I'm sure most Bermudians have heard of the recent little scandal upon the hill regarding the invites to the Queen's dinner reception when she visited Bermuda and whether one roles their eyes or gasps in horror I believe common ground can be found when a little disagreement like this takes a turn for the worst.
No we're not talking shouting matches, flying fists and general ridicululity of that nature but, comments from last Friday reported by the Royal Gazette during the motion to adjourn caught my attention as I skimmed through the article:
"In response to jeers from the Opposition that the dinner had not been inclusive Mr. [Walter] Lister said: "When the Queen came in 1953 people that looked like me did not get to see her, so let's not go there.""
Racism is an issue in the Bermuda of today no one can deny and of course one must accept the past in order to move forward but, comments like this help no one and may even do more harm than good. I suppose some might say it's simply characteristic of PLP tactics, dismiss every attack because "The UBP did it too", but I think it's something deeper in this case. Racism has become a method of deflection, a way to avoid responsibility and detract from the actual issue at hand. In this situation the issue at hand was nothing more than a little political squabble but, nevertheless it still left a sour taste in my mouth and I hope I will not be reading any similar backward looking deflective comments anytime soon but, given the racial-political climate perhaps that's too much,
Wishful Thinking.
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