Government Senator LaVerne Furbert last night lambasted opponents of the Rosewood Tucker’s Point SDO and hit back at suggestions she’s “dancing to the white man’s tune”.Sen Furbert earned several rebukes from Senate President Carol Ann Bassett for making personal attacks on Senate colleagues in an emotional speech which ranged from furious to jovial.The Progressive Labour Party stalwart so annoyed she admitted she needed to calm down at one point declared herself irritated at campaigners honking their horns outside the Cabinet building and breaking her home computer by bombarding her with e-mails.She claimed such protests don’t happen in rival Caribbean destinations and are harming Bermuda’s tourism industry.And she was enraged at Bermuda Sun columnist Larry Burchall’s claim black Government Senators were dancing to the tune of white man Ed Trippe, the president of Tucker’s Point.“I hate to bring up the race card, but it’s been brought up here. I don’t know if I can trust that white man,” she said of Mr Trippe’s promises in a private meeting she held with him and PLP Senator Cromwell Shakir.Sen Furbert had begun her speech by labelling protesters “disingenuous” for saying environmentalists have not been consulted over the amendments to the SDO.“I would consider myself to be an environmentalist,” she said.“One day you can come to my yard and see I’m concerned for the environment. I speak for the birds. I’m sure other people around this table speak for the birds.“To say it’s one person in 65,000 in Bermuda that are concerned for the environment is not true.”She then sparked a row with United Bermuda Party Senator Suzann Roberts Holshouser, by saying: “It’s obvious to me after listening to the presentation by Senator Holshouser that she did not read the first bill.”Interrupting on a point of order, Senator Roberts-Holshouser replied: “My first copy has been highlighted left, right and centre because I did read it, thank you very much.”As Sen Furbert began saying why she believed Sen Roberts Holshouser hadn’t read the bill, she was stopped by Senate President Carol Ann Bassett, who urged her to get back to the topic of the debate.Sen Furbert stressed the SDO does not grant permission for Tucker’s Point to build anything.“It needs to be clarified here, because confusion is out there in the community,” she said.“It really irritates me. It’s really getting on my nerves and making it almost impossible for me to make a proper presentation here.”In an apparent reference to honking horns outside Cabinet, Sen Bassett agreed: “I’m ready to reach for my Tylenol myself.”Sen Furbert then threatened to give protesters such as former conservation officer David Wingate a taste of their own medicine, by saying: “I’m going to park my brand new car outside their hall and toot until they finish.”She then said she wanted to address allegations of Government corruption, before moving on to the subject of race.“There are some people in our community that believe somebody is getting something to put in their back pocket from Tucker’s Point so this SDO can go through,” she said.“They have said it. Yes, I do read the blogs. They continue to say my Government is corrupt. They don’t only say it about Dr [Ewart] Brown, they say it about other people.“Whether Tucker’s Point is an honest broker, I don’t know. Whether Mr Trippe is an honest man, I don’t know that. I couldn’t say that.“He could have been acting. Some people like to act. Mr Trippe might have been acting when he met with Senator Shakir and I.“I hate to bring up the race card, but it’s been brought up here. I don’t know if I can trust that white man.”She responded to Mr Burchall’s Wednesday column, in which he had indicated Mr Trippe had wound Government around his finger to get what he wants to get.“According to one writer, who’s married to a white woman, this black Government is dancing to a white man’s tune,” she said.“I’m often accused of playing the race card. In this debate, which is part of a public debate, there have been four main players of the race card.”These, she said, were two black men, a white woman and a white man: environmentalist Stuart Hayward, Mr Burchall, Lynne Winfield of anti-racism group CURB and protest organiser Ray Charlton.As UBP Senator Michael Dunkley urged her to stick to the SDO, Sen Furbert replied: “I’m speaking for the people.“I’m saying my people in my community, that I know what they feel and how they are feeling about this whole issue about the Tucker’s Town SDO. It’s not only Mr Hayward. It’s not only Dr Wingate or Ms Winfield or Mr Charlton that care about the SDO.“Mr Charlton comes on the radio, who by the way, works for one of the investors I understand. If that man is to call that radio station, two, three or four times a day, the only reason I know it’s him is because he says, ‘This is Ray Charlton.’”Stopped by Sen Bassett once more, Sen Furbert continued: “I do digress. As everyone says, this is an emotional issue. I’m very emotional. I’m very passionate about my Country going forward.“I hate to get emotional, so I’m just going to calm down a bit before I get back to the discussion.”Sen Furbert then spoke of her concerns for 300 Bermudians she said worked at Tucker’s Point and claimed Sen Dunkley had been complaining about “the usual things” on the failing tourism industry.Sen Bassett intervened again, telling Sen Furbert: “Please avoid personalities. This is a very emotional debate. I’m going to give as much leeway as I feel appropriate so everyone can express themselves.“To ensure the debate is at a level that it should be, please stay away from personalities and continue.”Sen Furbert responded: “I wouldn’t dare attack Senator Dunkley,” drawing laughter from the Upper House including the former UBP leader himself.Sen Dunkley said he had pointed out Bermuda is 21st out of 28 Caribbean countries in a tourism league table.Sen Furbert said: “To my understanding, the reason Bermuda is not doing as well ... I have been to St Kitts, I have seen hotel developments. I don’t see when a hotel is being developed and when the Government puts forward to assist, you do not see a group of protesters walking in front of a hotel saying, ‘Don’t build a hotel.’“We don’t see it in Barbados, we don’t see it in the Bahamas. I don’t think you will see it anywhere in the world where the Country wants to build hotels, we don’t see people saying, ‘Don’t build a hotel.’“That must be one reason why Bermuda is 21st out of 28. I don’t think I would want to come to this Country, to deal with people tooting horns when I’m trying to invest in a project giving people jobs.”Sen Furbert urged complainants to contribute to the Buy Back Bermuda campaign instead of clogging up her e-mail inbox and breaking her home computer.She said: “To all of those people in Bermuda who have written me, caused me to have a problem with my computer at home, yes I have asked Senator Burt to come to my house tomorrow to look at it I’m having issues. I don’t like that. My computer is how I make my money. I’m a writer.“I would like to encourage Bermudians who are concerned about open space to get involved with the Buy Back Bermuda campaign.If each of 2,500 protesters donated $100, that would raise $250,000, she said.Switching back to Mr Burchall’s column, Sen Furbert continued: “I’m a marionette, a black puppet dancing to a white man’s tune.“He called us, ‘Those people in Government who supported the SDO.’“Some people may not know how to read. I know some people don’t buy the Bermuda Sun simply because of Larry Burchall.”She described Mr Burchall’s comments as “extremely offensive”, adding: “I’m not a person who has my strings pulled.”On the suggestion she was dancing with the white man, she joked: “At this stage of my life I will dance with anyone. I don’t care if they are black or white. I just want to dance.”