January 4, 2012Dear Sir,There has been a great deal of coverage in the daily of late with regards to the question of race. One could say that National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief kicked off the discussion when he suggested that Britain would have taken a much greater interest in Bermuda’s murders had the victims been white. I was quite surprised by his comments as I had always thought Mr Perinchief’s thinking was more measured, but having been drop-kicked from his constituency recently perhaps he is jockeying for some other opportunity within the PLP at the upcoming general election. In the end, I take his comments as pure speculation and I salute the Governor for remaining silent on the matter and not taking the bait.More recently, MP Kim Swan has spoken up and voiced his opinion about the voting patterns of whites. Your coverage of this and the prognostications from those on the radio talk shows have merely ignited the flame within many who have an axe to grind on this subject … I’d like to add my own thoughts.When the United Bermuda Party formed the Government back in the late ‘60s, its leaders were determined to ensure black participation within the party, and, to achieve this goal, credible black candidates were sponsored and promoted in “safe” seats. This strategy remained consistent throughout the years and created great leaders from the black community which in turn increased buy-in from a significant proportion of Bermuda’s black voters that kept the UBP in power for many years. This “history” also proves the point that when the races work and share power together, the Island and its people benefit tremendously unlike what we are seeing presently I might add.However, the Progressive Labour Party never responded in kind to the UBP strategy, at least not in numbers. One should therefore ask the question: “Had the PLP adopted a similar strategy and placed credible white candidates in safe PLP seats, would the party have attracted white voters and support?” ... because to use past MP Renee Webb’s words representatives were being touted and supported by the PLP who “look and think like me”.The facts show that the UBP and now One Bermuda Alliance will adopt strategies to ensure multi racial representation of credible candidates for the broader community to support. The PLP, on the other hand, has historically not done so. So, my message to those activists and political pundits who continually seek headlines in the daily, if you want to see more whites voting for the PLP, the PLP will need to recruit credible white candidates and field them in safe PLP seats to ensure their election. Perhaps then, the white community will begin to see real commitment by the PLP to represent this “minority” segment of the community. And as a suggestion, I would recommend they start with constituency #21 Pembroke South East where Mr. Commissiong is hoping to be elected.ALLAN D MARSHALL JPSt George’s