The wrong message

March 25, 2010

Dear Sir,

When is this racial rhetoric going to end? I listened with dismay to the talk show host on the FM 89 yesterday afternoon as they passed judgment on the organisers of the demonstration that is being organised for the Cabinet Office grounds. Once again the race of the supposed organisers came into question and the usual inane comments were made about the faces that would be put up front to make everyone believe it was not organised by UBP supporters.

The talk show host went on to say that they could not understand how any black person would ever show support for any march organised by whites because, in their perception, whites never, ever marched for any black organised demonstration for a social injustice. This sentiment kept being repeated and of course was supported by callers after this. My question would be to all of these like-minded people, many of whom I assume are Christian or of some other religion, where in your religion did Jesus, God or whomever, ever teach that one should not help a fellow human being because they did not help you? I know through my religious upbringing that this message was not one that was taught at all. Shame on these people! You are not going to help another group because of their skin colour and because you feel they never helped you! What are you teaching your children and grandchildren? My parents and grandparents lived through segregation as black Bermudians and never once was that message preached. They taught us to work hard and you will achieve. They taught us that injustices happen in every walk of life but it is up to you how you deal with it. Retribution was never the lesson taught. Shame on you people!

My two daughters, aged 15 and eight, were in the car listening to this talk show and I felt so sad that I wanted to pull over to the side of the road and cry. What is this island coming too? If we really listen and look at the generations coming up, you do not see what the adults of this land are saying. My oldest said she is tired of hearing about racism since she doesn't live in that age and having best friends of every colour makes her life full of life and love! My youngest daughter really spoke to my heart though. She piped up from the back seat in the midst of this all and said: "Mummy, do you know why people are different colours? It is because of the stuff that we have in our skin that causes freckles in some people. I learned that in a book I was reading." I was astonished with the wisdom that this eight year old was speaking. When we got home, she rushed into the house to get the book she was talking about, turned it to the appropriate page and started to read it out loud. The book was entitled "My First Book of Questions" and on page 82 (yes, she bookmarked it for me) she read about melanin and its effects on skin colour and the effect that geographical location had on skin colour. However the last sentence of the page was what she was most proud of. It reads: "People may be different colours, but all people – no matter what colour – eat, sleep, laugh, cry, work, play and dream." And then she gave me a hug! That is the lesson that I want my children to learn about others!

I am starting to get teary eyed as I finish this letter as what is going on in this country saddens me greatly. To all the adults out there who are holding onto the past and trying to influence future generations who do not see colour but see people, I say to you, please, please stop. Our children are not thinking on these lines and we have no right to force our delusions onto them!

LINDA HINES

Devonshire

Hubert Smith was correct

March 9, 2010

Dear Sir,

Good morning, Bermuda. As you can see the sun came up again this morning, contrary to what David Ezekiel and some of the other business leaders said was going to happen after the increase in payroll tax of two percent. And it will continue to rise and shine on Bermuda with or with out the exempted companies, like it has been doing through the ages. Even before man walked the face of the earth. When you look around the world and compare what they pay in taxes compared to what they pay in Bermuda, there is no comparison. That is why they are here. They are making a fuss about paying five percent on the individual and 11 on the company. That is a joke.

First of all you should be taxed on all of your income like the average citizen. Especially those that are working two and three jobs. Don't cry foul because the total amount taxable went from $350,000 to $750,000 per year. The average Bermudian would have to work more than ten years to get to that higher amount and would have paid on the total amount. So why should you get a break because of where you work or who you are?

They call it payroll tax but it is just another name for income tax. Why should some of us have to pay on all of our income and some only have to pay on a portion? Because some of the people in Bermuda are getting paid several million a year and are only getting taxed on the first $750,000. No matter how loud you holler, Mr. Ezekiel, that is criminal in my book.

And here are a few more of the tax rates from around the world.

UK zero to 40 percent

US 15 to 35 percent

Germany 14 to 45 percent

Canada 15 to 29 percent

And I hope you noticed Bermuda that not only where they higher but they were also progressive. Which means that that dishwasher or the gardener didn't pay the same rate as the banker or the lawyer, or in Mr. Ezekiel's case, a company bigwig.

So if you are looking to me for sympathy Mr. Ezekiel, I am sorry. Not happening. If you want to hear the band you have to pay the piper they say. The taxes should have been restructured in Bermuda decades ago to be totally progressive, like they are in most modern societies. There is nothing wrong with this. It happens every where else but Bermuda. Hubert Smith was correct when he said we are another world. When it comes to taxes that is. So Minister Paula Cox, you are on the right track. But the journey down the road to fix Bermuda's tax wrongs has just begun. Keep up the good work. You go, girl.

LESLIE JAMES SMITH

Sandys

One mistake is disastrous

March 14, 2010.

Dear Sir,

After 150 years of weathering both natural and man-made disasters, it is sad that the BNTB and its fiasco have both been distilled to "a pretty good bank who made one mistake". In this current controversial financial climate, it is clear that even one 'mistake' can be disastrous — but that 213 million of them MUST be accepted? Bermuda's Bank? I am very sceptical.

ANDREW LESEUR

Smith's

In defence of Corporation

March 29, 2010

Dear Sir,

Mr. Leslie Smith makes some interesting points about the Corporation of Hamilton in his letter to the Editor (March 24), and I would like to take this opportunity to respond to his comments. Regarding his remarks about City Hall, for the past 50 years it has without doubt been the centre of cultural activities in Bermuda. The theatre continues to be in great demand throughout the year for a wide variety of shows by both local and overseas performers.

Yes, ideally Bermuda should have a larger national theatre/arts centre but at what cost – $140 million and counting would be my best guess. Mr. Smith mentioned theatre/convention centres in New York and Sydney. For the record, their populations are approximately 8.3 million and 4.4 million respectively. And the Sydney Opera House operates at a huge loss and has to be subsidised to the tune of 30 percent of its operating budget by the New South Wales Government.

Here in Bermuda we also have the BMDS theatre in Hamilton, and the Ruth Seaton James Auditorium at CedarBridge. Just how many theatres do we need for a population of 63,000 which equates to a medium sized town in most countries?

City Hall houses two wonderful art galleries, thanks to generous lease agreements with the Bermuda Society of Arts and the National Gallery. And yes, some members of the Corporation came up with a proposal to remove the BSoA gallery to make way for office space. Fortunately, that idea fizzled; the Corporation heard the people and promptly changed their minds.

Mr. Smith notes that the Victoria Park bandstand was renovated "only because of Bermuda's 400th Anniversary." What a strange statement! Concerts have been held under the bandstand ever since it was first erected in 1889 but never more so than since the Corporation introduced "Concerts in the Park" in 1992. The Corporation had the foresight to seek generous sponsorship from the Bank of Butterfield to help pay for having the bandstand renovated and in pristine condition in time for the 400th Anniversary. It should now last for another 100 years – until at least Bermuda's 500th Anniversary. Some might call that planning for the future. As for "the dumbest Bus Terminal in the world" as described by Mr. Smith, Bermuda's bus service is operated solely by the Public Transportation Board, and if Mr. Smith checks his facts he will discover that although the Corporation owns the street itself, it was the PTB and Works and Engineering who were entirely responsible for designing and constructing the new terminal. If memory serves me correctly the Corporation contributed only to the degree of paving their street and sidewalks in accordance with the specifications provided by the designers, and slightly widening the area by rebuilding the wall on the eastern side of City Hall.

It's true that during the golden days of movies we had great movie theatres in Hamilton, but it wasn't the Corporation who brought about their demise; it was the advent of videocassette recorders which allowed us all to choose whichever movies we wanted to see and when we wanted to see them in the comfort of our own homes. All credit to the BIU for opening the Liberty Theatre – with free parking in the car park across the street courtesy of the Corporation of Hamilton.

Mr. Smith gives a "whoopee" to the Corporation for building Bulls Head Car Park. Perhaps he can recall it being described by some critics at the time as a "white elephant" because it was said there was no way commuters would walk all the way into the City from Bulls Head! And he may recall it was financed with a very successful bond issue designed to appeal to the small investor. I guess the Corporation got that one right, hence the reason for having to add an extra floor. Hamilton is a tiny City – one of the smallest in the world – with minimal areas for additional open space. Even so the Corporation has added several parks that Mr. Smith failed to mention. These include tiny Beacon Park that used to be a hangout for homeless men, and Jubilee Park in North Hamilton that used to be a rubbish tip until converted into a very attractive park. Not satisfied with just a narrow sliver of land, the Corporation later purchased an adjacent piece of property outside the City limits, and expanded the park to include an attractive pond feature. It is remarkable how nearby properties have been improved since it was completed.

Last year the Corporation created Wesley Square Park on the site of the historic Theatre Boycott and commissioned one of Bermuda's greatest artists, Chesley Trott, to honour the Progressive Group with a timeless sculpture "When Voices Rise". This year the Corporation again commissioned Mr. Trott to help commemorate the 175th anniversary of the arrival of the Enterprise slave ship in Bermuda's waters with his masterful sculpture "We Arrive" taking pride of place in the centre of Barr's Bay Park. Mr. Smith has fond memories of the battles of the groups on stage at Rosebank Theatre back in the day, especially, as he points out, when compared with the battles taking place amongst gang members these days. However, I also recall fights that used to take place regularly in and around the old Hamilton Bus Terminal before the introduction of CCTV in Hamilton.

One of the positive measures taken by the Corporation was to work with the business community to help pay for the installation of CCTV cameras in the City – a measure that has helped to some degree in reducing violence at the new Bus Terminal and elsewhere in the City centre. Sadly, there was strong opposition from businesses in the Court Street area to having CCTV installed in North Hamilton, but we hear that is now changing, and the new administration is working with the Police and with Government to extend the system into North Hamilton – a positive move that the Corporation was keen to pursue from the outset.

Mr. Smith mentions putting some "soul" back into Bermuda and all of us being a part of the solution. On that issue I fully agree with him. We cannot expect Government, or the Corporation of Hamilton, to do everything for us.

But I would submit that the Corporation of Hamilton has, over the years, greatly contributed, and continues to contribute positively to the cultural and social fabric of our beautiful Island, never more so than in commissioning the two sculptures from Mr. Trott. Rather than tearing it apart we should be supporting an institution that is not only making positive changes, but in this recessionary time is also balancing its budget – and that is a major accomplishment that very few towns or cities in the world can match.

ROGER J. SHERRATT

Smith's parish

Don't blame casinos

March 30, 2010

Dear Sir,

I wish to state that my comments below are neither in support or in opposition of the introduction of casinos in Bermuda because I am quite indifferent to their introduction. Last evening (March 29, 2010) while watching the ZBM programme "Let's Talk" on the topic of casinos in Bermuda, a caller who has been to the Bahamas claims that the casinos in the Bahamas cause the social ills that exist. Sorry, but I have a very hard time recall hearing anything as ignorant as that statement. The caller clearly knows not of what he speaks.

For the record, casinos in the Bahamas are off-limits to Bahamians by legislation, that is not to say some do not try to participate but the penalties for breaching the law are severe. The social ills in the Bahamas are the same as they are here in Bermuda, one-parent households, reduced employment opportunity, illicit drugs (in the Bahamas this has more to do with the distribution of drugs than drug use like Bermuda).

Bermudians, generally, have for a very long time looked down their noses at the Bahamas and Bahamians as Bermudians believe they are better than Bahamians. I feel compelled to address this nonsense because my wife is a Bahamian as are my son and daughter and I will alow no one to ever make them believe they are not as good as anyone else. I have said it before and will say it again the average Bahamian can afford to own his/her own home in his/her country. The average Bermudian cannot say this so those that continue to hold this attitude of Bermuda and Bermudians being better need to open their eyes to reality.

Bermudians go on cruises that stop in Nassau and they believe what they see in Nassau is representative of the Bahamas. The Bahamas is made up of 700 islands and cays which stretch from 50 miles off the coast of South Florida nearly to Hispaniola. There are roughly 35 inhabited islands with Nassau on the Island of New Province its capital and home to just over 50 percent of the country's 330,000 population. Nassau is no different from any other city around the world, where one can find trouble if he so chooses or can find nice clean fun. Do not for one reason believe that the shootings and murders in the Bahamas have a cause any different from the shootings and murders that are taking place in Bermuda.

So, to the caller last evening, please educate yourself on your topic before you speak, otherwise you make yourself look like a fool.

GUILDEN M. GILBERT, Jr.

Nassau, Bahamas (currently visiting Bermuda)

Giving away the land

March 30, 2010

Dear Sir,

I am of the same opinion as "Land Lover" who wrote in today's Letters to the Editor that the trade of Southlands for Morgan's Point is a giveaway of public lands. In the first place Government had no right to offer Morgan's Point and in the second place it is not an equal exchange. I have a feeling they are having second thoughts.

FRANCES EDDY

Warwick

Wonderful nursing service

This was sent to Chief Nursing Officer Gaylia Landry and copied to The Royal Gazette.

This letter is to thank the visiting nurses who came every day, including Saturday and Sunday and Holidays to take care of my leg wound. They were caring, professional, and most cheerful and always pleasant even in horrible weather. My deepest admiration and thanks to them all. Valarie, Susan, Anne and Dianne. Bless you all

MRS. DEFOREST TRIMINGHAM

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