Story was too generous

January 16, 2009

Dear Sir,

I appreciate your article (Wednesday, January 14) about the Imagine Bermuda forum, especially your recognition of the work of Bermuda's civil rights activists of the 1950s, one of whom was my father, David Critchley.

I am very glad to have my role on Barack Obama's presidential campaign mentioned in this context, but you are being too kind in describing that role as "pivotal". I am proud of having been part of the Obama press and news media teams in several states, but I was just one of many.

SPENCER CRITCHLEY

Monterey, California

Give Obama respect

January 16, 2009

Dear Sir,

I take strong offence to your newspaper articles that refer to President Elect Barack Obama solely as Barack (front page January 15, 2009 – "Island's elder statesmen urge Bermuda to learn from Barack's race example").

I have yet to see an article that referred to President-elect George Bush and President-elect Bill Clinton (to name a few) by their first names only. Certainly, they have been referred to as Bush or Clinton, which is also correct protocol when writing an article, but never have they been referred to as George or Bill.

For that matter, even past presidents are given the courtesy of having the remaining title of president prefixed to their name. This disrespect is just another example of the insidiousness that is at the root of racist practices that continues to be perpetuated, whether conscious or not.

SANDRA BURROWS

Pembroke

Editor's note: It could be argued that President-elect Obama's first name has become so embodied in the world's consciousness that he no longer needs a last name, similar to Oprah (Winfrey). But the writer is correct: it would have been more appropriate to refer to "Obama" in the headline.

Getting over it

January 14, 2009

Dear Sir,

Please consider printing the below in the newspaper, perhaps under letters to the editor:

SHARON B. WARD

City of Hamilton

"When will WE 'get over it'?"

By Andrew Manis

For much of the last 40 years, ever since America 'fixed' its race problem with the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts, we white people have been impatient with African Americans who continued to blame race for their difficulties. Often, we have heard whites ask: "When are African Americans finally going to get over it?" Now I want to ask, "When are we white Americans going to get over our ridiculous obsession with skin color?"

Recent reports that "Election Spurs 'Hundreds' of Race Threats, Crimes" should frighten and infuriate every one of us. Having grown up in "Bombingham," Alabama, in the 1960s, I remember overhearing an avalanche of comments about what many white classmates and their parents wanted to do to John and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King.

Eventually, as you may recall, in all three cases, someone decided to do more than "talk the talk". Since our recent presidential election, to our eternal shame, we are once again hearing the same reprehensible talk I remember from my boyhood.

We white people have controlled political life in the disunited colonies and United States for some 400 years on this continent. Conservative whites have been in power 28 of the last 40 years. Even during the eight Clinton years, conservatives in Congress blocked most of his agenda and pulled him to the right. Yet never in that period did I read any headlines suggesting that anyone was calling for the assassinations of presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan or either of the Bushes.

Criticise them, yes. Call for their impeachment, perhaps.

But there were no bounties on their heads. And even when someone did try to kill Ronald Reagan, the perpetrator was a nonpolitical mental case who wanted merely to impress actress Jodie Foster.

But elect a liberal who happens to be Black and we're back in the '60s again. At this point in our history, we should be proud that we've proven what conservatives are always saying – that in America, anything is possible, even electing a Black man as president. But instead, we now hear that schoolchildren from Maine to California are talking about wanting to "assassinate Obama".

Fighting the urge to throw up, I can only ask, "How long?" How long before we white people realize we can't make our nation, much less the whole world, look like us? How long until we white people can once and for all get over this hell-conceived preoccupation with skin colour?

How long until we white people get over the demonic conviction that white skin makes us superior? How long before we white people get over our bitter resentments about being demoted to the status of equality with non-whites? How long before we get over our expectations that we should be at the head of the line merely because of our white skin?

How long until we white people end our silence and call out our peers when they share the latest racist jokes in the privacy of our white-only conversations?

I believe in free speech, but how long until we white people start making racist loudmouths as socially uncomfortable as we do flag burners? How long until we white people will stop insisting that Blacks exercise personal responsibility, build strong families, educate themselves enough to edit the Harvard Law Review and work hard enough to become president of the United States, only to threaten to assassinate them when they do?

How long before we start "living out the true meaning" of our creeds, both civil and religious, that all men and women are created equal and that "red and yellow, black and white" all are precious in God's sight?

Until this past November 4, I didn't believe this country would ever elect an African American to the presidency. I still don't believe I'll live long enough to see us white people get over our racism problem.

But here's my three-point plan:

First, every day that Barack Obama lives in the White House that Black Slaves Built, I'm going to pray that God (and the Secret Service) will protect him and his family from us white people.

Second, I'm going to report to the FBI any white person I overhear saying, in seriousness or in jest, anything of a threatening nature about President Obama.

Third, I'm going to pray to live long enough to see America surprise the world once again, when white people can "in spirit and in truth" sing of our damnable color prejudice, "We HAVE overcome".

Andrew Manis is the author of Macon Black and White: An Unutterable Separation in the American Century and serves on the steering committee of Macon's Center for Racial Understanding in Macon, Georgia.

Overwhelmed by support

January 14, 2009

Dear Sir,

The English language doesn't always give us words to adequately express our feelings, so I will simply use what we have been given and say a sincere "Thank You" to all who so graciously donated to The Salvation Army over the past few months. You have certainly given over and above whatever we could have imagined.

Due to your generosity, we were able to meet the needs of over 900 families at Christmastime by providing food and toys for the children. As the demand started to stretch our resources the true Bermudian spirit came through and you enabled us to complete the task.

Thank you for having the confidence in The Salvation Army to entrust us with your gifts. We really couldn't have done it without you. So on behalf of all who benefited from your gifts, Thank You.

DOUG LEWIS, Major

Divisional Commander

Bermuda Division

The Salvation Army – Canada and Bermuda Territory

We need a real deterrent

January 16, 2009

Dear Sir,

I am sure David Minors, acting Road Safety Officer has his heart in the right place but I must object to his idea of mandatory AA meetings for drunk drivers. AA is not a punishment centre. I find it difficult to imagine AA would go along with that thinking.

I would think a very high percentage of people who drink and have a driver's licence have at some time in their lives driven a vehicle on a public road with enough booze in them to trigger an analyser … that does not make them an alcoholic.

AA is for people who have come to a conclusion that they no longer have the power over alcohol and wish to do something about it. There are some wonderful people at AA who give up a lot of their time to help keep drunks sober.

Education doesn't work either. The rules are pretty basic. If you have been drinking, don't drive. Doesn't get much simpler than that; so where's the education?

What you do need is a penalty to fit the crime. How about a mandatory five year ban of all motorised vehicles? Now that would catch anyone's attention, drunk or sober.

BEEN THERE

Southampton

Why no sell-by dates?

January 14, 2009

Dear Sir,

I don't know who to address this concern to, but why don't we have sell-by dates on milk in Bermuda?

I have just finished throwing away a gallon of milk bought from a gas station that was off. This has happened to me a number of times and there is no way of telling when you purchased your milk how long it has been sitting in the store.

Drinking milk that is not fresh can be dangerous for the elderly, young children, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems. It is also a waste of money!

Also, stores in Bermuda regularly sell food past its sell-by date or have food (especially salad items) that are due to expire that day. Is this allowed?

Please could someone enlighten me?

CONSUMER

Warwick

Belco bills beyond belief

January 15, 2009

Dear Sir,

Having just received my January Belco bill, I see my fuel adjustment charge would buy me 12 barrels of oil at current prices!

Just how many ship loads of the world's most expensive oil did the "Belco Bozos" actually buy?

In July the fuel adjustment was 70 percent of the energy charges while in January it was 76%.

I just wish I was still in the oil business with customers like Belco … I would have made a killing!

JR EWING

Devonshire