Blogworld http://nicobethel.net/blogworld Nicolette Bethel's Blog Wed, 16 May 2012 13:28:42 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 The Bahamas Corruption Narrative: Get Yours and Say Amen http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/05/the-bahamas-corruption-narrative-get-yours-and-say-amen/ http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/05/the-bahamas-corruption-narrative-get-yours-and-say-amen/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 13:28:42 +0000 Nicolette Bethel http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/?p=2277

There’s a narrative about The Bahamas that helps shape the ways in which we talk about politics, the nation, ourselves. It’s a narrative that proposes, uncritically, that the Progressive Liberal Party is a consortium of liars, crooks, and outlaws, and the Free National Movement is a party of honest men and women whose only desire is to make the Bahamas a better, more civilized place. It expands this idea by suggesting that PLP supporters are lazy, uncouth, corrupt, stupid, and violent, while the FNM and its supporters are diligent, civilized, honest, intelligent, and peace-loving.

Now I admit it: I have voted in my life for the PLP. So have many of the people around me, people whose good sense, personal integrity and patriotism I respect. (Many others whose good sense, personal integrity and patriotism I also respect have voted FNM, BDP, CDR, DNA, BDM, VNSP, and probably Labour, NDP, and maybe even the Workers’ Party too, but that’s another story.) For this reason, as well as for the reasons which have led me to cast my vote in that direction, the idea that I have supported a party of demons and criminals, as well as the idea that in doing so I have condoned or supported corruption, does not sit well with me. But that is where the Bahamas corruption narrative, at least in its current incarnation, tends.

It’s a narrative that appears in the mainstream print media, both at home and abroad, and it certainly surfaces in politically charged speeches of all kinds. It ran rampant in pockets on Facebook, especially immediately after the results of the general election last week, so much so that some dismayed individuals chattered about packing up their belongings and emigrating from The Bahamas in the wake of the PLP victory at the polls. So pervasive is the narrative that many young Bahamians, born and raised in the 1990s, accept it as truth, and tend to apply without question the concepts of the Progressive Liberal Party as gangster men with their arms up to their armpits stuck in the national “cookie jars”, and the Free National Movement as white-hatted sheriffs, valiantly smashing those cookie jars to set the cookies free. It’s a lovely, simple idea, and one that seems to be reiterated, consciously and unconsciously, in general conversations, so much so that discussions become depressingly, boringly predictable.

The only problem is, it’s not strictly true.

Let me be quite clear here. I am not claiming for one minute that there is no corruption in Bahamian politics. I am not claiming that the Progressive Liberal Party is a pristine organization; the history of the party is chequered, to say the least, and definitively tarnished when one goes back a generation. The 1980s were not bright and shining times for any of us in The Bahamas, and the Progressive Liberal Party was implicated in much wrongdoing. The 1980s were, for those of us who lived through them and remember them, vexing, turbulent times. But they were not all bad. Criminality and addiction pervaded the society from top to bottom, and there was talk about our losing an entire generation to drugs; but at the same time, we had stories of remarkable personal triumphs (ask Carlos Reid and Pastor Dave Burrows), we saw a burgeoning movement of self-help and self-reliance (ask Myles Munroe and Neil Ellis), and we saw leaders taking historic stands of conscience that cost them more than many of today’s holders of political office would be willing to lose (ask Arthur Hanna, Hubert Ingraham and Perry Christie).

No; I’m not claiming that there is no reason for a corruption narrative to exist. What I am suggesting is that it is not unique to any one political party or the other, as so much of today’s discourse appears to suggest. It seems to be a truism that the PLP is corrupt, the FNM incorruptible; but the truth is politics is a dirty business on the whole, and no group is exempt. Even in the 1980s, the moral ground on which the Free National Movement stood with regard to drugs began to erode when the public realized that the shining stars in that party themselves had links with drug kingpins, with Free National Movement lawyer-politicians acting for Luis “Kojak” Garcia and Carlos “Joe” Lehder; as the former Leader of the Opposition, Kendal G. L. Isaacs, Q.C., acknowledged, in our system of law, individuals are considered innocent until proven guilty, and all people are entitled to representation.

What bothers me perhaps the most is that this discussion appears to unfold without critical examination. Take, for example, this comment from one of the denizens of Facebook, regarding the change of government:

So the PLP is already off and running with their same corrupt business as usual. … Same corruption. Same mess. Same PLP. And it hasn’t been a week yet. (taken from a thread in “Bahamas Election 2011/2012″ in May 2012)

An overzealous supporter, you say? Someone with limited knowledge, someone who is easily led? Perhaps, but take these examples, from the editorial pages of the Tribune, which appear to chart the course:

She made a little speech about supporting the PLP and what “Papa” better not come promising around her, then in a typical PLP gesture, she held out her hand: “Gimme sumt’ing,” she begged. (April 24, 2012, my emphasis)

and

Yesterday we drove around various constituencies, including Grants Town. The stories we heard of vote buying in various places were mind-boggling. Some were told by the very persons who had been solicited, one of whom had succumbed.

We heard the stories of men who were offered bribes of $5,000, $10,000, as high as $15,000, to take off their red shirts, reject their FNM candidate and convince other FNM supporters to do the same. (May 8, 2012)

I really don’t need to state the obvious: that vote-buying is neither a new habit, nor one owned, invented, developed, or perfected by the PLP; it has been blatantly a part of Bahamian politics since men could vote. I don’t need to say, further, that if one listened, one might hear similar stories regarding the taking off of yellow shirts to put on the red. This issue is not a party issue, but a cultural one, and something that needs to be addressed in a manner that involves a little less paternalism, a little more respect.

Rather, I’d like to focus on what disturbs me more: that the corruption narrative appears to be validated by the fact that the American media follow the same general line as is taken above. I have long been troubled by the lack of balance, or perhaps of critical distance, exhibited by our print media, which, despite tremendous improvement over the past decade or so, is still inclined to eschew political analysis in favour of reportage and innuendo; but what prompted me to write this post was the story in the Miami Herald which appeared on May 4th—an article that made reference, of all things, to the Anna Nicole “scandal” of 2006-7, while overlooking issues of greater concern, such as (say) the awarding to the Aga Khan the right to own/occupy/develop islands within the bounds of the Exuma Land and Sea National Park, for what Bahamian benefit I have never been able to discern. I have never terribly impressed by sex scandals, or things that purport to be. I happen to believe that it’s perfectly possible for a man (or woman) to make valid, even inspired, political decisions while at the same time being incapable of controlling his (or her) libido; Martin Luther King and William Jefferson Clinton come to mind. Call me crazy, but I am far more concerned about the selling of Bahamian tax dollars (say, the several million in advertising that we continue to provide Atlantis, some 18 years after its initial investment), Bahamian land to foreigners (Cable Beach from Goodman’s Bay to Sandals, an indigestible chunk of Exuma to Four Seasons/Sandals, or individual islands and cays to cruise ships), or untapped fossil fuel resources to little-known private companies.

This is why the current Bahamas corruption narrative unsettles me. It’s not that we shouldn’t be talking about corruption; of course we should. What is missing from the discussion, however, is balance. It is easy to assign blame to only one group of people, to assume that when a particular party takes power, the moral fibre of the society is under threat—but it is not accurate. It is a matter of record that politicians on all sides of the political divide have been implicated in questionable activities, if not outright examples of corruption; but it is also a matter of record that the people that many consider impeccably honest of the House of Assembly come from every party too.

When we pull up Anna Nicole Smith, but ignore Mona Vie, the Aga Khan, or cease our interrogation of the 4,000+ Chinese work permits, we undermine our commitment to the Bahamas corruption narrative. When we revisit the 1980s, but skim over the scandals, such as the Clifton Cay deal, that plagued the Free National Movement at the end of the 1990s, we do the same. In both cases, we may be following our moral compass; but we’re overlooking the fact that it needs calibration.

My own position is that there is probably very little difference among politicians. People are people; many succumb to temptation, while a few are able to resist. What I would like to see is a willingness on the part of all Bahamians to call out corruption whenever or wherever we see it, especially if it comes from within our particular political enclave. It is not all right to endorse corrupt activities in the name of one’s own party while at the same time condemning them when they are conducted by another, as happens here:

ATTENTION ALL FNMs, the PLP is now giving out PLENTY MONEY!!!!!! THE OIL MONEY IS HERE. TAKE THE MONEY, SAY THANKS YOU AND VOTE FNM. Heavy money in Freeport, Bain Town, Centreville, Bamboo Town, Mount Moriah, Fort Charlotte, Montague, St. Annes, West Grand Bahama, Coopers Town, North Andros, Central & South Eleuthera, North Eleuthera Fox Hill etc. There is plenty OIL MONEY. GET YOURS AND SAY AMEN. (taken from a thread in “Politics in Review” in May 2012)

So let me end by taking a leaf from my own book. It’s this very question, the question of “oil money” that concerns me right now when it comes to the continuation of the Bahamas corruption narrative. Bahamian oil is an issue that, as Larry Smith has so succinctly observed, “is the biggest single issue facing the country today”—and something about which we know far too little; shareholders in London appear to know more. It is also something that, now the government has changed, is no longer a neutral issue for the Progressive Liberal Party. When last challenged on their relationship with the main company that has been granted oil exploration licences, the new Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister stated that they had no conflict of interest, as they were not in government, and had no ability to influence national policy on the question of oil. The situation is fundamentally different today.

I call upon the government to move swiftly to the referendum promised regarding oil drilling from the platform of the Progressive Liberal Party rallies. But before that, I call upon the government to engage in open and public dialogue about the oil question. Let us see and know what the Bahamas Petroleum Company plans to do with the oil that apparently lies beneath our seabed, and how drilling for it might benefit us. Explain to us what good things, beyond the $$$ we naively associate with oil money, drilling will bring to our nation, in this century that is already looking beyond fossil fuels to sources of alternative energy. Show us how ordinary Bahamians will benefit from oil exploration, and why we should trust any investment in a resource that has brought poverty and turmoil, not prosperity, to too many of the regions that looked upon it as a remedy for all their ills—Nigeria comes all too swiftly to mind. This is an issue as big as any we have faced thus far in our history, and it is an issue on which the new government of The Bahamas, a government in which I have chosen to believe, will stand or fall.

]]> http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/05/the-bahamas-corruption-narrative-get-yours-and-say-amen/feed/ 4 Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-05-13 http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/05/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-05-13/ http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/05/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-05-13/#comments Sun, 13 May 2012 23:17:00 +0000 Nicolette Bethel http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/05/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-05-13/

  • Need to spend more time working on my various blogs. Head down today. #
  • SA ordered to prosecute Zim torture suspects – http://t.co/IMYp6nQM via @mailandguardian via @andrewiliff #
  • RT @adriancharles I started by abandoning insults based on gender or orientation. I ended up abandoning all insults. It feels good! #
  • RT @nicobet @KnowlesAsh How do you do that? If you own them you can *redownload* them can't you? I can on the iPad #
  • “@maalym: LMAO, a die hard PLP just told me a FNM is really a PLP only that the FNM has education.” Oh my dear lord. May I quote you? #
  • "@maalym: Successive governments seem to give the church more attention than the public service." Fear of preachers & shame of pub serv? #
  • "@maalym: We spend more money on public service salaries than anything else. Are we getting our moneys worth?" Not even close. #
  • "@maalym: @sbaranha I imagine a reformed public service. Outdated general orders run the largest employee base & budgetary expenditure." Yes #
  • RT @maalym: This is the first cabinet I've seen where the minister for the Public Serice was not identified.-> Noticed that too. #
  • “@TheRyan1908: "Haters are people who read with no resume, who critique with no credentials." @PattiLaHelle #LoveIt ?? Haters read? #
  • “@Mr_Adds: @nicobet @chrissyonir All this misinformation is dangerous. Thank you for your source.” I totally agree. #
  • “@mydnaparty: @sbaranha we'd like to make certain all accounts are balanced.” Yep – policy more important that parties IMO. Pun intended. #
  • “@TheEconomist: S. America export boom linked to growing global appetite 4 organic foods, http://t.co/H0JNp1aY” so why can't we cash in too? #
  • “@Truth242: Please get your copy of the Political Promise Tracking Score Card http://t.co/kD8sfpXi” @MYPLP_Believe @pgchristie #
  • “@noelle_elleon: Talkin Sense: Loretta Butler-Turner for 2017? Why Loretta trumps Minnis http://t.co/3bsWRsy0” Read it; like it! #
  • “@JoeyGaskinsJr: @nicobet I will do that…I'm CCing you guys, in case they want alternatives…even though yall won't be up. lolol” lmao #
  • Good. & good grief. & good night. #
  • & say that your perspective may be coloured by the fact you are in UK & then say what you know & think. You'll do FINE #
  • What do they want? Sent addys btw just FYI. Just provide the disclaimer that you are not on ground & your contacts are online & social media #
  • Oh good lord that's 7:30 our time. You do it! Have fun :) #
  • However feel free to give them my email anyway. Will DM it to you #
  • & my tomorrow is booked tho I can't speak for Stephen #
  • Cause if the interview is now I will be too sleepy to make sense @JoeyGaskinsJr #
  • What is the time of the show Nassau time? Is Ja on EDT or EST? Which end of the day is it? @JoeyGaskinsJr #
  • 6:30 AM? #
  • RT @sbaranha #Bahamas2012 PLP 48.7%, FNM 42.1%, DNA 8.4% -> as popular votes go in this country that is not close #
  • RT @signifyinwoman I've never spent time writing about a Bahamian woman writer. I say that with @nicobet's Lent/Elegies in hand :) -> Wheee! #
  • Being a successful minister has more to do with being respected by the key personnel in your portfolio than with anything else #Bahamas2012 #
  • People said the same thing about Cynthia Pratt but her record puts Turnquest's to shame. #DemandDebates #Bahamas2012 #
  • Tomorrow's PLP Cabinet appts (from Cable 12): Nottage=National Security, Halkitis=State for Finance, Pinder=Economic Affairs. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Just signed @BarackObama's Thank You card for #marriageequality Bahamas: step up! http://t.co/NyO2ggGa #
  • Starting work on a new blog post. This one will be harder to write than the last. Want to tackle once and for all the corruption narrative #
  • “@jbbahamas: really excited about the next 5 years. It is OUR responsibility #DemandDemocracy and #DemandDebates & we have already started” #
  • Worth remembering. “@Truth242: RT @JohnXLennon: A citizen who does not have it in them to be a dissident has no idea what democracy is!” #
  • “@erinaferguson: OAS observers gave us the thumbs up on a clean election, except for Campaign Finance Reform, Women Candidates” yeah! #
  • “@mydnaparty: The Women's Alliance will be looking to extend its branches … http://t.co/XejRxKAK” Good start. Keep working, 3rd party! #
  • “@sbaranha: After the elections is before the elections. #bahamas2012 #DemandDebates #Bahamas2017 ?? yes! #
  • OK dinnertime … signing off #
  • #Bahamas2012 #DemandDemocracy I imagine the National Lottery intended to generate revenue to offset tax cuts & greater investment in educn #
  • #Bahamas2012 #DemandDemocracy So: 14 goals for first 100 days. Do-able? #
  • #Bahamas2012 #DemandDemocracy 13) Reduce max. stamp tax on real estate to 10%. 14) Reintroduce ceiling on max real property tax on homes. #
  • #Bahamas2012 #DemandDemocracy 12) Move towards referendum on National Lottery and gambling. #
  • #Bahamas2012 #DemandDemocracy 11) Launch a 40th Anniversary of Independence National Congress. (Sounds good but don't understand …) #
  • #Bahamas2012 #DemandDemocracy 9) Renew commitment to National Health Insurance. 10) Initiate plan to lower cost of electricity. #
  • #Bahamas2012 #DemandDemocracy “@nicobet: 6) Reposition Bahamas Development Bank. 7) Re-establish Ministry of Financial Services etc” #
  • #Bahamas2012 #DemandDemocracy 8) Introduce Employees Pension Fund Protection Act to secure pensions against exploitation from employers #
  • 6) Reposition Bahamas Development Bank to kickstart employment and entrepreneurship. 7) Re-establish Ministry of Financial Services etc #
  • #Bahamas2012 #DemandDemocracy 4) Institute mortgage relief plan. 5) Set in motion plan to secure borders. #
  • “@vkrussell: @nicobet @funfelicity @sbaranha Letters important but academic standards of excellence and notable reputation matters most.” #
  • #Bahamas2012 #DemandDemocracy 2) Prioritize doubling of investment in education and training. 3) Create Ministry for Grand Bahama. #
  • #Bahamas2012 #DemandDemocracy 1) Launch Project Safe Bahamas & Operation Cease Fire & reintroduce Urban Renewal to fight crime & violence #
  • #Bahamas2012 #DemandDemocracy OK, here are the goals 4 1st 100 days @MYPLP_Believe #
  • #Bahamas2012 Anybody saving our wishes? We will need them to continue to #DemandDemocracy going forward. #
  • “@erinaferguson: We watch closely as the PLP rolls out its first 100 days, and the "Ready to govern from Day 1" Budget is due in 2 weeks.” #
  • #Bahamas2012 PUBLIC SERVICE REFORM!!! & ground-up revision of General Orders. #
  • #Bahamas2012 Ratification & finalizing of regulations of Freedom of Information Act #
  • #Bahamas2012 Back to the wish list of issues: Referendum on fossil fuel exploration (both oil & LNG). Development of alternative energies. #
  • “@Truth242:RT @TheRyan1908: #Bahamas2012 Independent Boundaries Commission with statistician, Supreme Court judge and accountant.” Yes! #
  • #Bahamas2012 Municipality for New Providence & separation of local issues from national ones (so no more spending on NP at expense of all) #
  • #Bahamas2012 Back to the issues wish list – constitutional & legislative reform to regulate PM & ministerial powers #
  • #Bahamas2012 @sbaranha @vkrussell @funfelicity University by no later than 2014 – College's 40th anniversary. Still too late if you ask me #
  • What's not in the Charter that we would like to see happen? #Bahamas2012 #
  • #Bahamas2012 …but back to reality. What do we wish to be on the agenda for this administration? Amendment of the Marital Rape Act back on. #
  • #Bahamas2012 Christie for Culture! & yes, I do know what I'm talking about. #
  • #Bahamas2012 No real prefs 4 Works, Youth & Sports, Immigration (are we sticking with the FNM idea of amalgamating Customs & Immigration?) #
  • #Bahamas2012 I could get behind that one too. Hanna-Martin first just because she's a woman #isaidit but I wouldn't turn down Bell! #
  • #Bahamas2012 Wilchecombe for Ministry of Grand Bahama? Don't mess with my wish list dude. #
  • #Bahamas2012 Wish List: Mitchell–Foreign Affairs, Nottage–Education, Pinder–Investments, Perry Gomez–Health, Wilchecombe–Tourism #
  • #Bahamas2012 I'll do a wish list though. So here it is: McWeeney–AG, Hanna-Martin–Security (no-nonsense & without taint), Jarrett–Finance #
  • #Bahamas2012 Expect to see many old faces in cabinet too but hope to see some new FULL ministers and few Parliamentary Secretaries #
  • #Bahamas2012 Prefer not to speculate on cabinet b/c don't know enough. However I expect to see Bernard Nottage in it. #
  • RT @Truth242 According to sources Leslie Miller being considered for Minister of National Security #Bahamas2012 >I pick Glenys Hanna-Martin #
  • RT @Truth242 RT @iAmSellz: Cochinonmongulous <—- http://t.co/XNt7SPDi #Bahamas2012 -> ROFLMAO #
  • RT @sbaranha @Truth242 – It's usually Youth, Sports & Culture… #Bahamas2012 -> PGC took Culture into OPM 2006-2007 & promised restructure #
  • RT @Truth242 Accdg to sources many MPs will be disappointed in Cabinet appointments #Bahamas2012 ->With this majority they shd be prepared #
  • RT @Truth242 According to sources Mitchell to return as Minister of Foreign Affairs #Bahamas2012 > Best man for the job – see wikileaks! #
  • “@ricklowebahamas: What political maturity means in a Bahamian Context http://t.co/GV1IODtd” Short read but have a look. #
  • “@TheRyan1908: Christie Administration Favourites: Ryan Pinder, Fred Mitchell, BJ Nottage..” I witchu! #
  • OK @MYPLP_Believe! Good start. Now REAL WORK needs to be done. No time to waste. 100 day plan is ambitious. Don't disappoint. Ppl impatient! #
  • “@jbbahamas: “@cerys84: My MP already gat his ppl taking down his posters. I really like this Minnis guy…” #Bahamas2012 ?? Minnis=great MP #
  • Short speech from PGC. Perhaps the shortest ever? #Bahamas2012 #
  • Wendell Major to be returned as Acting Cabinet Secretary (another retiree!!!) #Bahamas2012 – is this a good start? #
  • Announcing the new government – announcement of first minister tomorrow entire cabinet by Friday #Bahamas2012 #
  • Invites opponents to join in making the Bahamas the "finest little nation on all the earth". #Bahamas2012 #
  • Thanks the PLP supporters who worked to bring about the change of government & promises not to forget them – is this favour? #Bahamas2012 #
  • Promises to address youth unemployment and pledges to serve the youth. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Promises to be true and faithful to the people & to give the best of himself at all times. Promises a better & brighter future #Bahamas2012 #
  • New PM Perry Christie swearing in: thanks given to voters for re-electing him #Bahamas2012 #
  • RT @sbaranha OAS:disclosure of campaign financing, independent boundaries commission&more: http://t.co/bNDJvH7W #Bahamas2012 #DemandDebates #
  • RT @Phresh1914 Do feel that the BIG DOGS will be fed first under PLP. Special interests will be fed first.->No matter who wins this happens #
  • RT @vkrussell @tadaLive Voted for the first time. It felt great. Glad to make my voice heard in some small way. It took less than 2-mins. #
  • RT @TheEconomist Economists rethinking the view that capital should not be taxed..more sensible than previously thought http://t.co/cP8206BA #
  • RT @jbbahamas @nicobet We need 2 form a "keep the govt honest org" 2 keep whichever government is power in check & #DemandDebates -> Indeed #
  • RT @sbaranha Post-mortem on JCN demonstrates the old guard doesn't get it. #bahamas2012 -> Quite. #
  • #DemandDemocracy #DreamBetter #Bahamas2012 #Bahamas2017 #
  • Citizens – time to start work. Voting is only the beginning of the journey. Now we need to hold our representatives to account. #Bahamas2017 #
  • Two five-year governments is a great exercise in democratic voting but far more to democracy than placing a ballot in a box #Bahamas2012 #
  • #Bahamas2012 Great that @MYPLP_Believe campaign resonated with so many–don't betray that belief. Mind what happens when people lose trust! #
  • #Bahamas2012 In which case it would be a mistake to assume that this very comfortable lead is as comfortable as all that. Great expectations #
  • #Bahamas2012 I'm thinking the PLP's mandate is not only coming from its base but also from less predictable voters seeking change. #
  • Anybody working out the popular vote right now? Curious to know whether this result can be studied with regard to party "bases"#Bahamas2012 #
  • #Bahamas2012 For HAI to lose would shake MY world. For him to resign is a different matter. #
  • #Bahamas2012 People who were around in the 1980s know that only two men defeated the Pindling PLP as independents – HAI and PGC. #
  • #Bahamas2012 The world is right again. @Tribune242 report was wrong – Ingraham won his seat but just resigned it. Good night and goodbye. #
  • “@RikSweeting: I honestly believe that it was Hubert's "one man band" act that ultimately sealed the FNMS fate.” Agreed. #Bahamas2012 #
  • #Bahamas2012 STILL querying the North Abaco result – only saw that on @Tribune242. Confirmation please #
  • “@Tribune242: REPORTS: Ingraham concedes election
    http://t.co/2yBLNgQh” Now THIS indicates a change of government … #Bahamas2012 #
  • #Bahamas2012 "A momentous swing for the PLP"? – Dar(r)old. Note to doubting Thomases – DNA candidates getting deposits … #
  • #Bahamas2012 I dead. I want Darrold to keep mispronouncing that name!! LMAO #
  • Mark Humes won his deposit! Go DNA. #Bahamas2012 Third party on the move. And no, I am not a DNA but a citizen loving democracy #
  • “@vkrussell: "Like Marathon the winner of Golden Isles has wins the government." Dr Ian Strachan #Bahamas2012 ?? I wouldn't go that far! #
  • Fred Mitchell polling old time results. Last time was close but not now. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Darrold is repeating that reportage. To think he been giving TCI these pearls! #Bahamas2012 #
  • #Bahamas2012 Looking like DNA splitting FNM vote in Bamboo Town so far #
  • #Bahamas2012 North Abaco results kind of interesting … #
  • #Bahamas2012 Man when I ga eat? Can't leave the TV!! #
  • #Bahamas2012 I glad my gal Loretta winning in Long Island #
  • Bamboo Town independent carryin on #Bahamas2012 #
  • #Bahamas2012 Watch the DNA splitting the vote!! Check it out! #
  • #Bahamas2012 Did I say race wasn't a factor? Clearly I was reckoning without Darrold Miller … #
  • “@sbaranha: My wish: No victimisation in the aftermath of #Bahamas2012 – real or alleged.” INDEED #
  • “@nicobet: Predicting the 2012 General Election: Third parties & other things http://t.co/woOCcmml” #Bahamas2012 FINALLY finished justintime #
  • Predicting the 2012 General Election: Third parties & other things http://t.co/woOCcmml #
  • Still working on a post that needs to be finished before results start coming in — this one has been hell to compose #Bahamas2012 #
  • http://t.co/hlYp0Le1 Elizabeth poll. Interesting – survey interviewed more men than women: more female registered voters #Bahamas2012 #
  • My favourite images of today! I love 'em both — Sir Durward and Obi(e) Pindling. Go head OneBahamas!! http://t.co/Didyvxj5 #
  • #Bahamas2012 – looking around for the best coverage I have finally settled on the Nassau Guardian. Twitter feed's sluggish but webpage fine #
  • “@JoeyGaskinsJr: What I'm wearing tonight. Red, yellow, green and black. Nonpartisan fashion: http://t.co/0SxqdVJu” -> LIKE! #
  • RT @Tribune242 WHO DID YOU VOTE FOR TODAY?
    http://t.co/Eh7EOVxR MYOB #Bahamas2012 #
  • RT @Tribune242 Tribune Insight:
    A WISH LIST FOR THE NEXT GOVERNMENT
    http://t.co/4PJ1IZrL Read it! Worth the read. #
  • RT @Dangeloreid @nicobet You do realize that you just broadcasted your home address to the internet right Dr. Bethel? -> Yeah pretty dumb #
  • RT @BahamasLocal Polling stations are open and the lines are long.. http://t.co/aG3Ml4Fz No line in my division! Walked in & back out in 5 #
  • #Bahamas2012 Winning this election is NOT a mandate to destroy the good in the name of party loyalty. You ate elected to serve not get fat #
  • #Bahamas2012 This goes for all. For all have sinned & come short of the democratic good. #
  • #Bahamas2012 To whomever forms the next gvt: this time work for the good of the citizens not the glory of your party. You are being watched #
  • Chillin @ Montagu polling divisions 6-10, 1 & 12 (??) #Bahamas2012 http://t.co/nPGWaA1c #
  • RT @thisisrazz Just voted for the very first time! #Bahamas2012 #
  • RT @sbaranha I cast my ballot. #Bahamas2012 http://t.co/nceia76u Smarter than me – no DOB in yr photo #
  • The deed is done #Bahamas2012 http://t.co/YkqoUcwC #
  • RT @JoeyGaskinsJr Austerity in Europe is failing, the neoliberal push is faltering. #France #Greece->World is shifting #
  • #Bahamas2012 Going to get ready to vote. Wearing my We The People shirt. Bahamas first. #Bahamas2012 #DreamBetter #DemandDemocracy #
  • #Bahamas2012 Getting ready to go vote and STILL don't know where that X gon fall … & I'ne telling when it do #
  • “@jbbahamas: any party wishing to get my vote in #Bahamas2017 must commit to public debates early on in the race.” Hear hear #DemandDebates #
  • RT @jbbahamas Cable 12 needs to stream their coverage of the results… i prefer them to ZNS -> A slight measure of independence? #
  • RT @Phresh1914 @nicobet still living in constraints of Stafford's 1950 economic vision that required us to be trained -> & I'm no supporter #
  • Check it #Bahamas2012 #Bahamas2017 RT @AP Twitter's role in 2012 presidential campaign extends beyond 140 characters: http://t.co/mm5psOPP #
  • RT @sbaranha We've been such good students of our colonial masters. Too good. http://t.co/fDSP1QGr #Bahamas >let's change that starting 2day #
  • RT @Chrisreports @ St Matthew's Anglican Church http://t.co/4XX3DOn6 -> not far from my parents' grave #
  • “@Phresh1914: A jr minister has no idea of the mechanisms necessary to lead a country” inexperience is not always a liability – see 1967 #
  • “@Phresh1914: A coalition government would be perfect for where we're at right now” Certainly. Ingraham+Christie=damn good PM #
  • Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-05-06 http://t.co/XX9kD1Za #

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]]> http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/05/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-05-13/feed/ 0 Predicting the 2012 General Election: Third parties & other things http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/05/predicting-the-2012-general-election-third-parties-other-things/ http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/05/predicting-the-2012-general-election-third-parties-other-things/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 21:15:24 +0000 Nicolette Bethel http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/?p=2249

Been following some of the predictions re the upcoming elections. (There are others too: here, here and here.) Not closely, you understand, because I just don’t have that much time in my life (and I’ve been doing other, really exciting and constructive things), but occasionally, with some interest, because this is the most fascinating election period that has occurred in a long, long time, and because every prediction out there has to contend with a new, unfamiliar curve ball: the rise of the third party movement.

Note I didn’t say the DNA. That’s because the Democratic National Alliance is just capitalising on something that has changed in the country, something that I believe is going to continue to grow, even if the two-party acolytes succeed in killing the DNA off. It’s the fact that the split between two major parties in The Bahamas has developed almost by default. Its roots are in that most ancient and powerful division in our nation: the centuries-long categorisation of Bahamians of colour as “natives” (white Bahamians were “residents”) whose purpose was to serve their betters—not to lead. The FNM-PLP split, for better or for worse, is buried in this dichotomy, and for decades one could fairly safely assume that PLP supporters tended towards the privileging of black Bahamians, while FNM supporters advocated the One Bahamas movement (by which I mean the recognition that Bahamian and black are not necessarily synonymous). As a result, anyone who has voted in two or more elections should recall that no election season till this one has been allowed to pass without the invocation of race—whether from rally platforms, in letters to the editor, or by reference to the American TV miniseries Roots.

The third party movement has queered that pitch. The 2012 election is historic in any number of ways, but one of the most significant is that I have not noticed any real reference to race in the campaigns. In fact, it would appear from the images being projected by the Afrocentric PLP, in posters, the Mandate, videos and ads, that white Bahamians are embraced and included, and that it is no longer possible to assign PLP-ness to black Bahamians and FNM-ness to white. The simple fact is that race is no longer a major issue for most Bahamians. I am not saying that it is no longer relevant in our society; what I am suggesting that it is no longer a primary determinant of one’s ability to succeed in The Bahamas. And because of that, the principles on which both the FNM and the PLP were founded are growing obsolete, and both parties have for some time been losing their “base”.

This is a trend that started to show in 2002, when no less than 4 independents sat in the House of Assembly. Some people might disagree with me, arguing that the resounding defeat of the CDR at the polls in that year, and the continuing trouncing of the BDM to boot, challenge  my position. They may well be right, but I would argue that by 2002, the transformation of the Bahamian society that was begun under the PLP and continued by the FNM had resulted in a society where the largely uncontested foundations of the FNM and the PLP were being eroded, a place where one did not necessarily need a political party to give one legitimacy, a place where ideas rather than tribe began to matter. Never mind that the independents that sat in the HOA between 2002 and 2007 were there because, for the most part, they ran unopposed by one of the other of the parties (Wells, Cartwright, & Dupuch were unopposed by the PLP; I can’t remember whether Bastian won hands down despite going up against FNM and PLP or not); I suggest that the facts that they sat in the House of Assembly as men beholden to no one but their constituents, and that they were watched representing those constituents, and appeared to vote with their consciences for the most part, were not incidental to the growth of the faith in the third-party movement that we are witnessing in 2012.

(I also have very little doubt that, had the CDR weathered their defeat in 2002, regrouped, continued to develop their platform, and continued to work on their base, they would be a very real contender in this election, and would have attracted far more of the mature disaffected voters than the DNA has been able to do after one short year; we might be looking at quite a different situation today. But you know what they say about hindsight, and I digress.)

But there’s something else that’s important here, and something else that the pundits appear to have overlooked. The greatest obstacle to the ability of a third party to gain traction among Bahamian voters was its ability to get its message out. Until the by-election in Elizabeth in 2010, third parties needed considerable sums of money simply to make their voices heard. The advent of Facebook and Twitter, however, has changed the ground completely. As has been observed elsewhere, much of what has enabled the green wave to continue to gather has been the presence of third-party candidates on the internet, their activity, their accessibility, and their willingness to engage in dialogue with potential voters. This is quite different from the traditional Voice-of-God politics that the older parties continue to practise. And while the DNA has capitalized on this change in the past 12 months or so, the real success story of this shift was the short-lived NDP.

Think about it. The NDP did not only use Facebook as a means to spread its message; the message it spread was also a reflection of the ethos that prevails on social media. The principal tenets of the new party included a real focus on the constituents of Elizabeth, and—remarkably—a new approach to the selection of candidates. Instead of the traditional system of delegates nominating and ratifying candidates behind closed doors without the knowledge or input of the citizens those candidates were supposed to serve, the NDP advocated a more open process, in which hopefuls would present themselves to the voters, and the voters would indicate who they wanted to represent them. Furthermore, the NDP campaign on Facebook was remarkable and ground-changing, as it addressed issues in ways that enabled citizens to review them, think about them, and become involved in them. (Read a full account of the rise and fall of the NDP here.) I would argue that much of that energy was shifted to support for the DNA. What has happened is that, although the principals of the third-party movement have melted away, amalgamated with more established parties, or otherwise disappeared, the general interest of the voters, the hunger of Bahamian citizens for something different, has not abated. Rather, it has built, and the existence of the DNA has allowed it to be fed.

Because of that, I think this election is too close to call. I believe anything could happen when the results start coming in an hour from now. Anything. A landslide victory for the FNM, say with the 4 x 7 sum of 28 seats? Sure. A landslide victory for the PLP, with the same numbers? Definitely. A split house, with (say) a tie between the FNM and the PLP, with the DNA holding the balance? Possible. A minority or coalition government, with the DNA calling the shots? Even that.

The point is, we just don’t know. There’s a lot of conventional wisdom floating around, and it’s on this conventional wisdom that the political parties have all based their strategies. It’s on this conventional wisdom that the big guns—from the Prime Minister and the Boundaries Commission to the invocation of the traditional Saint-FNM/Demon-PLP narratives to the outrageous claims of The Punch and Bahamas Press—have drawn to build another issueless, diss-the-citizen campaign. If I can sum it up, it goes something like this: The base needs to be fed, because you have to be sure they vote. So feed them with trash-talk, sound-bytes, snippets of carefully pruned information, and exciting political gatherings where people gather together wearing the right-coloured shirt so that some photographer can take their picture and post it on Facebook to make the other side scared. As one earnest  political candidate actually told me: the people don’t want meat; what they like is gravy. Keep them entertained and fed and well-supplied with liquor, trash-talk, insult-trading and dancing you’ll get their vote.

It’s on this conventional wisdom, too, that many of the pundits are basing their predictions. Now maybe they’re right, and the election will be as predictable as they hope; maybe the careful redrawing of the boundary lines, the glad-handing of shirts and caps and wads of cash, and the Junkanoo-competition rallies will do the trick. But I have my doubts.

Why ? Because the last election was the closest in modern Bahamian history, with an initial outcome of only five seats separating the government and the opposition in the House of Assembly, meaning the balance of power was three seats alone (which three, incidentally, might have been held by the former CDR if the members had so chosen). That election was won by a margin of 2%—a margin that is fundamentally affected by the so-called “swing voters”, those of us who think about how and why we cast our X, who are not predictable, who consult our consciences, who watch the price of the fish. Yes, we do exist. And the third party has attracted many of us.

So don’t sleep on the DNA, even if they do not win one seat. The outcome of this election will depend on them. And I have no intention whatsoever of attempting to guess what that outcome will be.

We’ll just have to wait and see.

]]> http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/05/predicting-the-2012-general-election-third-parties-other-things/feed/ 2 Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-05-06 http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/05/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-05-06/ http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/05/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-05-06/#comments Sun, 06 May 2012 23:17:00 +0000 Nicolette Bethel http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/05/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-05-06/

  • “@joeybahamas: Making two huge moves this summer…we're about to change the face of Bahamian politics….”-> Sounds good to me #
  • “@sbaranha: "Who you wotin' for?"via @theycallmeTAP <- Just be sure it's no hologram or other hot air of any colour. #Bahamas2012 ?? #
  • “@Chrisreports: Das a LOT of WHITES ….#JustSaying ….” This is the 1st election since party politics began where race wasn't a factor #
  • “@Truth242: RT @flowersdoe: 2 individuals stabbed at PLP rally!! @Bahamaspress” No matter who wins Monday it'll be tough to dial this back #
  • “@sbaranha: Blogging about tweeting about #Bahamas2012 – or something to that effect. http://t.co/W2QhYKGk #DemandDebates ?? Great post! #
  • Reason #1 to quit attending funerals: b/c my fellow citizens think it's OK to block their neighbours in #onlybahamianpeople #
  • “@robbinwhachell: (VIDEO) Zhivargo Laing Explains The Bahamas Parliamentary system of Government … http://t.co/72yr9Gdr” ->Great but late #
  • “@j9: Is "NO" a bad word?http://t.co/U0d7PyQC” -> No #
  • “@sbaranha: "Support the COB in continuing its transition to university status." #Bahamas2012 #DreamBetter http://t.co/NTEsM0F2” #
  • “@BahamasWeekly: PLP FNM: Personal Attack on Minister of Tourism “Disgraceful”: … http://t.co/cHN8ZrU7” Whole campaign's been disgraceful #
  • “@TheEconomist: American presidential election will determine whether austerity can be avoided http://t.co/iZN1oxvB” -> Austerity optional? #
  • “@globalvoices: Almost 5% #Africa agricultural #land been bought/ leased by investors since 2000 http://t.co/lGMU0gHR” FDI not always good #
  • Note to #Bahamas2012 politicians: look beyond your base & ask: how do I get the undecided to vote for me? #DemandDemocracy #DemandDebates #
  • Call the election in #Bahamas2012 I wouldn't be so fool! Anything could happen, whee!! #DemandDemocracy #DemandDebates #
  • #Bahamas2012 How will the swing vote? Ay, there's the rub. #DemandDebates #DemandDemocracy #
  • #Bahamas2012 Swing voters: watch this minority; the power is there. Never mind da noise in da market #
  • #Bahamas2012 Highlights: voter involvement. Low points: petty violence, trash talking & messianic delusions #
  • #Bahamas2012 Highlights: social media. Low points: social media #
  • #Bahamas2012 Best & worst election season in a long time. Highlights: DNA insistence on issues. Low points: FNLP ad hominem attacks. #
  • “@Tribune242: The PM says 'victory is in sight'” For some politicians, for a party — but what about the Bahamian people? #
  • “@Tribune242: Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham is addressing a huge crowd at RM Bailey Park”->All crowds huge. Watch the swing. #Bahamas2012 #
  • “@TalkBahamas: Who Ga Win and Who Ga Lose? Bahamas 2012 Election Predictions | Straight Talk Bahamas http://t.co/BuLmPyrv” Interesting take #
  • “http://t.co/dtxHwCWn” Somebody want to tell me what voice I have when politicians say no debate, duck issues, & pick candidates in caucus? #
  • How To “ SPOIL YOUR BALLOT!!! http://t.co/dtxHwCWn” #
  • “@Truth242: RT @island_boy19: These crooked politicians need to be put in jail. Every last one of them.” Wd there be anyone left to govern? #
  • “@Truth242: FNM: PLP paying $50 to sport PLP hats, $100 to sport PLP shirts, $500 to vote PLP in South Andros”-> What's the going rate? #
  • “@Truth242: FNM: PLP paying $50 to sport PLP hats, $100 to sport PLP shirts, $500 to vote PLP in South Andros”->Politicians are different? #
  • Chair of Social Sciences's office after the rain last week @sbaranha http://t.co/NCDmJA8I #
  • RT @Truth242 Bahamas Petroleum Company stock continues to fall >> #thingsthatmakeyougohm #
  • RT @mydnaparty My goal is to become like You Jesus. http://t.co/2lo7wsNk>>Prophecy, crucifixion, resurrection, adoration? #
  • RT @JoeyGaskinsJr @Truth242 So basically, BPC is trying to play with the elections and the market? I may have to write something (-__-)>YEAH #
  • #demanddebates in on Guardian Talk Radio NOW ! #
  • RT @sbaranha RT @thisisrazz "#onlybahamianpeople worship political leaders" <-why we need exposure 2 our Caribbean neighbours #DreamBetter #
  • RT @sbaranha RT @thisisrazz "#onlybahamianpeople worship their political leaders" <- sad truth? #DemandDebates #DemandDemocracy #DreamBetter #
  • “@Truth242: The advanced poll in London went well! We acted as agents to observe the poll” >> Someone shd be studying this election #
  • “@Chrisreports: FYI May 7th is also my birthday #sigh http://t.co/zOndoPbU” >> I feel for you #
  • The last event @bocaslitfest: the winners read from their books #bocas2012 http://t.co/kGQAbBAq #
  • Carolyn Ali, aka The Egg Lady, introduces cookbook/children's tales b4 serving up some goodies @bocaslitfest #bocas2012 http://t.co/0tCwNiaU #
  • Loretta: the poem is breath. The poem gets in. @bocaslitfest #bocas2012 #
  • Loretta, 'El Velorio' – "The indiscriminate gun always at our backs, the cosmic bullet always in the air" @bocaslitfest #Bocas2012 #
  • How to write by Loretta: Tease out the troubling passages in the discourse and trouble them more @bocaslitfest #Bocas2012 #
  • Teachers: beware the boredom of studying literature in the classroom for real readers of books, like @Karen_Lord @bocaslitfest #Bocas2012 #
  • Ramchand: Do writers feel it necessary to go back to the great writers of the past to influence our tradition? @bocaslitfest #Bocas2012 #
  • Loretta: The resonances between places. Brathwaite's submarine unity. @bocaslitfest #Bocas2012 #
  • RT @Karen_Lord @nicobet @bocaslitfest LOL don't make me sound too sane! >> good thing you're the sanest person I met in TT! #
  • Loretta: The energy of being betwixt & between linguistically is energetic. @bocaslitfest #Bocas2012 #
  • Loretta: the influences of second-hand boxes all mixed up – & Kamau @bocaslitfest #Bocas2012 #
  • Influences. @keimiller: While writing a sermon he became conscious of the manipulation of words. @bocaslitfest #Bocas2012 #
  • Influences. Shara: Music. King James translation of the Bible. British canon from Chaucer to the Romantics. @bocaslitfest #Bocas2012 #
  • Anxieties of influence:postcolonial writing & literary tradition: Loretta Collins-Klobah, Shara McCallum, @keimiller, @Karen_Lord #bocas2012 #
  • Sunday with Kei Miller & Mervyn Morris – @bocaslitfest #Bocas2012 http://t.co/SR76qoOi @keimiller reading #
  • Was not always online to tweet at the time @bocaslitfest #Bocas2012 #
  • gonna finish up Sunday's tweets made @bocaslitfest #Bocas2012 #
  • RT @sbaranha It seems that we did not #DemandDebates loudly enough, but don't expect this hashtag to disappear. #Bahamas2012 #Bahamas2017 #
  • Cool & humbling RT @bocaslitfest @novelniche–thoughts on the poetry of @nicobet & Lelawattee Manoo-Rahming. #bocas2012 http://t.co/SPNeqwAL #
  • Yes!RT @sbaranha @JoeyGaskinsJr On behalf of my & previous generations, I apologise that there's not a wider range of choices. #Bahamas2012 #
  • RT @JoeyGaskinsJr #TheWork doesn't stop at voting…make sure who wins does what's right #Bahamas2012 >>& who loses. Not only victors govern #
  • Elections all round!>> RT @TheEconomist New French interactive simulator come up with a victory for Nicolas #Sarkozy http://t.co/P5mq3Piq #
  • “@JoeyGaskinsJr: Voting today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My first time….”–knock em dead #Bahamas2012 #
  • “@TheEconomist: Malaysia's PM looks strong, but the opposition remains confident http://t.co/aP2Xbrov” global perspectives #Bahamas2012 #
  • “@TSElibot: O my people, what have I done unto thee.”–This should be the politician's lament, & that of each political flunky #Bahamas2012 #
  • “@Salon: @ggreenwald discusses CIA hypocrisy, #WarOnWhistleblowers and more http://t.co/4gh4IktM via @majorityfm” Democracy under siege #
  • “@csbhagya: Appa: You have an exam on May 1st?! Me: Yes Appa. I have an exam on a Sunday also. :/” That's just wrong. #
  • “@TheEconomist: Serbian may 6 elections unpredictable, but any new government will have a hard time http://t.co/tL5lRO6W”–sound familiar? #
  • “@TheEconomist: world losing its ability to reconstruct history. Better regulation could fix that http://t.co/hoMDsdPR” or better education? #
  • Getting up @ stupid o'clock to catch the plane to Miami and leave T&T and @bocaslitfest #bocas2012 A good time was had by all. #
  • Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-04-29 http://t.co/xA4t8IsG #

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]]> http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/05/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-05-06/feed/ 0 Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-04-29 http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-04-29/ http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-04-29/#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2012 23:17:00 +0000 Nicolette Bethel http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-04-29/

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]]> http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-04-29/feed/ 0 Blog – The Nassau Liberal http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/blog-the-nassau-liberal/ http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/blog-the-nassau-liberal/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 02:40:43 +0000 Nicolette Bethel http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/?p=2261

Blog – The Nassau Liberal.

Just for those who think that we “aren’t ready” for a university, READ THIS BLOG and tell me if you still think so.

With one exception, the contributors to this group blog are students at the still-College of   The Bahamas. They are Bahamians born and raised and yet their thought is revolutionary, especially for this ultra-conservative, Papa-lead-me, Saviour-please, Help-and-hope land in which we live. They are young, articulate, erudite, and critical. Amen.

My own socioeconomicpolitical leanings aside (I have managed to temper but not cast aside my socialist preferences), I will be following this blog, these thinkers, these Bahamians. I trust that their voices will be heard more widely. They discuss issues and principles, not who said what and who did what. They put most of the people who stand for office, who have the temerity to ask for our votes, to shame.

Go spend some time there. Read, and tell me if these students (products of our much-maligned “college”), don’t deserve to be graduates of our national university.

And no, I’m not crusading at all.

]]> http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/blog-the-nassau-liberal/feed/ 0 Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-04-22 http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-04-22/ http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-04-22/#comments Sun, 22 Apr 2012 23:17:00 +0000 Nicolette Bethel http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-04-22/

  • Hear hear @ricklowebahamas & Edward Hutcheson Those one sided political discussions http://t.co/U0XAe74N #
  • Blessed blessed rain last night. Today is fresh & sweet #
  • RT @jbbahamas “@Bahamaspress: 5 more hours to SHOWTIME!!!! http://t.co/9zFEL5XA” > nice to know the plp rallies are just a show>> arent all? #
  • Great start–Details?>>RT @mydnaparty @nicobet Our vision for ALL Bahamians is to be esteemed higher than any material or natural resources. #
  • #Bahamas2012 Democratic milestones of the past: Majority Rule: 45 yrs ago. independence: 39 yrs ago. Freedom of speech: 20 yrs ago. But now? #
  • #Bahamas2012 @YourFNM @MYPLP_Believe @mydnaparty We need a vision. We need deliverance from paternalism. We need, after all, a nation. #
  • #Bahamas2012 @MYPLP_Believe Democracy without issues isn't: where are yours? @YourFNM Paternalism isn't democracy: where's my voice? #
  • #Bahamas2012 Democracy is turning down the emotion & turning up the mind. Educate, investigate, interrogate. #DemandDebates #
  • #Bahamas2012 Democracy isn't parroting issues parties define for us or voting for people parties pick for us #DemandDebates #
  • #Bahamas2012 Ask questions. Have vision. Dream better. #DemandDebates #
  • Think critically.Seek truth.(you en ga find it on any party website or party document).Have standards to measure promises by. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Or: Don't mind the noise in the market. Just watch the price of the fish. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Or: mouth could say anything.
    Or: paper will sit still & let anyone write on it. #Bahamas2012 #
  • A little something to keep in mind this election season: talk cheap, money buy land #
  • “@TheEconomist: Marriage is a surprisingly good predictor of management style http://t.co/k83jvk7T” >> sthg to consider when voting? #
  • “@sbaranha: @MYPLP_Believe – How is @YourFNM manifesto "too little, too late," when your own ain't even out yet? #DemandDebates ?? Damn yeah #
  • “@JoeyGaskinsJr: Still in the library at 7am…” O the luxury of a true-true 24 hour library. Dream better Bahamas! #
  • “@sbaranha: Q: Which party transformed rusty steel into our national stadium? A: Communist Party of China. #DemandDebates ??>>w/Chinese labour #
  • “@Truth242: FNM to increase scholarships for Family Island students” Scholarships to where? The USA & the brain drain? Invest in UOB! #
  • “@sbaranha: Somebody is going to offer a laurel wreath to Caesar any minute now. #Bahamas2012 #DemandDebates” Lol look what I missed! #
  • Stayed away from twitter today to get some work done. I blame #Bahamas2012 for keeping me up all night last night. #
  • Dream better!>@jbbahamas:Sustainable boutique hotels. Different islands, different experiences @YourFNM > I can get behind this #Bahamas2012 #
  • Why must we have our national anthem sung to us? What's wrong with everybody standing up and singing it together? & getting the words right? #
  • It's a start>>RT @TheRyan1908 A classmate of mine said the Government shd have ONE tangible goal by 2020:every child should be able to read. #
  • Talking bout education … gotta return to MARKING … ugh #
  • Not willing to let govts off the hook but not willing to accept mediocrity & lame excuses either. Demand more but provide opportunity too #
  • Wanna find a govt that sees Bahamian citizens as humans equal to anyone anywhere on the planet & expects excellence & makes no excuses #
  • Or lack of self-esteem & conviction they are second-class? Agree with #PLP there #
  • RT@TheRyan1908 What do u think happened? >>>Hard to answer in a twitter feed!! #
  • Before 1974:excellence available in public schools.After 1974, 1992, 2002, & 2007:excellence requires fee-paying.Unacceptable.@TheRyan1908 #
  • Citizens, let us demand what we need and let the politicians jump to serve us. Disbelieve whatever sitting politicians say – spin is endemic #
  • Principles have to cut both ways. Under #PLP loan scholarships were being regularized, the way #FNM regularized mortgages. 6 of one & other. #
  • Argument presented re Mortgage Corporation by #DrDuaneSands holds true for Government Loan Scholarship programme which #PLP regularized #
  • And if they did, is it adequate? RT @JoeyGaskinsJr Did the #FNM pass the Person With Disabilities (Equal Opportunity) Bill?? #Bahamas2012 #
  • As #FNM initiatives they are being touted. When will our needs be more important than political pointscoring? #Bahamas2012 #
  • Is citizenry forced to suffer for the sake of political ascendancy?Inner city renewal & community policing were decried as #PLP initiatives #
  • #FNM reinstating the concept of community policing. Why was it stopped? #Bahamas2012 #
  • Moral standards developed by early #PLP Youth between 15 and 25 raised in #FNM times. What fundamental changes are proposed to fix it? #
  • Sands thinks we have a sick society. Let us share the blame for that. We are all complicit. What are solutions, then? #Bahamas2012 #
  • Disbelieve me? Compare Our Plan 2002 with Manifesto 2012. Stop looking back. 2007's mistake was to revert to 2002. Will 2012's be the same? #
  • My concern: #FNM now investing in plans proposed by #PLP 2002-2007: urban renewal, city regeneration, social programmes. But 2012 isn't 2002 #
  • No discussion of any of these things. We look back, throwing stones, not forward, tossing seeds. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Youth unemployment is a pressing issue. Underemployment for qualified Bahamians is a pressing issue. Civil service reform is critical. #
  • Fastest growing areas of global economy: tourism & creative industries. No discussion of either. FDI continues to be seen as a saviour #
  • This back and forth is unproductive and does not bode well for 2012-2017. Vision is lacking overall. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Bahamas economic base under threat and no party is addressing this reality. Economic expansion cannot be done by business as usual. #
  • My problem with this election: the arguments are obsolete and do not take into account the reality of the 21st century. #Bahamas2012 #
  • #FNM #039;s urban renewal plan as articulated by Duane Sands is gentrification not economic renewal of the ppl in the area. #Bahamas2012 #
  • All of a sudden #FNM is a champion of Urban Renewal. Someone explain the philosophy behind it please. #FNM will gentrify the city. #
  • Discussion devolving into more name calling and accusations of untruth. More of the same. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Fundamental difference between #FNM and #PLP #PLP helps ppl, #FNM helps people help themselves #
  • FNM seeks to level the playing field. However the economic method they champion does not have the track record of doing this #
  • Sands indicates that we require a visionary outlook. I entirely agree. He says the political issues are as acute as in 1967. I agree too #
  • This goes both ways. The measure of validity depends upon the amount of assurance a speaker has in his/her voice, upon personality, not fact #
  • Listening to #Love97 – Duane Sands defending the record of the #FNM My problem with the discussion is that propaganda eclipses expertise #
  • & nothing wring wt that RT @JoeyGaskinsJr Leslie Miller saying #FNM funded by old UBP connections in Easter Road, Lyford Cay. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Absurd RT @JoeyGaskinsJr "More money being spent in this election than ever before."- Daryl Miller #Bahamas2012 #
  • Can't agree there RT @JoeyGaskinsJr I think once you lose a seat in parliament, you should step out of politics. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Talk it RT @JoeyGaskinsJr Come on @TeejGrant! No need to biologize false gender differences. #
  • Will the government? RT @ricklowebahamas Will the unions and their leadership answer to the Bahamian taxpayer? http://t.co/xW8nLwtM #
  • RT @peepaltreepress Britain destroyed records of colonial crimes http://t.co/lpVkOwNe via @guardian #
  • LOL RT @HeracliteanFire We got a Nigerian email scam today. But by post. And from China. #
  • Still waiting for #PLP document. Feel in need of some vision. Reward our patience & share some. ##Bahamas2012 #
  • Kudos to Eugene Dupuch Law School for the evening & to the candidates who turned up. #DemandDebates #
  • Cunningham (#DNA): initiate a system by which MPs can be recalled, whether by constituents or cabinet is not clear. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Pinder (#PLP): Representation is a big job and should not be done as a sideline. MPs should be full time jobs. #DNA 's Munroe disagrees #
  • Facing the future: all parties myopic & unconscious of the spirit of the times. #FNM in hotseat but little light shed by others #Bahamas2012 #
  • Hot air & platitudes re the question about the arts & culture. Not high on any agenda. Only #PLP recognized economic opps. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Munroe (#DNA): Too much PM power over Judiciary. Curtail it. Judiciary should be independent and seen to be. #Bahamas2012 #
  • RT @Truth242 Is legislative reform on your candidate's agenda? ASK HIM/HER! >> And #DemandDebates #
  • RT @Truth242 @nicobet Most Bahamians don't have access to justice so as to review Executive decisions. We need written standards>>SNAP #
  • RT @Truth242 @nicobet Far too much Executive discretion, I agree. Nearly every law is SUBJECT to 'discretion' by the Minister >>hear hear #
  • #DNA reforms go further. Fixed life of Parliament. Campaign finance reform. PM's power curtailed by consent, not consultation, of opposition #
  • All parties would seek constitutional amendments. #FNM women, #DNA & #PLP limit PM power #Bahamas2012 #
  • Pinder (PLP) simple constitutional reforms can curtail PM powers-Boundaries Commission, powers to appoint senior officials etc #Bahamas2012 #
  • Munroe (#DNA): the position of Prime Minister is despotic in nature and by constitution. DNA will limit PM's power. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Munroe (#DNA) Citizenship by birth not supported. Only children born to people with status are Bahamians. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Hunt (#FNM): constitutional amendment required to allow any Bahamian, make or female, to confer citizenship on children. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Pinder – constitution a living document. Need for amendments as time goes on. #Bahamas2012 #
  • Catching up on the tweets from the Governance Panel #DemandDebates #
  • RT @JoeyGaskinsJr I just want to hit the reset button on Bahamian politics….#Bahamas2012 Best one yet #DemandDebates #
  • RT @nplaughlin Files from Anguilla and the Bahamas in the "secret" colonial records newly released by the British gov't http://t.co/dg0wwaxs #
  • RT @nplaughlin "Every sensitive document kept by the authorities in British Guiana" destroyed in Independence handover? http://t.co/Vj1z1toM #
  • RT @JoeyGaskinsJr RT @dwayneroper: DR: Life of a Hashtag: #DemandDebates http://t.co/rVB0w3ef (cc: @nicobet )<< very cool! >> Ditto! #
  • RT @KnowlesAsh "@gotyouhigh Best advice anyone could ever give: Always be kind and polite, and have the materials to build a bomb. " >> Heh #
  • RT @museum_studies Activism in museums? Italian museum starts burning artworks in protest. http://t.co/ZNB0EiR9 >> Bit extreme #
  • RT @AncientProverbs When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion. -Ethiopian Proverb >> Call the spiders #
  • AKA young men in yellow shirts laid redshirt effigy in road.Who created young men? RT @JoeyGaskinsJr #PLP create effigy of #FNM #Bahamas2012 #
  • Eugene Dupuch Panel Discussion on Governance. R. Pinder, H. Hunt, W. Munroe, K. Cunningham #DemandDebates http://t.co/GcoW9bEd #
  • On constitutional amendment – K. Cunningham – amend citizenship via women & ultimate power of the PM #DemandDebates #
  • H. Hunt – honesty and integrity are her strengths. #DemandDebates #
  • W. Munroe – representation of constituency, second only to greater national good. #DemandDebates #
  • Good governance: K. Cunningham – good opposition. R. Pinder – good legislation & representation. #DemandDebates #
  • All parties represented. Good stuff. #DNA #PLP #FNM all here. #
  • Will tweet till phone charge dies. No Internet. #DemandDebates #
  • At the Eugene Dupuch sponsored panel discussion on governance. #DemandDebates #
  • USA not the best example I can think of for model election systems. Concentrate on our own flaws. They have enough. #DemandDebates #
  • Like the #DNA ads though. But is there substance behind the rhetoric? #DemandDebates #
  • Feeling insulted by the repetition of the "opportunity society" ads. Few opportunities for qualified young people. #DemandDebates #
  • Lester's points are sound. Listening is a valuable virtue, Darold. #DemandDebates #
  • Not a whole much else I agree with – more sound than light so far. Thanks for the numbers, Lester. #DemandDebates #
  • Listening to Guardian Talk Radio regarding elections. One thing I agree with. Elections to consider like this: 1967 and 1977 #DemandDebates #
  • Still undecided. Issues clear; solutions not. No Plan from PLP yet. Time running out. Waiting to be wooed. #DemandDebates #
  • Bahama Republic http://t.co/LBFlysvT #
  • “@sablikatriumph: @nicobet hi there, the last elections also didn't have political debates? #DemandDebates #Bahamas (#Curacao)”>>No debates #
  • “@sbaranha: I am an undecided voter in St. Anne's." I am an undecided voter in Montagu. Help me decide. #DemandDebates #
  • Is "free" trade undoing the progress attempted by the 20th century? Gap between richest & poorest sounds feudal to me https://t.co/m1jVnIJe #
  • “@JoeyGaskinsJr: @nicobet did you peek the #twitpic lol” >>> Did but haven't seen nor read The Hunger Games so didn't get it yet #
  • “@JoeyGaskinsJr: Wherever there is a binary there's trouble…gender, sexuality, racializations and nationalisms.” >> Add partisan politics #
  • “@ricklowebahamas: Bahamas Elections 2012. Trend setting site for the elections. http://t.co/b2pRbf62” >>Go Alex! #
  • “@sbaranha: @JoeyGaskinsJr @Tribune242 – Every time a Bahamian newspaper re-designs their website, the old stuff gets lost.”>>On purpose? #
  • “@wardmin: Finished reading #theHungerGames today. Now I can go see the movie! :) ” >>> I need to start #
  • “@JoeyGaskinsJr: Headed home…” >>> Transatlantically, or across town? #
  • “@DBoodooFortune: The Art of Danielle Boodoo-Fortune: April thoughts http://t.co/VnlNWmTl” >>> Love your art! #
  • “@BahamasWeekly: Police investigating shooting incident resulting in death of 12 yr oldhttp://t.co/LP6aHnOJ” >>Most gun ownership's illegal #
  • “@InjusticeFacts: 1960: the 20% of the world's people in the richest countries had 30x the income of the poorest 20%, in 1997: 74x as much.” #
  • “@mydnaparty: Great nations like great people must decide what they want 50 years from now and then work like a dog to get there.” >> Amen #
  • Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-04-15 http://t.co/zqUrT7EC #
  • RT @JoeyGaskinsJr: I will fight free-market capitalism and the conservative economic agenda in the Bahamas… >>>Hard to choose a party then #
  • …marking… rescue me… marking… somebody say something good… #

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]]> http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-04-22/feed/ 0 Bahama Republic http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/bahama-republic/ http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/bahama-republic/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:56:49 +0000 Nicolette Bethel http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/?p=2252

Election fever has brought some interesting things back to my attention, such as this blog, Bahama Republic.

It’s not that I didn’t know it existed. It’s right there in my blogroll, among the various links that are expired, obsolete, or moved. That means I knew about it three, four or five years ago (don’t know how long ago I constructed the blogroll—the older I get, the more time compresses into one big blur). Still. As is the case with many of those links, I haven’t revisited it in some time.

But links to its posts are resurfacing on Facebook via the Demand Debates campaign, and because there’s more discussion regarding life and work at the College of The Bahamas.

Go check it out. It’s good reading. I tend to fall into its camp with regard to the ways in which we view ourselves, our fundamental conservatism and fear of confrontation, our need of “brain-un-washing”. I particularly agree with the idea that 2012 and possibly years to come “may see the continuation of the unfinished revolution of the 1960/70s.” I’m not sure I share all of its cynicism, and while I am as unimpressed with the “achievements” of the past five years as the author is, I have not been convinced that a return to a PLP administration will be the magic bullet that solves all our problems.

My only criticism? There’s nothing on the site to indicate who’s behind it. Now while I can’t blame a person (who for all I know may well be a civil servant, and therefore prohibited from exercising the constitutionally guaranteed right of free-ish speech, or a sitting MP, or even—weird thought—a down-low member of the FNM cabinet) for wishing to keep a low profile, the lack of identifiable authorship does give me pause. Anonymity is sometimes necessary, but in this cyberage it is also an easy way to make statements for which one does not have to take responsibility. We live in a country where responsibility is too easily shifted from the person to the generic; it seems to me that one way to counter that failing is for each citizen to step up and take personal responsibility for what they feel, think and say.

That said, what do I know? I don’t know the author’s situation, and for all I know his/her livelihood may depend on keeping the powerful happy. In that case, the blog itself is an exercise in responsibility.

In any event, go read Bahama Republic. It’s heartening to see the continued level of discussion, and well worth it.

]]> http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/bahama-republic/feed/ 0 Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-04-15 http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-04-15/ http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-04-15/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:17:00 +0000 Nicolette Bethel http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-04-15/

  • Well worth considering RT @globalvoices How should we react to beggars? http://t.co/OkRwdXtS #SriLanka #poverty #
  • BEC power gone off @ 4 am. Woke up. 8:30 am the BEC robot calling the house, say if the power restored. BEC I am not a robot. I need sleep. #
  • RT @TheRyan1908: I dont think most Bahamians appreciate the value of education unless they have to pay for it. >>> I happen to agree. #
  • RT @KnowlesAsh Should I even vote? All 3 parties seem inadequate. >>> My dilemma exactly. We still have one more document to go though #PLP #
  • RT @KnowlesAsh Culture & Heritage section of the #FNMManifesto is weak. >>> it's worse than weak. It was fuller in 2007 and has been pruned #
  • #DNAVision released today. Still digesting the #FNMManifesto Hope there's more hope in the Vision. #DemandDebates #
  • “@sbaranha: @nicobet – Did you hear HAI promising to remember those who don't strike & threatening to remember those who do?” Didn't. Glad. #
  • “@Tribune242: Tribune Business:
    STOPOVER VISITORS TO HIT 1.88m BY 2022
    http://t.co/gutFgrzj” This is GOOD news? Why will it take that long? #
  • “@mydnaparty: Vision Book 2012 & Beyond has been released!!! – Click on the link to view:… http://t.co/AZfPvNxh” Downloading tonight #
  • #FNMManifesto Any proposed changes to exchange control to give individual entrepreneurs direct access to global markets? #DemandDebates #
  • #FNMManifesto p. 39: REALLY disappointed in tourism plans. Continued handing off of main industry to foreign hands. #DemandDebates #
  • #FNMManifesto p. 37: Tourism achievements seem to be window dressing. What was the impact – economic, environmental? #DemandDebates #
  • #FNMManifesto p. 38: Not impressed by the extension of concessions to private cruise ports. Why help our competitors? #DemandDebates #
  • #FNMManifesto p. 33: I like the Return to the Island initiative. A lot. Want to know details. #DemandDebates #
  • #FNMManifesto p. 32: creed of salvation by foreign investment (aka nation-for-sale) continues. #DemandDebates #
  • #FNMManifesto p. 31: Complete process of accession to WTO. Disaster in the making. WTO not geared to benefit small nations #DemandDebates #
  • #FNMManifesto begins (p. 4) with an anti-PLP screed. Are we preparing for 5 more years of insulting almost half the nation? #DemandDebates #
  • “@KheliAshlee:I really wanna see a debate tho.Leaders should debate and all those running against each other should as well” #DemandDebates #
  • This college professor wants to know that her tax money isn't going to continue being spent on hefty foreign consultant fees #DemandDebates #
  • This college professor wants to know what the role of intellectuals will be in the next 5 years of FNM rule #DemandDebates #
  • Not interested in selling more of the country. Want to know what plans there are for encouraging widescale Bahamian participation in economy #
  • #DemandDebates Want to know what lies between the Manifesto's lines cos what's written isn't wowing me. Talk to me. Earn my vote. #
  • Disappointed. No real faith in people expressed. A conservative, cautious manifesto when we need radical vision. Train citizens not servants #
  • Investment in manual labour not intellectual achievement. Plans for university delayed. Training favoured over education. #DemandDebates #
  • Looking for some real alternatives in the economic arena but saw more of the same. Investment in servitude not creativity. #DemandDebates #
  • Lowering of Junkanoo ticket prices is not an achievement. Capping revenue on a multimillion $$ industry is not visionary. #DemandDebates #
  • C'mon #PLP let's see your vision. Want to know how you will face the future. Issues matter to this voter; feed me. #DemandDebates #
  • Not impressed with cultural agenda. Cultural economy sparking economic recovery elsewhere. No mention here. Next? #DemandDebates #
  • Some of FNM Manifesto 2012 reads suspiciously like PLP Plan 2002 – Urban Renewal initiatives? Wasn't that a fail? #DemandDebates #
  • Are we going to see governance in next 5 years rather than continued political point scoring? Not an auspicious beginning #DemandDebates #
  • RT @KnowlesAsh @savageminds Anthropology was Not All White Males: Early Ethnographies by Women & Persons of Color http://t.co/b89qox1Q /KF " #
  • #DNA talking issues. #FNM Manifesto up. #PLP we're waiting – #DemandDebates #
  • Finally, #FNMManifesto https://t.co/ibn3Pk4B No university for the Bahamas in the next 5 years. Aren't we good enough yet? #DemandDebates #
  • Come now @branmccartney – all politicians will say anything before an election. Stick to issues – What makes you different? #DemandDebates #
  • #DemandDebates The Bahamian electorate has become weary of campaigns without substance http://t.co/mLs6PbQR #
  • FNM, PLP or DNA? No, a PCB — Proud Citizen of The Bahamas. Join me: #DemandDebates #
  • Still giving the DNA kudos for engaging with issues, even when I don't agree with their stands. PLP and FNM: we're waiting. #DemandDebates #
  • Haven't picked a colour yet. I kinda like the Bahamian flag myself. But life is too short to listen to screaming and shouting and rallying. #
  • Listening to DNA Good Governance. Issues matter. Not sure that prettiness is a criterion for election though. #DemandDebates #
  • Just had a flashback to David Lindsay-Abaire's Good People starring Frances McDormand. Don't ask why. Don't know. http://t.co/jjHSbIG4 #
  • RT @joeybahamas RT @nicobet: @joeybahamas Huh! curiouser & curiouser<< i feel like i'm being investigated now lolol << No fear of that! #
  • Point is there were shades of complexity in Bahamian race/class continuum that makes reductionism nonsense. Bahamas mixed US & WI attitudes. #
  • Social conservatism is a different thing and was almost always expressed racially. Adderley certainly married light, Toote lighter. #
  • Fought for education etc. GHS and so on. Sat in House of Assembly between the wars. Later what was progressive may have become conservative #
  • Amen RT @vkrussell @nicobet I hope that the student work doesnt come down. It would be a sad day for freedom of speech and expression. #COB #
  • Not that the light skinned didn't disassociate from darker skinned but colour was not always a sure marker of class. #
  • This light/white thing is relatively new, mostly post-PLP, post-1992. Also influenced by Haitian racial categories. #
  • Tings change RT @JoeyGaskinsJr My light skin, American & British education & my class background make me get called "white" constantly #
  • #DemandDebates RT @JoeyGaskinsJr McCartney uses Toronto as eg.of low murder rates.Canada has not executed since1962. #Election2012 #Bahamas #
  • Just heard that the #COB Colour of Harmony art protest may be coming down. Hope it's not true—unless the students take it down themselves. #
  • Just almost got creamed by a driver flying a party flag coming the wrong way out of a one way street. Way to advertise your party dude. #

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]]> http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2012-04-15/feed/ 0 Elections—and beyond http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/elections-and-beyond/ http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2012/04/elections-and-beyond/#comments Wed, 11 Apr 2012 08:41:46 +0000 Nicolette Bethel http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/?p=2228

So, in the parlance of the day: Papa done ring da bell.

Whatever that means.

Don’t get me wrong. I can talk the talk like any other Bahamian in 2012. Papa = the current prime minister, Hubert Ingraham. “The Bell” = the announcement of a date for the next general election. I know how to translate the statement.

I just don’t know what it means.

Here’s why. Some time ago, I wrote up my own manifesto (since the political parties vying for leadership of the country hadn’t seen fit to share any of their promises or policies for the next five years) as a voter, a participant in a process that is commonly called “democratic”. Since that time, others have joined me in making similar statements, and a few voices have called for our leaders and other politicians to have the balls to step out from behind their carefully crafted propaganda and open themselves up to discussions of issues with reasonable citizens.

But, disappointingly, and with one important exception (Branville McCartney of the DNA) they haven’t.

And this, to my mind, does not bode well for our future. This is, after all, not like any other election year. For one thing, there are three major parties contesting the general election, a broad slate of independents, and a few fringe parties as well; for another, the two oldest parties are in fact comprised of the political parties that have made some impact over the past twenty years—the BDM in the case of the FNM, the NDP in the case of the PLP, and the CDR split between the two. Even the DNA has absorbed at least one extant party into its ranks: Rodney Moncur’s Worker’s Party. For another thing, for any dispassionate person, it is very unclear who is likely to win the next election. Popular support for both parties seems to have declined since 2007 and 2002. Back then, both the FNM and the PLP had trouble finding public spaces that were large enough to hold the assemblies of their supporters, and ended up taking turns on Clifford Park itself, which was packed with bodies sporting the shirts of the party colours: red for the FNM, yellow for the PLP. This season, however, the largest gatherings in Nassau have taken place on beaches—which, thanks to the generosity of both parties in giving away Bahamian beachfront property to foreign investors, are relatively small spaces in our city-island. This past Easter Monday, the FNM repaired to the Montagu foreshore, (for which it seems to have no trouble taking credit, but which was actually renovated by a private concern acting, at least officially, in a non-partisan manner) and the PLP occupied the Western Esplanade. Photographs have been circulating around cyberspace in an effort to compare the two gatherings and suggest that one was bigger than the other. There is a sort of frenzy on Facebook and other places Bahamians gather, where people engage in heated and emotionally charged exchanges of—what else?—propaganda, hurling the same invective our MPs have been hurling at one another across the floor of the house of assembly. But there is also a very large silence as well, and it is this silence that makes the outcome of the election so difficult to determine.

I’d like to consider that silence at some other time, because I find it very interesting. It’s a silence that sits in judgement, that does not buy into the insult-trading or hop the partisan bandwagon. It’s the kind of silence that affected the outcome of the Elizabeth by-election, where a seat was won because the majority of registered voters did not turn out to vote. I know that Larry Smith has argued that low voter turn-out is not uncommon for by-elections, and I agree to a point, but I also sense (as does he) that there is more at work here than that; it seems to me that there is a growing group of Bahamians who watch the antics of all the political parties with a mixture of disgust and despair, because all politicians alike are missing the point. Which is that no matter who wins on May 7th, 2012, we will all have to live in this country together on May 8th.

So my question is this. Given the passion and energy being expended in tearing down the other parties, or the other leaders—in dismissing reasonable questions and observations as “FNM” or “PLP” or even “DNA”—each of these being intended as insult, what happens the day after elections, when one party has won and the other(s) has/ve not? How do we work on building a nation of Bahamians? I have heard absolutely nothing from any party about what the future holds. The PLP has crafted some very general principles for the next few years, but these, when decoded, seem to amount to a reinstatement of what was in the works between 2002 and 2007 when they were in power. The FNM has focussed very much on vague generalities like “proven leadership” and “deliverance”, and what has been done, largely in material, infrastructural terms, in the very recent past (one or two years at most). The DNA speaks in broad terms, pushing the buttons that they feel gain them support, but not showing any real coherent ideology about which their philosophy has been crafted (well, OK, to say that the PLP and the FNM have any coherent ideology would be being too kind, but at least their track records suggest that one group makes noises that are vaguely populist while the other tends to appease the local business community).

Election seasons last for no more than six months at best. The remaining four and a half years require some measure of governance. And what frightens me the most in this election is how much it seems to be a game to those who are playing it. It’s entertainment, a sport, which involves the kind of trash-talking that one expects to hear at a football game (American or soccer, makes no difference) or before a boxing match, but which has very little place in the governing of the country. One could argue (and I certainly would) that for four of the past five years, there was no governance at all, but just more of this sparring in the house of assembly, just more trading of insults back and forth across the floor, while the world got on with changing its foundations all around us and the ground on which our society and economy rest crumbles away. I am not impressed by the roads and the harbour or the extension of the hospital, as every one of these, no matter the expenditure, represents to my mind a kind of patch on a society whose foundations are in danger of falling apart. Nor am I impressed with the way in which the opposition opposed these things, because, well, whining and insult do not an opposition make. And I’m also not impressed with the kinds of “solutions” proposed by either of the opposing parties, because no one is explaining how they are going to implement those solutions. I would venture to suggest that it is time that the era of development-by-foreign-investment come to a close in The Bahamas. But I see no evidence that the parties who have governed for the last twenty years in that climate have come up with any ideas about how to manage this country all by themselves.

So as we stare down the home stretch, as we slide into these last three weeks before Bahamians go to the polls and cast our votes, I would like at least one day to be dedicated to having the people who are contesting the elections to tell us what their vision is for this nation. Where do we go from here? How do we find our place in the twenty-first century? Why should I cast a vote for men who were educated before Bahamian Independence, and whose philosophies are, must be, out of place in this digital, global age? Why should I cast one for a man who has ridden the wave of dissatisfaction with our leaders to prominence as a real third-party contender, but who has not yet crafted a vision of his own as to how the country might be different?

Do I have hope for the Bahamian future, no matter who wins the next election? I can’t honestly say that I do. I have seen no vision from any of our prospective leaders, but see divisiveness and excess among their followers. So I’m preparing for five more years of struggle, no matter who wins or doesn’t win this election; for five more years of escalating violence in our society; for five more years of a contracting economy, traffic problems, and decreasing revenues. I’m preparing for five more years of governmental desperation, of prostitution of the country to the biggest donor (China seems to be the crowd favourite right now), of undereducation and of brain drain, no matter who wins. Because the governing of a country—and of a postcolonial, neocolonized country on the edge of America at the turn of the digital age—is a delicate, precious business; and, because governing in such a climate requires more than snap decisions made by a despot, the demurring of a wannabe democrat, or the pontification of a malcontent, I have seen no indication that any of our prospective leaders are capable of governing at all.

May 7th can’t come soon enough. But, people, think what May 8th will bring.

 

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