Latest blatant racist act

October 1, 2007

Dear Sir,

The proposed legislation re: the forced hiring of black Bermudians is just one of the latest blatant racist acts of this government.

How do they have the nerve to continue to use the past discrimination against blacks as fodder for their continuing discrimination against all those who are not black? Do they not realise how their present actions undermine the struggles and strengths of those, black and white, who made the gains towards racial equality?

This most recent proposal belittles all Bermudian families, black and white, who have put the education of their children first, belittles all Bermudians, black and white, who have attained certificates, diplomas, degrees, belittles all Bermudians, black and white, who, through determination, hard work and competence, continue to advance in their chosen occupation. Are there statistics on how many Bermudians, black and white, who have been refused a position for which they were qualified and experienced?

Does this Government not believe that CURE and the Human Rights Commission are competent enough to investigate alleged abuses in this area without passing such racist legislation?

Why is this Government trying to raise a generation to expect everything to be handed to them because of the colour of their skin? What a disservice to your people!

The exempted companies along with local institutions certainly do their fair share in making financial assistance available to the education of Bermudians. They want to hire qualified Bermudians. Why would this Government try to lead the population into thinking that they don't?

Education is the key to success. Let's start with making sure that our children are given the best education available. We just paid a hefty amount of money to a commission that told us we needed to make substantial changes to our public education system. Any progress?

Thanks for the space in your column to hopefully provoke some thought.

CONCERNED BERMUDIAN

Warwick

Is anyone listening?

September 27, 2007

Dear Sir,

Congratulations to Coeur De Lion of Warwick for addressing the "waste of money" spending on another study about the shortcomings of the black male in Bermuda.

The points about parenting and the messages that are currently being sent makes sense to this reader but my question is...Is Anyone Listening?

The proposed study will uncover what is widely known on the Island, except in this case the conclusions will be presented in 2009 when the study is complete at which time the current problems will only get worse. Talk is cheap.

Bermuda needs to act now in 2007 with parenting leading the way, better education, much stricter punishment for offenders and perhaps a size ten shoe in the backside.

CONCERNED

Flatts

Oh no, not another study

September 28, 2007

Dear Sir,

Another study into the supposed problems of the Black Bermudian Male – and for $400,000?

If there is some idiot who actually believes that some American dude, hired by Ewart, is going to delve into and offer solutions to a problem in Bermuda that may or may not exist, particularly the issues surrounding the BBM's, and come up with something useful, well, I'd like to meet that guy.

Look, Eva and Laverne and all the other Bermudian ace girls have been telling us all what the problem is for years and today I spoke to one of my mates and he gave me the problem and the answers ... and all I had to do was buy an 80 cent newspaper from him. His skin may be black and mine might be white but we share the same values and I suspect that he hit the nail on the head when he said (among other things): Stay away from the nightclubs; go to church occasionally; maybe consider getting married when you plan to have kids; get an education at a school the name of which someone recognises; and stop thinking you're the second coming of some gang member from Brooklyn.

We have seen some unbelievable expenditures of a whole lotta cash over the past 8 PLP years but this one takes the cake.

SAM C

Southampton

We are going backwards

September 20, 2007

Dear Sir,

I can't resist sending in a letter now after reading the story on an impending "study on young black males". Let me see if I understand this — this government is wasting another $400,000 of our money to pay a foreigner (yet another foreigner who, like the hypocrites they are, loudly protest about all the time!) to come in and assess what's wrong with our young black males... well I could do that for them for FREE. I just have two words that pretty well sums up most of our problems in Bermuda... Illegitimacy, and Drugs — two ills that have spawned their sad and evil legacy for generations upon generations. You do the math.

I was also amused by the recent letter signed "Funny Bone" who takes offence to the C-Travel television ad featuring a black woman and a white woman having a conversation about travel. I was wondering how long it would take before someone got all bent out of shape. The ad is offensive to me too, but not for the same reason! I'm a white Bermudian who speaks properly (and am very proud of it!), and I think it's a stupid idea to make an ad out of and bring to everyone's attention the highly disgraceful way some other Bermudians speak — perhaps someone can explain why this is? (examples: "that is min's (my personal favourite!), "um um", "I ain't got none", "I don't know nothing", etc., etc.) It all sounds so ignorant and uneducated. Is it so difficult to grasp some simple basic English grammar like "you never use two negatives in the same sentence", or the contraction "mine's" is short for the words 'mine is' so use it properly.

I cringe and am embarrassed every time I hear it! This is NOT, nor has ever been the 'Bermudian lingo' — I certainly don't talk like that, nor do any of my friends. How is that some kids graduate from high school still speaking like this? — their English teachers should be fired! No wonder we have such alarming public school statistics — it all begins with proper English grammar first and foremost. Any decent job requires good basic English grammar and spelling.

Yesterday's letter "New Ten Commandments" is superbly written and congrats to the writer. I couldn't have said it better myself and agree with your sentiments, as do most reasonably-minded Bermudians who remember the good old days under the UBP and are sick to death of what's happening to our country since the PLP took over. We seem to be going backwards instead of forward in so many areas, which is never a good thing. The only 'transparent' thing about this government is we an see right through their deceit! It's disgraceful and hopefully their reign will soon be over before the damage is irreversible!

EMBARRASSED WHITE BERMUDIAN

Paget

Sophia, you are amazing

September 27, 2007

Dear Sir,

This is in response to the article "Doulas, hospitals reach agreement over delivery room presence", that was featured in your September 25, 2007 issue of The Royal Gazette.

Long before I imagined being a mother, I knew that I wanted to give birth the natural way – God's way. Or no way. It was a rite-of-passage that I needed to experience with my own flesh, heart and soul.

My foremothers had gone down this road many times and lived to tell about it – they knew, and understood the better way. They embraced their inner strength and knowledge because they worked together, they shared, they supported – with this understanding, I vowed and felt compelled to carry the torch in their honour.

However, when the time came for me to rise to the occasion, I fell short. I was extremely unsure and anxious about the birthing process. My mother, who would have been my biggest supporter is no longer with us, I didn't know if my loving husband would be able to support me in the way I needed to be supported in the birthing room and I didn't know if I would be able to articulate my needs during the labor/delivery process.

Then a friend referred me to Sophia Cannonier, a local Doula. From the moment I met Sophia, I knew that she would be my doula because she seemed open minded, open hearted, and was willing to work with me to try to create the perfect birth for me. I laboured for 15 hours, pushing for an hour, and Sophia helped me position my body in a comfortable and productive manner to facilitate managing the contractions. Finally, with my soulmate husband by my side, my son emerged from the birth canal.

Sophia, weary from the birthing experience, using her digital camera managed to capture the exact moment that my son alertly arrived.

It is now 16 months later and to this day, that is the most poignant photo I possess of my son, and I treasure it. I only wish someone had taken a photo like that of me when I entered the world.

Therefore, after reading today's article, I feel compelled to share, honour, and herald my experiences with Sophia as my doula.

Ms Cannonier is an amazing doula. She does not judge or force an agenda. She simply listens, respectful of her sisters, nurturing their instincts. And when you are ready, she has a whole heart full of resources to guide you on this amazing journey, whatever you want it to be. She is constructing a community for women of childbearing years and all ethnic groups, forcing us to question our intentions, open our hearts, our minds, our eyes. She creates "a circle," sacred space to honor our birth rights, imparting wisdom, sharing stories, providing us with a safe place to be vulnerable, a space to celebrate our true power, wisdom, and motherhood with our families, friends, and the rest of the world.

Sophia, if you are reading this letter, I would like for you to know that you are truly wise beyond your years and I learned so much from you in the 16 hours we spent together: that labour and birth are natural, that women have incredible reserves of strength to draw upon, that medical alarmism can be resisted in a respectful way, and that people are capable of anything with the right support. I admire how you became a doula from a place of thinking about the complexity, depth, and diversity of women's relationships with each other.

Sophia, continue to walk to the beat of your own drums, and thank you so much for the beautiful experience of my son's birth.

TINA ADDERLEY

Smith's Parish

Annoying experience

September 30, 2007

Dear Sir,

On 29 September 2007, I travelled from Warwick to Dockyard to watch the film "Shoot 'Em Up" at Neptune Cinema.

Conscious of the advertised 2.30 p.m., start, I arrived at Neptune Cinema at approximately 2.25 p.m., was sold a ticket and took my seat in an empty cinema. Just before 2.30 p.m., one other person was apparently sold a ticket and entered the cinema to watch the film.

At 2.30 p.m., we were both invited by the Neptune Cinema management to return in the evening or another day to watch the film because it was "not economically feasible" to show the film to only two persons.

I left both annoyed and disappointed. I was annoyed because although it may not be "economically feasible" to run the film for only two persons, why sell me a ticket at 2.25 p.m., without at least warning me at the time of purchase that there was a possibility that the film will not be shown?

I was disappointed because Neptune Cinema's unofficial policy appears to be to show a film only if the number of attendees make it "economically feasible". This directly contradicts Neptune Cinema's advertisement in your newspaper publicising a Saturday 2.30 p.m. showing.

So for all your cinephiles thinking of venturing to Neptune Cinema on a Saturday afternoon, beware that you may not be able to watch the film. A "economically feasible" suggestion – rent the DVD.

FILM FAN

Warwick

This was sent to Premier and Minister of Transport Dr. Ewart Brown and copied to The Royal Gazette.

Pun made no sense

October 2, 2007

Dear Sir,

The cutline on your Bermuda triangle diagram "no Yen to vanish" could have been a witty pun but makes no sense in the context of the story.

The Yen is the currency of Japan while the article was about Chinese business avoiding Bermuda.

Maybe the reason Chinese business is avoiding Bermuda is our ignorance of their culture or the racist jokes that make no sense in our newspaper.

OMAR TAN

Pembroke

The Smart choice

September 21, 2007

Dear Sir,

I would like to propose this idea to you as Minister of Transport. I think that everyone agrees that Bermuda has a serious traffic problem. Ideas to penalize certain groups of peoples will not work. This is the 21st century and we are all creatures of comfort and no one will want to give up their freedom and independence by not having a car. At the moment I believe that there is a considerable mark up on cars entering the Island. I would like to challenge that the SMART car be brought to Bermuda as the car of choice. Whichever dealer decides to bring the SMART car to the Island should be given an import duties tax break so as to keep the cost down and make it an affordable option and a rebate of $2000 be given to the buyer. SUV's and larger cars such as the BMW on the other hand should have higher taxes, price tags and re-licensing fees to discourage their purchase. Please read the attached information.

J. Harrington

St. Georges

IT TARGETS ENVIRONMENT, GAS PRICES - AND PARKS ANYWHERE

There's no other way to say it. The Smart is a smart car for Bermuda. Streets are crowded with buses, taxis, pedestrians and oversized vehicles. Parking spaces are hard to find. The tiny Smart Fortwo is 2.5m long, all parts and components are delivered, developed and manufactured to consistent ecological criteria. Issues such as ecology, gas prices, urban congestion and parking difficulties resonate here. We are looking for solutions, and the Smart provides answers to a lot of these issues.

Prices start at about $12,000 in the US for the stripped-down Pure model. But the more posh Passion and Passion convertible, priced from about $14,000 and $17,000.

It is small, but surprisingly roomy inside. A lot of men over 6 feet tall and over 200 pounds think they won't fit in the car, and they do. The interior is nicely done, mostly in black with some metallic trim. The ignition is between the front seats. Cup holders are down near the floor.

It has two seats, with decent cargo room beneath its two-part rear hatch. Visibility is great and thanks to a combination of years of experience, intensive research and development, and an extensive series of crash tests, the crash management system was developed. This system allows small cars to be every bit as safe as their larger counterparts.

The car's plastic panels come off - mostly dealers will do it, or the talented do-it-yourselfer - meaning the black Fortwo you buy in 2008 can become a red one in 2010. Also if damaged in an accident these are easily replaced and no rust! It has a highly attractive total weight of just 730 kg for the coupé and 740 kg for the cabriolet. Required fuel is Diesel. The engine in the Fortwo is by Mercedes-Benz, Smart's parent company. The U.S. model will come from Mitsubishi. Both are the same, though - 71 horsepower 1.0-liter, three-cylinder engine, with five-speed automatic that can be shifted manually. Fuel economy City estimate: 4.6 l/100 km, highway estimate: 3.7 l/100 km (manual), 3.8 l/100 km (automatic), and a combined estimate: 4.2 l/100 km.

Driving-wise, it's about what you'd expect. The Fortwo doesn't feel fast, because it isn't. But in the city it is perfectly capable of keeping up with the stoplight-to-stoplight traffic. The automatic feels a bit sluggish, but by shifting manually - the Smart allows you to shift manually without pushing a clutch pedal, either by using the paddles behind the steering wheel or tapping the shift knob - it all becomes quite smooth. The Fortwo's top speed is 135km/hr.