The wrong tone

I'm glad to hear that Thaao Dill has admitted that he and Hott 107.5 are breaking broadcasting laws. I'm disappointed, however, that he seems to regard it as a legitimate act of civil disobedience.

"We're in breach of a dumb law, and we will probably be fined," said Mr. Dill in a post on Bermuda Sucks recently. "BUT. by the time we are, everyone will know how wilfully repressive and potentially unconstitutional the law is, and it should be appropriately repealed by whoever has the juice to do so... It's a foolish, muddleheaded law and needs to be demonstrably treated as such to reinforce why it must be changed."

If Mr. Dill were protesting against segregation laws, I'd be standing right next to him wilfully breaking them. But this legislation is far more prosaic. It is not only arrogant of Mr. Dill to think that he is entitled to protest a law he does not like by deliberately violating it, it's dangerous. Mr. Dill is doubtless regarded as a role model by some of Bermuda's young people and it is irresponsible of him to suggest that ignoring the law is a legitimate way of protesting it. Would carrying a machete in a public place be a legitimate act of protest against the mandatory three year jail term that such an act carries? I think not.

Even if Mr. Dill sees nothing wrong with that, his boss, PLP MP Glenn Blakeney ought to be making it clear that Hott 107.5 does not condone breaking the law. His failure to do so plays into widely held suspicions that certain members of the PLP consider themselves above the law.

The PLP ought to be thankful then for Renee Webb, their only member that has so far unequivocally condemned Hott's behaviour. "It is clear that based on the Political Broadcasting Regulations that using Hott broadcasters for political announcements and or ads during the election period is going against the regulations," she said. "It is not acceptable to remain silent while the law is being broken. It sets the wrong tone for a law-abiding populace."

It's unfortunate that Mr. Dill is unable to recognise that.