partner from another racial group. Everyone should also become involved in the Government schools as teachers and patrons to ensure that the black population has an equal playing field. Blacks should aspire to education and culture as desirable goals. Race should not be used as a political tool.

Make an effort to befriend someone of another race. Find someone you like and share interests with, Respect each other. Give respect where it is due. Reject racism if it comes out of the mouths of your own racial group.

Don't let racists have a voice in Bermuda. Vote them out, shut them up. If you really are serious, ban racial grouping. They are scientifically incorrect and out of date. Do some racial testing if you like and you will find people are much more alike than unlike.

Exciting times indeed!

November 30, 2005

Dear Sir,

After months of consideration regarding the issue of Independence I have come to the conclusion that we are indeed living in exciting times. There are many considerations that have to be taken into account, the chief of which - should we have Independence - is recognisance for our new nation, new economic opportunities, and the spread of more democratic principles that will follow. I shall be writing to you further on the latter at a later date.

First of all, we must consider a new flag, a new coat-of-arms, a new passport and a new national anthem. All of these items must be distinctive and different so that our new nation is recognised immediately by countries worldwide.

1. For a flag, I suggest it be divided into four squares, and in each corner - not to offend anyone and to keep the environmentalists happy - there should be a Bermuda cockroach, a Bermuda skink, a tree frog and a St. David's centipede. Perhaps a snail could be considered as a substitute for one of the above.

2. With regard to a coat-of-arms, I suggest that we should look to the new bank, the wisdom of the directors, the officers of the bank and the business community for the wonderful opportunity they are presenting for a new face for Front Street. We also should not forget the new attitude of the Bermuda National Trust who seem so eager to have this monument erected. Therefore, instead of a lion, a drawing of the new HSBC Bank should be located over the remnants of the old-fashioned Trimingham's and Smith's and other Front Street buildings. We should be very pleased to have this new face for Bermuda, and an appropriate Motto would be “Veni, Vidi, Vici “ - “I Came, I Saw, I Conquered”.

3. In order to keep the Department of Tourism happy, the new passport should be brightly coloured, showing Bermuda's favourite colours of pink, green and light blue, in the middle of which could be a picture of one of the new mega ships. Perhaps we could approach Princess Lines for a donation to our coffers.

4. For our new anthem, in order to soothe wounds, I suggest the Premier appoint Tony Brannon to write the new anthem, for he knows much better than anyone else in Bermuda the music that we should have on this Island.

EXCLAB

Pembroke