Too much impartiality is a bad thing

I always enjoy reading Tom Vesey’s columns in the Bermuda Sun. He has a knack for distilling issues to their essential components, and presenting them in a clear, common-sense manner with which it's almost impossible to disagree.

This week, however, he was trying so hard to be impartial that he dropped an uncharacteristic clanger:

“The PLP is widely seen as the black party. Virtually no whites vote for it, let alone join it.

The UBP is widely seen as the white party. Although it is well-integrated, a huge percentage of black Bermudians will have nothing to do with it.

These problems are self-perpetuating: The absence of whites from the PLP make it less attractive to whites, while the absence of blacks from the UBP make it less attractive to blacks.”

Here’s the thing: there is no absence of blacks in the UBP. Mr. Vesey conceded the same in the previous paragraph, when he described it as “well-integrated”.

Both parties are flawed. But let’s not pretend that these flaws are equal. While the PLP’s problems are problems of substance, the UBP’s are mostly problems of perception.

Not only is the PLP not well-integrated but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that it does not wish to be. When PLP MPs and Senators use hateful racial epithets, their comments are not disowned by the party’s leadership. Indeed, the party’s leaders use them too.

You never hear that kind of language from the members of the UBP. I don’t believe that any of their MPs or Senators has a racist bone in their bodies. I believe they genuinely want equality of opportunity for all, regardless of skin colour. The UBP’s problem is that they are perceived poorly by much of the black community because of what has been done in their name in years gone by. Moreover, their obsession with this perception has led the party to make some decisions which, while well-intentioned, have only reinforced the suspicion among some that they are more concerned with their appearance than what they stand for. The Shadow Ministry for Race Relations and Economic Empowerment is a perfect example.

Nevertheless, I’ll take a well-intentioned but incompetent party over an incompetent, bitter, and divisive one any day of the week.

Comments

[White Bread on 10.01.06 at 10:36]

Divisive is the best way to describe the PLP.
and this will definitely come back to bite them one day.

You can succeed only so far by knocking the other guys down. Eventually you have to prove your metal by doing something positive.

PLP will never do this since they are stuck in the past and they need the crutch of being able to moan about white people.

Very sad.

[Roll Eyes on 10.01.06 at 10:51]

"You never hear that kind of language from the members of the UBP. I don’t believe that any of their MPs or Senators has a racist bone in their bodies. I believe they genuinely want equality of opportunity for all, regardless of skin colour."

Two sides of the same coin, Mr. Wells. You never heard that kind of language from the UBP of the 1960's, 70's or 80's either. So what does that tell you? By your litmus test, perhaps you'd like us to believe that they never had racist bone in their body? I bet you think that Dubuya is bringing freedom to Iraq too, eh?

The PLP is terrible, but don't obtusely put the UBP on a pedastal, because they have been much better had hiding what they are really about. What's with the overly-simplistic analysis? Bermuda needs to get rid of both parties - there is no question of that.

[wklc on 10.01.06 at 11:31]

I had a bit of respect for you before, Limey, at least for providing a forum for discussion.

And I realize that the views of the posters (whichever side they support) is not always indicative of your opinion.

However, lately I have noticed that most of your topics are anti-PLP and anti-government from the onset, slanted intentionally to gear the discussion one way or another. But still, I figured at least people can discuss their opinions.

But then I read this one today and I am stunned. Are you really going to say that you believe the UBP is not or has never been racist just because they may not be hurling racial slurs across the airwaves. I am in no way condoning racial slurs or racist remarks, but you cannot possibly be so naive that you believe that simply because they haven't said them, that they might not exist. Surely your history of journalism etc has opened your eyes a bit.

"You never hear that kind of language from the members of the UBP. I don’t believe that any of their MPs or Senators has a racist bone in their bodies. I believe they genuinely want equality of opportunity for all, regardless of skin colour. "

I cannot believe that you actually believe that statement. I am disappointed in you. I expected more.

I do not expect you to support the PLP, it's obvious your disgust for them, but to place the UBP on a pedestal as the ideal is crazy. This of course is in my opinion.

[Tiger Bay on 10.01.06 at 11:49]

Thus we waddle on bitching about who may be the more racist party, and totally ignoring the undeniable facts that bad governance and bad management are undermining both our economy and our community.

[Simon on 10.01.06 at 11:49]

Limey, while the UBP might not be overtly saying these things, you can not conclude from that, that none of the MPs are racist. I think they are wisely letting the PLP shoot themselves in the foot (hopefully) with their continued racial attacks and I am sure there are enough intelligent PLP supporters to show the government that this is just not acceptable and vote them out of office at the next election. The only problem being that Bermuda does not have a capable opposition to take the reins and get this country back on track.

[SmokingGun on 10.01.06 at 12:11]

"I don’t believe that any of their MPs or Senators has a racist bone in their bodies." - Limey

I have to agree with the consensus on this line Limey. Bones maybe not but occassional thoughts, for sure. I think the fact that the PLP acts in such a racially devisive manner paints the UBP in a much better light. But I wouldn't imagine there are saints walking amongst us. I respect the fact that they try to have a proper mix of race in their party and work together but I don't for one instance believe they are not humans.

[Uncle Elvis on 10.01.06 at 12:17]

Unfortunately, neither of the parties is going to go away, no matter how hard we try. That's a fact, Jack.

So what do we do? Defend with attacks. We need to stop doing that.

"...is not or has never been..."

He didn't say "Has never been..." those are your words.

I think the point of all this is the phrase, "... the absence of blacks from the UBP...".
It's just completely untrue.

Ok, so the sentence, " don’t believe that any of their MPs or Senators has a racist bone in their bodies" was a little over the top, expecially after all the discussions we all have had here regarding the fact that we're all, to some degree, a little bit racist. Having said that, I do agree that, in the later years, the UBP has been more about integration than the PLP. I do believe that some of the more high-profile members of the PLP ARE racist and those that aren't use race for their own means.

All El Limeyo was doing was calling Mr. Vesey on what he saw as flawed thinking. I gotta agree with him on this.

"...the absence of blacks from the UBP... " is just an incorrect statement.

[tilti on 10.01.06 at 12:26]

we've talked here about institutional racism, and while I do think that some UBP members are racist, the party is not institutionally racist in the way that the PLP is. That is significant here.

Limey is still saying that the UBP are incompetent, but they are not divisive and exclusive.

[J Starling on 10.01.06 at 12:43]

I am a white guy and have been a member of the PLP since I turned 18 just prior to the 1998 election. I have attended party branch meetings, secretariat meeetings and other party functions. Despite my blazing bright wonderful white skin I have not once been made to feel discriminated against within the party. I recognise and take offence when I do hear members of the executive spout forth racialist nonsense, and have criticised them both within the party and in public for this and other faults, while defending the good that remains of progressive labour. The secret to this racialist epithets lays in the great secret of the PLP leadership. This secret is, and let them expel me if they wish for saying that the emperor has no clothes, is that on all practical issues the PLP today is no different than the UBP of yesterday. The PLP pretty much usurped the UBP's mantle for its own and other than being less skilled at spin and cover-ups has continued to govern as incompetently as the UBP. To many within the PLP we see only one party, the UBPLP, who argue in public over trivialities, superficial things rather than actual policies and programs. The great historical mission of the PLP government to date has been to demonstrate that a 'black' party can govern as ineptly as a 'white' party. Afraid of the general membership confirming their suspicions as fact the leadership spews forth all manner of nonsense, primarily racialism but also occaisonal spiritualism to cover up their naked UBPness. This figleaf of black nationalism however is growing threadbare and many are now calling for a return of the PLP as opposed to this abomination of UBPLPness.

[SmokingGun on 10.01.06 at 13:00]

"and many are now calling for a return of the PLP"

Ah Ha! So even the brethren haven't got a clue as to where the heck our esteemed political leaders have been all this time.

No comment from Minister (insert name here) as they are off the island.

Actually a UBPLP Party might just be the way to go.......

[Uncle Elvis on 10.01.06 at 13:11]

"Actually a UBPLP Party might just be the way to go"

Good lord. Now THERE'S a frightening thought!

[Phil on 10.01.06 at 13:26]

Tiger Bay

Tom Vesey's column was prompted by the emergence of Khalid Wasi's All Bermuda Congress and its stated aim of eliminating racial politics from Bermuda. I completely sympathise with his aim, and until it is achieved the Island as a whole is going to spend a lot less time taking about bad management and bad governance than it should.

However Mr. Wasi says he wants to achieve that goal by eliminating the UBP. In my view, he's targeting the wrong party. Even if he succeeds in his aim it will not end racial politics in Bermuda because it will do little to change the attitudes of Colonel Burch and the others in the PLP who share his views.

wklc/Roll Eyes

I'm sorry to have disappointed you. I'm just sick of the need to soften any criticism of the PLP with criticism of the UBP in order for PLP supporters to not immediately dismiss you as a dyed-in-the-wool UBP supporter. I felt the same pressure when I was writing my columns for the Gazette. I thought it was time to be more direct.

I did not say that I believe that the UBP has never been racist. I wouldn't like to comment on what the UBP was like during the time it was in power, not having been here to see it myself. But neither do I care much. What I care about is whether the UBP is racist today. Why? Because if the UBP wins the next election it will be the UBP as it is today that takes up the reins of power, not the UBP as it was in 1998 or before. Perhaps they are the same. But I will judge them on what they are saying and doing today, not what the said or did in years gone by.

I do not think the UBP are not racist solely because they are not making statements like Colonel Burch's. I have come to that opinion through talking to some of them, and looking at the things that they are doing. But perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps if a black person tried to rent an apartment from one of them, they would refuse him because of his race. Perhaps some of them secretly harbour a dislike or contempt for black people. But I have seen no evidence of that. None. And I like to assume people are innocent until I have some evidence to suggest otherwise. You are offering none.

Do I think they are saints? Am I putting them on a pedestral? No. As Elvis says, we've had discussions here before about how even those who do not think they are racist may subconsciously harbour racist attitudes. But what concerns me is whether any of them are consciously racist - because if they are not, I at least know that they will try to suppress any subconscious racist thoughts that may surface. And so far I've heard nothing to suggest that they are.

Perhaps the UBP are just hiding their racist tendencies well. But if someone is consciously racist, evidence of that is likely to slip out one way or another, be it in a comment or something they do. And if it does not - as even Tim Wise acknowledged - then it's of little consequence. If Colonel Burch et al kept their racist comments to themselves and just did a damn good job of running the country then I wouldn't worry about what they really thought of white people. As long as they weren't allowing their prejudices to dictate their behaviour, I wouldn't care.

Do the UBP obsess about how the black community perceives them? Yes. Do they sometimes lack the spine to do the right thing? Certainly. Are some of their supporters racists? Yes.

But are the party's racial hangups as bad as those of the PLP? Sorry, but I don't believe they are.

[Phil on 10.01.06 at 13:34]

J Starling

Black PLP supporters sometimes say that the reason more white people don't joing the PLP is because they're afraid of the ostracism they will get from their family and friends as a result.

How bad was the persecution you received?

[Uncle Elvis on 10.01.06 at 13:47]

"If Colonel Burch et al kept their racist comments to themselves and just did a damn good job of running the country..."

Hell, I'd settle for them just running the country properly.

[Roll Eyes on 10.01.06 at 13:56]

To say that they don't have a racist bone in their body because they don't publicly say bad things is absurd - they never have. Limey's "proof" is laughable. It always has been laughable. The UBP has had an "integrated leadership" and won several elections with the assistance of black voters. The question today is as it always has been - does the appearance of the UBP really speak to its intentions? Well, if the UBP's own black members keep wondering if they are being used, I can hardly see merit in condemning Tom Vesey's comment. Limey believes that the UBP is well-intentioned, and that is all fine and dandy. Others have wisely been questioning the merit of appearances and seek more substantial proof of a political party's real ambitions. Just a suggestion - columns like this lead people to distrust the UBP more.

[Roll Eyes on 10.01.06 at 14:12]

"I'm sorry to have disappointed you. I'm just sick of the need to soften any criticism of the PLP with criticism of the UBP in order for PLP supporters to not immediately dismiss you as a dyed-in-the-wool UBP supporter. I felt the same pressure when I was writing my columns for the Gazette. I thought it was time to be more direct. "

Mumble, mumble, mumble, horseshit. No one is asking you to soften your criticism of the PLP. The problem is the lack of logic in your criticism. Your basis for saying the UBP doesn't have a racist bone in their body was both exaggerated and lazy - plain and simple, to the point of being annoying. You are saying that we should judge them on face value, which demonstrates a complete lack of comprehension of the history of Bermuda politics. Taking parties on face value IS the problem, and Tom Vesey tried to make that point.

If you are going to criticise another columnist for spreading ignorance, do so without spreading your own.

[Amin Swan on 10.01.06 at 15:24]

With all the back and forth comments about PLP/UBP, whose racist who not, haven't we been around this bush before? We need a solution and fast! I don't think that any party in power will DOOM Bermuda, but I do think that the PLP are running the country in a very sloppy manner,however, the thought of the UBP in power equally spooks me - what is the answer?What is the solution? Can someone answer this question...

[White Bread on 10.01.06 at 15:43]

I think probably a better way of LIB saying it would have been:

"You never hear that kind of language from the members of the UBP. I don’t believe that any of their MPs or Senators are overtly racist as the PLP so clearly are. I believe they genuinely want equality of opportunity for all, regardless of skin colour".

[Alcofrolics on 10.01.06 at 15:47]

Roll Eyes, what you appear to be saying is that neither actions nor words speak louder, but the "deeper meaning" that some people could infer from what political parties (although not the current members of them) have done in the past is the most important. And this past history, that they have actively gone out of their way to change to reflect the views of the current members of the party, and that of society, and not the people who are pretty much dead now, is more important and should be more of a factor in Bermuda politics that the blatant, outspoken racism that the PLP has shown.
You say that the UBP are hiding their racist tendencies, to which I would reply how do you know? Some PLP members have come out there with all their racist guns blazing and the party has said nothing to distance itself from these people. That pretty much says that they support the things that were said and therefore are a racist party. The UBP however, have not said these things, have not performed any actions that show them to be racist (the current members, not the previous incarnation) and yet you say that deep down they are, that they are thinking racist thoughts. Not acting on them in any way, but still, according to you they are thinking them. You should share with everyone how you developed these wonderful telepathy skills!

[loki on 10.01.06 at 15:59]

Round of applause for 'Alcofrolics', methinks. Nail/head interface.

[sleepy on 10.01.06 at 16:01]

It never ceases to amaze me how today's UBP members are vilified for unspoken and unspecified racism which is somehow considered at least on par, if not worse, than the PLP's overt and repeated racist statements and behaviour.

[SmokingGun on 10.01.06 at 16:04]

"But are the party's racial hangups as bad as those of the PLP? Sorry, but I don't believe they are." - Limey

And I do not think anyone would disagree with you there. Not even the PLP supporters. OK other than Ol' Roll Eyes who would prefer we all just stay stuck in the past century.

I'm sorry but if a party is created and shows solidarity through an effort to be inclusive of all people it's gads better than the PLP's version of spiteful racial disharmony. I'm not saying I'm a big fan of the UBP - I don't see the leadership and game plan to convince me they have it together - but I'm finding I have less and less time to even listen to anything the PLP have to say without thinking it's a lie.

And what worries me is that the more they continue with it the more likely people are going to assume all black supporters of the PLP think and feel the same. The level of distrust will become unbearable.

[loki on 10.01.06 at 16:12]

What's interesting is that the PLP-apologists who accuse the UBP of, as sleepy quite rightly puts it 'unspoken and unspecified racism', are the same people who like to throw the 'Uncle Tom' label at blacks in the UBP, who are also the same people who would be accusing the UBP of being institutionally racist if it didn't have black members. The UBP's damned if it does, damned if it don't: if it behaved in the manner in which it did when it was in power, they'd be accusing it of being a bastion of white privilege; so the UBP reinvents itself as an inclusive party for the common man and actively (and successfully) encourages racial diversity in the party, and it is accused of being a wolf in sheeps clothing that only uses blacks as window-dressing. I really do despair sometimes.

[JJ on 10.01.06 at 16:18]

I'd like to hear more of J.Starling's experiences. Correct me I'm wrong, but I think he (or she) is the only example of a white PLP member who has ever contributed to this blog. Limey?

[Bill Cook on 10.01.06 at 16:28]

Limey,

You should have guessed that your commentary would have the more ardent PLP supporters shitting in their pants with displeasure !

I dislike cutting and pasting as it often takes things out of context just as it is meant to in many instances.

I am a member of the UBP though I do not speak for them and it is unlikely that I am a source of great comfort to the party as I tend not to be an ass kisser who does not critizise.

Common sense would indicate that if the UBP were racist they would have been doomed to failure in the past present and future owing to the demographics.

It was and will forever be incumbent on the UBP to be seen as fully inclusive of all the people and in particular the black population.

This preoccupation of the UBP sometimes backfires as they take it upon themselves to decide how black people think on given issues.

One can have some sympathy for them in regard to this as in order to stay in government they have to be seen as including non whites and their requirements and expectations in their policies.

The truth in my personal opinion is that most thinking Bermudians regardless of colour etc really want the same things and will in the final analysis respect the party that does what is morally correct not what is politically expedient.
Oh they may sometimes go along with some deviation of this but not without a guilty feeling.

I have attended many UBP meetings and think that I am a reasonably perceptive person and for some considerable period of time have seen a genuine attempt to honestly try to enbrace and welcome black members into the party.

To say that every or even most white members of the UBP are totally without some racial feeling would be unrealistic but in my opinion the majority recognise that the future will see a majority of the party as black in all liklihood though not neccessarily so but most probably and I agree with that viewpoint.

Rather than this stupid pro and con whichever party the proper stance I feel is to hold whichever party is in power to a high standard of ACCOUNTABILITY rather than trying vainly to excuse or justify absolutely intolerable and incompetent behaviour as is the case with the present government and its apologists.

That attitude will ensure more of the same ad finatum.

There are times that I feel that if a new party emerged with its primary platform APATHY it would win hands down !!

[Roll Eyes on 10.01.06 at 16:39]

Alcofrolics,

What you say is so off base and convoluted that you've made my head hurt. How you got from point A to point XY is just remarkable. Let me clarify for you. The PLP making racist statements is proof of them having racial problems. The UBP not making racist statements is not proof of them being free of racial problems. Proposing that a political party is what they claim to be is sheer lunacy. I call Limey's test into question - nothing more.

Do any of you remember Alex Scott's recent words on unity and harmony? This is the same guy that won't pull the Col over the carpet for the house nigger comment. Moral of the story is that words mean nothing. You have a history of black and white UBP MPs calling the party into question over race. That alone tells you that you can't take the the UBP at face value.

[Bill Cook on 10.01.06 at 16:39]

JJ

Starling is a "GUY" and says same in his post.

He is a GUY who sometimes shares a similar philosophy as I do with regard to the war and mid east policies of the US and is active in this regard etc.

Hope this helps a little.

[Uncle Elvis on 10.01.06 at 16:49]

"Moral of the story is that words mean nothing..."

Wow. Just... wow.

Words. Mean. Nothing.

That scares me. A lot.

[Roll Eyes on 10.01.06 at 16:55]

"Common sense would indicate that if the UBP were racist they would have been doomed to failure in the past present and future owing to the demographics."

No it wouldn't. Just look at the PLP. They have been racially hostile for some time, but there are a lot of good, moral people who still vote for them. Political parties get voted in/out for a wide range of reasons, and to say that demographics is the deal breaker is to insinuate that PLP voters are as hostile as Col Burch. Try to explain J Starling's involvement if PR and demographics were the be all and end all to the issue. There are PLP supporters who are disgusted by the current leadership, but who will still vote PLP at the next election. Are you going to claim that they too are racist, or are you willing to concede that this is far more complex than demographics and what politicians say in public?

You hit the hammer on the nail when you wrote, "To say that every or even most white members of the UBP are totally without some racial feeling would be unrealistic..."

[Alcofrolics on 10.01.06 at 17:03]

"The UBP not making racist statements is not proof of them being free of racial problems".

I believe the Limey clarified that people acknowledge that most people have some racist tendencies, but it is the actions of people that make the most difference. The actions of the PLP have shown them to be racist. The actions of the current UBP have not.

Once again, Roll Eyes, you harp back to the history of the UBP and although they said one thing, their actions said another. The point people are trying to make is that the current UBP (once again NOT their historical counterparts) are not making racist statements, but their actions are also not racist.

You can say words don't matter and I agree that people can say one thing and act another, but what I am saying is that the current UBP have not shown this. Their actions match their words. Your argument to this is that "You have a history of black and white UBP MPs calling the party into question over race", with the relevant word there being HISTORY, not current actions.

I think the main problem for the UBP is that there is a segment of people who cannot see that the history is the past and not what is happening now. History is worth remembering to be learnt from, but it is not the present and things change.

[JJ on 10.01.06 at 17:18]

I am obliged to you Bill for pointing out that J.Starling did indeed mention the word "guy" in referring to himself.
Your comments as to his feelings on the current world order are somewhat off topic.
My post was suggesting that as the only (I think) white member of the PLP who has ever posted on this blog it would interesting to hear more about his experiences as member.
For instance, has he ever taken part in discussions about their political doctrine? Did he join the PLP because he believed that they offered the best political answers to the country's problems as a (presumably) left of centre party only to realise that Bermuda politics has zip to do with political ldeals, beliefs etc and revolves totally around race?

[Amin Swan on 10.01.06 at 17:18]

Alcofrlics,

Ok your point is taken, but the UBP has done nothing to-date that has me doing kart wheels and bitting my nails in anticipation of voting for them in the next election. From what I can remember of them (UBP)is ,in fact History, but's it's all I have to go on at this point.

[Roll Eyes on 10.01.06 at 17:18]

You'll get no argument from me that the UBP message is vastly superior to the PLP. But what you are saying is that trees don't fall in the forest because we don't hear them fall. To say that they haven't got a racist bone in their body because they have not made racial statemetns took it too far. The PLP's plantation and house nigger comments are far off base from their actual govt parties. If words were what matters most, then you'd never see something like the LTRs issue being settled by the PLP. You have to admit that the Plantation comment and the LTR initiative does not at all come together. Exactly what are the PLP's racist policies? Exactly what are they doing to oppress whites? The language they use simply does not correlate to what they have done. This is the real point.

[Bill Cook on 10.01.06 at 17:21]

If the UBP were racist it is unlikely that they would have gotten such wide support in the last two elections.

29,516 people voted and the PLP garnered 15,222 while the UBP got 14,142

In my opinion this showed that 1/3 of all UBP voters were non white voters app that is.

When you look at how much race was used in the run up to the election by the PLP that was quite an achievement I feel.

The PLP can get away with using race as a platform but the UBP simply cannot thats what I am saying.

[J Starling on 10.01.06 at 17:28]

In response to the Limeys question concerning my reception amongst family and friends on my joining the PLP I will say only that we do have some interesting and sometimes heated discussions on this or that topic. Some agree with me, others don't, and sometimes I agree with them. At the end of the day however we are all mature enough to respect each others opinion. My cousin or my friend are still my cousin and my friend at the end of the day. The biggest fear my friends and family had to be honest, and one I shared, was whether or not I would be blacklisted from jobs but this has not been the case. Had I joined and been active within the PLP as an opposition party however, well, thats another question altogether.

In response to JJ, Bill Cook is correct, I am a guy and he and I do agree on various issues, such as the US mid-east policies as he wrote. He is a member of the UBP as I read from his post, and we do of course disagree on some issues. Such is life, and there is much value in these discussions between opposite viewpoints.

Roll Eyes is quite correct in his comments. The PLP is a lot more than Col Burch, and even though I have some great disagreements with the current leadership (not to mention the one before), I would still go out and canvass and vote for the PLP if an election was called tomorrow. There is a growing number of PLP members who are feeling betrayed by the leadership and this represents a threat to Scott et al. Bellicose statements of racialism and spiritual mumbo jumbo on the part of the leadership are a sign of weakness on the part of the leadership. They are falling back to the old war cries of the past in a hope to rekindle the support of the party. But nostalgia is simply not good enough. The defeat of the racial oligarchy is accomplished, but in its ruins the leadership seeks to erect a new racial oligarchy and conceal this fact with their racialism. The leadership must come to terms with the fact that most of the under-40s in my opinion don't give two figs about race but care a lot about a living wage, decent education, decent healthcare, the cost of living and housing, the impact of our affluenza on the islands environment and the growing alienation of the youth. If Messrs Scott and Burch wish to beat the racial war drum, let them do so in their retirement home and lets get the PLP back on track on the above issues.

[SmokingGun on 10.01.06 at 17:28]

What strikes me funny is that when people question Limey's suggestion that the members of the UBP don't have a racist bone in their bodies it's always about the white members. Please don't forget that black members are just as entitled to be human as well.

[Bill Cook on 10.01.06 at 17:39]

The LTR issue was never settled by the PLP.

This was set up by the UBP prior to losing in 1998.

All the PLP did was to implement the policy.

However when they had a chance to do that which was morally correct rather than that which was politically expedient they balked.

What they did was to grant status to all LTR who were registered voters already so they had nothing to lose or gain by granting them status.

Those other LTR were not granted status but were given residency type certificates even if they had in fact been here longer than those who were reg voters.

In my opinion they missed a great opportunity to really score big on this one for their long term credibility.

Even so all plaudits to them for what they did do and implement.

[J Starling on 10.01.06 at 17:47]

A quick reply to JJ who asks me:

Did he join the PLP because he believed that they offered the best political answers to the country's problems as a (presumably) left of centre party only to realise that Bermuda politics has zip to do with political ldeals, beliefs etc and revolves totally around race?

I did join the PLP because I believed and still believe that they offer the best political answers to the country. Bermuda politics will only have zip to do with political ideals and continue to revolve around race as long we allow it to. I personally fight against the racialism of certain PLP factions as best I can and argue for what I understand to be workers democracy and a genuine progressive labour platform. Others who share my beliefs also do the same in the party, although I admit some have become demoralised and left the party in apathy. Should they read this I ask them to return to the party. As much as the leadership seeks to castrate the party grassroots it has not been successful in this, and it is not to late to take back the party from the oppurtunists.

[Phil on 10.01.06 at 18:07]

JJ

J Starling is indeed, as far as I am aware, the only white member of the PLP to comment here.

J Starling

I'm glad to hear that there is a growing number of members of the PLP who are unhappy with the leadership's use of race. I hope that you'll be able to find a way to rid the party of the divisive voices that are doing so much damage to its image.

Amin

I too am dissatisfied by the UBP's overall performance. In this post I was specifically addressing Tom Vesey's implication that when it comes to race the PLP and UBP are as bad as each other.

You're also right that what's important is finding a way to lift Bermudian politics out of the racial mire. I think that the most likely way that this will happen is by means of a change within the PLP. At some point the PLP will have to evolve into a more modern party and ditch its baggage from the past (just as the UK Labour Party had to do) or it will find itself unelectable.

Alcofrolics

Well said. You replied to Roll Eyes much more succinctly than I'm about to.

Roll Eyes

I take your point that the PLP are not enacting policies to oppress whites. But the words of Col. Burch and the like do matter because of the impression they create, and the Premier's failure to condemn them is just as damaging to the party's image.

Your basis for saying the UBP doesn't have a racist bone in their body was both exaggerated and lazy - plain and simple, to the point of being annoying. You are saying that we should judge them on face value

No. I'm saying we should judge them on what they are saying and doing today. How would you judge them? On hearsay? On rumour and innuendo? On what a different group of people operating under the same name did a decade or more ago?

You're asking me to prove a negative: that the UBP are not racist. Thank God our court system doesn't operate under a similar burden of proof.

When was the last time you spoke to any of the current crop of black UBP MPs? Have you ever asked any of them whether they believe they are being used? I have. And those with whom I spoke (which I admit was only a couple) just laughed at the suggestion.

Now perhaps their opinions are not typical. Perhaps they lied to me. Or perhaps they are being used and they just don't realise it. But since I have no evidence to suggest any of these possibilities are true I'm inclined to take them at their word. Perhaps that makes me naive. But I'd rather be naive than spend my entire life looking for reasons to mistrust and disbelieve people. That's just too damn exhausting.

And before you suggest that this is just a self-serving argument to stop myself seeing the awful truth about the UBP, know that I apply the same standards to the members of the PLP. For example, I don't think Paula Cox is racist because I have never heard her utter a racial slur or act in a racist manner. Ditto for Dean Foggo. That doesn't mean that they aren't, it just means that I am going to assume the best of them until I hear anything to suggest otherwise.

Here's the rub. Even if the blacks in the UBP are being used, Tom Vesey's comment would still be incorrect. He said that there is an absence of blacks in the UBP. There is not. Lack of support by blacks? Yes. Absence of blacks? No.

You hit the hammer on the nail when you wrote, "To say that every or even most white members of the UBP are totally without some racial feeling would be unrealistic..."

Indeed, but to say that every human is totally without some racial feeling would be unrealistic. What matters is whether it's overt and embraced or subconscious and rejected. Tim Wise admitted that when he got on a plane once and saw the pilots were black his first instinct (rapidly suppressed by his rational mind) was "can these guys fly this thing?". If he was running in your constituency would you refuse to vote for him because of that, even despite his conscious efforts to promote understanding between the races?

[Slowhand on 10.01.06 at 21:11]

Isn't it interesting that there are people who are willing to vote in AGAIN a party that has had several leading members make recent overt and public racial comments, yet will not have anything to do with another party that is promoting racial harmony and has not been known to make any racial comments at any time. The reasoning behind all this? Because that party is Racist!!!
What could someone deduce from this reasoning?!!!

[loki on 10.01.06 at 22:58]

It's interesting: Uncle Elvis was criticized on here the other day for supposedly suggesting (he actually didn't) that whites didn't have any power in Bermuda. The comment, as I recall, was that 'it wasn't even worth addressing', or words to that effect, because Elvis was so obviously wrong. I'm having the same attitude to this thread, actually: after the sheer number of overtly racist statements and actions by members of this disgrace for a government over the past eight years, how can anyone doubt that this government is not racist? How can the PLP not be deemed blatantly institutionally racist? Has anyone in the PLP or in government openly spoken out against the vile comments of that odious hypocrite and professional race-baiter known as David Burch? No. How anyone can maintain a straight face whilst denying the racism of this government and the PLP beggars belief, it really does.

[SmokingGun on 10.01.06 at 23:05]

"It's official. The PLP is a racist organisation."

As qouted by Chris Broadhurst on September 3rd, 2005.

His opening line as a new guest writer on alib. I guess CB had it right the first time.....

[Uncle Elvis on 10.01.06 at 23:09]

Wait. I did what, now?

[sandgrownan on 11.01.06 at 08:47]

Just in response to a number of threads here and perhaps might offer some explanation to the impasse...I have a feeling that many in the PLP (not all) and many PLP supporters believe that in order to be Bermudian you have to be black. In other words they don't consider white Bermudians as "real" Bermudians.

There is evidence of this: Roban on the TV saying that the CURE legislation helps all Bermudians, when in fact we all know that the CURE forms differentiate on skin colour or whether your folks came from the Azores. Additionally, P saying it was good at last to have a Bermudian Commissioner of Police. Well, a) he is a status Bermudian, not born here (not that it matters udner the law) and b) wasn't the former Commisioner Bermudian too?

Maybe I read too much in these comments but if there is some truth to the hypothesis, then we're all pissing into the wind.

[Roll Eyes on 11.01.06 at 09:26]

"If the UBP were racist it is unlikely that they would have gotten such wide support in the last two elections."

If it's so simple then how then do you explain the PLP potentially winning a 3rd election? Is it because their supporters do have an anti-white agenda as expressed in the plantation and house nigger remarks? Or is it much more complex than that?

"No. I'm saying we should judge them on what they are saying and doing today. How would you judge them? On hearsay? On rumour and innuendo? On what a different group of people operating under the same name did a decade or more ago?"

According to you, despite having some of the same old guard members and officers and the same financiers, the UBP should only be judged by its current crop of candidates. That is remarkably superficial. The UBP is much more than its current crop of candidates and the PR disasters it has managed to avoid over the past seven years. You are judging them on what you have seen them say and do in the last few years. I am arguing that it is ridiculous to claim that there are absolutely no race problems in the UBP because Philip Wells asked two black MPs who scoffed at the suggestion. The reality is that the "proof" you use today would have exonerated the UBP of any real race issues in 1965. How absurd!

"Here's the rub. Even if the blacks in the UBP are being used, Tom Vesey's comment would still be incorrect. He said that there is an absence of blacks in the UBP. There is not. Lack of support by blacks? Yes. Absence of blacks? No"

The rub? Well if you are going to split hairs then you need to casitgate Vesey for his comment about the PLP too. In absolute terms, in the least five years they have had a white MP, candidate and member. So by your logic you couldn't say that the there is an absence of whites in the PLP either.

Voters knew what Vesey meant. Don't get me wrong - I too prefer a party that advocates racial harmony instead of inciting racial division. My beef is the notion that a party's facade is what matters most. What you advocate is insulting.

[Roll Eyes on 11.01.06 at 09:34]

"Isn't it interesting that there are people who are willing to vote in AGAIN a party that has had several leading members make recent overt and public racial comments, yet will not have anything to do with another party that is promoting racial harmony and has not been known to make any racial comments at any time. The reasoning behind all this? Because that party is Racist!!!
What could someone deduce from this reasoning?!!!"

One would deduce that you cannot entirely measure a party's worth by the presence or lack of racial comments in the public forum. Would you say that Jonathan Starling is pursuing a racist, anti-white agenda because he belives in the PLP?

[loki on 11.01.06 at 09:53]

"One would deduce that you cannot entirely measure a party's worth by the presence or lack of racial comments in the public forum. Would you say that Jonathan Starling is pursuing a racist, anti-white agenda because he belives in the PLP?"

You weren't addressing me, so forgive me: for my part, I wouldn't say that by definition a member of the PLP is pursuing a racist, anti-white agenda. However, I would say that the PLP as a party is institutionally racist. If a private business in Bermda had a 99% white workforce and a board of directors that spouted racially divisive and anti-black rhetoric without any public intervention or dissent by the shareholders and employees, I suspect that right-thinking people would conclude that the board of directors were a bunch of racists and that the organization as a whole was institutionally racist.

[Roll Eyes on 11.01.06 at 10:01]

And I'm saying that the UBP MIGHT be institutionally racist despite having a more diversified group of MPs and preaching racial unity in public. I would hardly disagree with you on the PLP, except that I'd point to deficiencies in both parties when it comes to dealing with PR disasters. Just as the PLP MPs and members have not responded to racially hostile remarks made by the Col, the UBP has not responded to racially hostile remarks from John Swan. I don't blame someone for being suspect about the PLP for the same reason I don't blame them for being suspect about the UBP. I think there is plenty reason to be cynical about the both of them, regardless of what the put in the public forum.

[sandgrownan on 11.01.06 at 10:06]

Perhaps we should issue the PLP a challenge. State publically that they hate white people or condemn/apologise for P and Burch's comments. Condemn it or condone it.

The he said, she said, pussy footing around and over analysis of whether or not they are racist is going round is circles. How anyone could suggest that the PLP is not, a rotten to the core, racist organisation is beyond me.

I could live with that, to be honest, if they just weren't so incompetent at the same time!!!

[JJ on 11.01.06 at 10:12]

How can you compare the lack of PLP response to racsist comments made by a minister (and a senator) to those "hostile" remarks made by a private citizen (albeit an ex UBP leader)? That's daft.