This was sent to Premier Paula Cox and copied to The Royal GazetteDecember 8, 2012Good morning Premier Cox,I just wanted to express my thoughts on recent comments made by PLP candidates regarding voting.First let me say that the right to vote is balanced by the right not to vote. If one did not have the latter, the one would not enjoy the former as it would be a legal obligation.Yet what is most disturbing is the racial overtones which have come into play of late. On Thursday night the candidate for C 3, Ms Lovitta Foggo foolishly stated at a public rally that it is an abomination not to vote. She went on to say that people of colour were especially obligated to vote seeing their ancestors gave life and limb for the right to do so.Such statements can only be described as cheap psychology. Furthermore they reveal stupendous ignorance when it comes to the history of blacks and what they fought for as a people. That was the right for us to choose who we want to vote for based on the candidates and/or parties meeting certain criteria.If they failed to meet that criteria, then for one to vote under such circumstances would not just be an exercise in futility but also an act of dishonesty. Why should people vote when neither candidate represents their best interests? In such a situation a None of the Above box would allow them to legitimately express disapproval for all candidates.But despite our requests for such a box you did not even have the courtesy to respond. That was most dismissive and further confirmed the need to abstain from voting in the upcoming general election.As you are aware we have asked young black men to support this campaign, and to date have already been very successful seeing that over 2,000 young people between the ages of 18 and 29 did not even bother to register to vote. This despite the threat of an exorbitant fine and jail time.And why should this most maligned and marginalised group vote seeing that their plight has worsened considerably under your Government, particularly during the last five years. For in 2012 a young black man is more likely to become a victim of violence than any other group. They are more likely to be arrested, charged, convicted and incarcerated than any other group. They are more likely to be unemployed or underemployed. They are more likely to be living in poverty in one of the richest countries in the world. They are more likely to be conscripted and hunted down like dogs if they refuse to submit to this corrupt system of forced labour.When you factor the aforementioned into the equation, what is an abomination is that the PLP has failed young black men in this country most miserably in so many different areas. Yet candidates like Ms Foggo have the audacity to try and use race in an effort to lay some guilt trip on blacks to get them to vote. With all due respect, such a tactic is an embarrassment both to her and the party. But then again this is the same woman who stated in 2007 that a vote for the UBP was a vote back to the plantation.Perhaps Ms Foggo should explain her thoughts on the referendum boycott of 1995. The then-leader of the PLP, the late Mr. Frederick Wade, advocated that PLP supporters abstain from voting in the one referendum we have had on independence. Did Mr Wade not know our ancestors lost their lives in order to have the right to vote?LARRY MARSHALL SRBermudians Against the Draft