Afua Hirsch: Our parents left Africa – now we are coming home | World news | The Observer

Something else worth reading. Read the whole thing.

I remember the usual things that people comment on when visiting equatorial African nations for the first time – the assault of hot air when stepping off the plane, which I confused with engine heat, the smell of spice and smoked fish on the air, and – most significantly for me – the fact that everyone was black. It sounds obvious but I had never really seen officials in uniform – immigration authorities, police, customs officers – with black skin. I dont think I had realised that there was a world in which black people could be in charge.via Afua Hirsch: Our parents left Africa – now we are coming home | World news | The Observer.

Economic Diversification and the Creative Class

Thursday night's tmg* talks: WELL WORTH WATCHING.[ustream id=24915220 hwaccel=1 width=480 height=386]Video streaming by UstreamGo Royann Dean and tmginnovates

Charlie, R.I.P.

This morning, my heart and mind will be at Christ Church Cathedral, where my former minister and colleague, Charles Maynard, will be laid to rest. My body will not; I teach a class at the same time which I have not yet met and which meets once a week, and my first obligation is to them. But my heart and mind will be with Zelena, Charles' children, Mr and Mrs Maynard, Andrew, Nina, George, and the family at large.

Charles and I worked together for some eighteen months. He was the Minister of State for Culture; I was the Director of Cultural Affairs. Unlike his colleagues on both sides of the political divide, Charles got it. He was the first Minister of Culture to have had his own conscious, real investment in the business of culture, and he understood what we in The Bahamas needed in that regard. He and I didn't always agree, but he always allowed room for healthy discussion, and would always listen to dissenting views; even more strangely (for a politician), he would even allow himself to be convinced by another person's position if he felt that it had more merit than his own, or if he felt it could bear fruit. In other words, he made room, when I worked with him, for the possibility that he might be wrong. The rowdy persona that he adopted in the House of Assembly was miles away from the person he was in his ministerial office. There, he would join in a debate in his usual vigorous fashion, but as minister he would never ridicule you or dismiss your position outright. The typical malaise that we associate with Bahamian cabinet ministers, that of having instant expertise conferred upon them by God or the Governor when they take the oath of their office, did not afflict him; he had respect for the experts in the field  and would bow to their expertise when necessary.

I loved and respected him as a minister. I knew that his desire was the same as ours—to develop Bahamian culture in such a way that it would become a beacon of pride for all citizens, an integral, perhaps a primary, part of the tourist package, and a source of income for many. He believed in us, in our worth, in our ability to create greatness. That he could not infect his colleagues with the same belief was not his fault; and so, like us, he deferred his dream.

He told me once, when we were in a passionate discussion about CARIFESTA and why we should hold it in The Bahamas at the time we had committed to do so (and he went to bat for us, all guns blazing, because he understood what it could do for a nation), that he was advised as a cabinet minister to make a choice. "Either you are a cultural activist, or you are a cabinet minister," he was told. "You need to pick a side." He was passing the choice on to me; "Either you are a cultural activist," he was saying, "or you are a civil servant." He made his choice. He believed, as almost all politicians do, that maintaining a position of power was the best way to effect the change that he wanted to see. I was not so sure about that; I knew which one I was. Our paths parted, and we continued working in the ways our consciences demanded. I am more committed than ever to make his dream real.

Perhaps coincidentally, today, August 24, is the day my father died, twenty-five years ago. For those who don't know, my father, E. Clement Bethel, was the first Director of Cultural Affairs in The Bahamas. He had the same dream that Charles and I shared, but he had it forty years before us. When the idea of the Bahamian nation was both embryonic and impossible, E. Clement Bethel was imagining greatness for Bahamian culture. In 2007, Charles Maynard was imagining the same. That we have not achieved it yet is not the fault of either man. The best legacy for Charles now is to honour him by making the dream a reality. I'm committed to it. Come join me.

And Charlie—rest in peace.

Nikki Giovanni writes: Politicizing black hair - Salon.com

We all still have a long way to go. I've highlighted what I think is most critical about this point; I've made it bold below.

What’s particular to me in this narrative about blackness and beauty is the rather uncomfortable admission that we are overly concerned by how the world (white people) sees us and our own internalized narrative of the meaning of kinky, curly, (nappy) hair. Our hair comes in all textures and types. The resources and community support that are available to us today were absent in my earliest journey of ‘transitioning‘. Yet, we’re still policing each other on how to be and be seen. Solange Knowles has also had her share in engaging the hair policing this summer, took to twitter to hush her critics for calling her hair ‘unkempt’ and ‘dry as heck’. Key word: ‘unkempt’. The socialization around black women and our naturally curly hair centers around a perception that I have assume stems from our tortured racial history, that our hair, wild, tightly curled, textured hair means something that is ‘bad’, ‘unruly’, ‘uncivlized’ and ‘rebellious’. The legacy of language in this context sadly echoes more race talk but within our own community. ‘Unkempt’ is this context is another way to say ‘uncivilized’.via Politicizing black hair - Salon.com.

Go read the whole thing.

A Preliminary Assessment of Hubert Ingraham's Legacy - Bahama Pundit

Ingraham's greatest achievement was to unlock broadcasting, curb endemic victimization, and enable freedom of speech. In the process, he completed the realignment of Bahamian politics so that all sections of society could participate comfortably.via A Preliminary Assessment of Hubert Ingraham's Legacy - Bahama Pundit.

More on this later.

Feeling my mortality

It's almost the end of July, and August is around the corner.August has become a strange month for me. When I was a child, all the people I knew and loved were born in August, so it was a month of birthdays, sunshine, poinciana and sultry smothery heat. Well. Perhaps not all the people, but all the people older and closer to me. These were the birthdays that fell in August: my grandmother's first, then my uncle's, then three cousins one after another, and finally my mother's. The August birthdays. The Leos. Ice cream and cake and sitting around in living rooms just talking until the sun went down and the mosquitoes had to be quelled with Baygon. August was a big deal in my mother's family. In my mother's family, we understood that they were the pre-electricity babies; the pre-electricity, pre-fan, pre-a/c babies. They'd all been conceived nine months before, which was in November. They'd been made during the first really cool weather of the year.Now, though, they are dead. All the relatives who surround me now are the top-of-the-year babies: that rush of birthdays that begin in January (now, with our spouses, in December) and continue until July. August grows quiet now, which is strange.But there's another thing about August. It's the month my father died. He stuck it out till after my mother's birthday, and waited for almost a full week after, so that his death wouldn't mar her birthday too much. On August 24th, my father died. He was 49. This year, I am 49, and when August 24th comes around my father will have been dead 25 years.So this month is a month when my mother will be very close to me, having been born in August: my mother, and my uncle, and their mother, and the days throughout the year will be long and quiet and maybe melancholy. There won't be ice cream and cake, unless we decide to celebrate in their honour. And then it'll be the 24th, I'm 49, and I'll be thinking about my father and death.Time to end on a little Hippolyte, I think:

No distance as long as a dim hospital corridor when,coming to the end of it, before turning left, you do not knowif the door you walk to will be openif the bed within will now be empty, strippedif the quick, clipped phone call, "Come now", an hour agowas an hour, half an hour, half of that, a minute, half a minutelate.

from "Distance" by Kendel Hippolytefrom his book Fault Lines (Peepal Tree, 2012) 

The Aurora Movie Theatre Shooting and American Gun Culture : The New Yorker

And here, in the Bahamas, some of us discuss, seriously, that Bahamians should be allowed to carry handguns. We happen to live in that part of the world which was founded on the concept that it is some people's god-given right to sail across an ocean, map out other people's lands, eradicate those people, resettle those lands, import other people, and make fortunes out of the process.We are the broken men and women who are struggling to create civilizations out of that history. But we cannot, because we were created out of a philosophy that sees human life not as something sacred, but as something expendable—something that is less important than profit, or than massacre. The genocide and enslavement on which the "New" world was founded have left a legacy in which massacre is enacted again and again, and presented to the world as freedom.And here in The Bahamas, we believe that nonsense. We believe that true freedom consists of the right to kill other people. We believe that some people are "bad" and others are "good" and the "good" people have the right to arm themselves and eradicate the "bad" people. We ourselves are always the "good" people. Who, then, are "bad"?

Every country has, along with its core civilities and traditions, some kind of inner madness, a belief so irrational that even death and destruction cannot alter it. In Europe not long ago it was the belief that “honor” of the nation was so important that any insult to it had to be avenged by millions of lives. In America, it has been, for so long now, the belief that guns designed to kill people indifferently and in great numbers can be widely available and not have it end with people being killed, indifferently and in great numbers. The argument has gotten dully repetitive: How does one argue with someone convinced that the routine massacre of our children is the price we must pay for our freedom to have guns, or rather to have guns that make us feel free? You can only shake your head and maybe cry a little. “Gun Crazy” is the title of one the best films about the American romance with violence. And gun-crazy we remain.via The Aurora Movie Theatre Shooting and American Gun Culture : The New Yorker.

Pure Fawkery

A new Bahamian blog:

Bahamian proms are nothing more than an opportunity to showcase what is wrong with our country. It is showcase of an unmerited extravaganza where the participants compete to "one up" each other for public acclaim and fame. The arrival to the prom outweighs the actual ceremony....Sadly, many parents feed into this fawkery never focusing on the child’s education, but are the number one cheerleaders of their child. They watch with glee as their child exits the stretched limousine which was escorted by two motor cycles, in a thousand dollar dress that exposes more flesh than it covers. They are screaming and cheering as they drown their child in a shower of camera flashes like the paparazzi at the latest movie premiere. All of this for a few moments, but after the revelry and adulation is done, what is next?I can only hope that those persons spending outlandish amounts of money on a prom have already secured entry into and finances for tertiary education. Having a thousand dollar outfit with a ten cent brain is just #pure fawkery.via Pure Fawkery.

Lost in Marks

For the past month now, I've been engaged in an exercise in marking scripts as an external examiner. I can't say more than that as I am contractually obliged to observe strict confidentiality, but I wanted to share some of the experience. The first is that the marking happens remotely, using a remarkable piece of software that has eliminated the paper from the equation. This has many advantages, especially for me; I've been doing work in cyberspace for the past 12 years or so and am a real fan of computerized, internet everything (even though I still love physical books). As a teacher and former bureaucrat I have seen enough paper to last me forever, and anything that helps me move away from my memories of government offices which are no more than caves made of buff-coloured files stacked above any normal person's head makes me happy. There are disadvantages, such as when everybody's marking at the same time and connectivity slows to a crawl; there was one day I gave up in disgust. But on the whole, the experience has made the experience more flexible and efficient, at least from my perspective. I type faster than I write longhand, which is a help.But for the past month, too, I've been off the grid because of this obligation. I've fluffed deadlines and ducked meetings (I'm normally not too AWFUL about either, though I'm sure Nicholas Laughlin would fundamentally disagree) and have only just been able to save the journal tongues of the ocean from disappearing into oblivion by working over-overtime. Shakespeare in Paradise is coming up and that has its own set of obligations. My life is full and it will only work if I get super-organized. I'm working on that; I've got a home office from which I work now and that helps a little.If anybody wants to know where else my brain has been going besides marking exams, they can follow my twitter feed (@nicobet). I find the 140 characters liberating when I'm snowed under with too much stuff and I also find that some of my best cyberdiscussions are taking place in twitterspace, so if you're interested, go check them out.And for now, ciao. 

Lynn Sweeting on support for the arts

Hear, hear, Lynn. Love your womanish words.

Why is it so hard to find funding in this country for the Arts? And Im not talking about government funding here, or the tiny cheques we manage to beg from the odd supporter of our creative endeavors. Im talking about large gifts of financial support from the private citizens who dip into their multi-million dollar fortunes to create grants and foundations to support the development of the Arts in the communities where they live. Where, for example, is the Sir Stafford Sands Foundation for the Arts or the Tiger Finlayson Fund for the Literary Arts or the HG Christie Theatre for the Performing Arts or the Norman Solomon Arts Foundation? Where is the Rupert Roberts Endowment for the Arts, the Kelly Foundation, the Butler Foundation, the Lightbourn Fund for the Development of the Arts? Where are the libraries, museums and colleges the moneyed elite have created to nurture and enrich and give back to the communities that made them so wealthy to begin with?via Womanish Words.

Surreal but good

Today was the first day of the estate sale for my mother's house. We aren't selling the house, just many of the contents. My parents had oodles and oodles of things -- many of them collectibles that worked in that house because of its size, but which Eddie and I can't accommodate in our homes. And then, after my father died, people who loved my parents both gave my mother exquisite pieces -- crystal, Lladro figurines, work by Denis Knight and Jessica Maycock and Lillian Blades.These things went on sale today. The sale was scheduled to begin at 8:30 this morning, and people were at the house by 8:00. When I got there -- right at 8:30 (the sale was being handled by Jay Koment, a premier art and antiques dealer) -- there were people waiting to get in.I have to say, I was apprehensive to say the least. Letting these things go wasn't easy. Pieces that we were clearing out have memories, and I wanted to feel as though those memories are being shared up among the people who knew and loved my parents. My father's favourite chair -- to a cousin who loves it. My mother's favourite -- to a former student and lifelong friend. My father's music books -- to his pupils, that sort of thing.I needn't have worried. One of the first things someone said to me, after asking how I was handling the sale (and the answer was I was handling it perfectly well, thank you, until that very moment that I saw all the people and knew it was time to let things go), was that so many of the people who had arrived bright and early were there because they knew and loved my parents and they wanted to have mementos of them. That made me happier. Much happier. And then the people who bought the things that mattered most to me were people who knew my parents and loved them, and so it was all good.We do it again tomorrow, and then it's time to start work on the house.All, all part of the process of letting go.

Lent/Elegies and the Nanopress

Some time ago now, the announcement went out that I had published another book. When people began to congratulate me on this, I wasn't sure what they were talking about. Then I realized they were referring to the chapbook Lent / Elegies, a collection of poems that I wrote after the death of my mother. A chapbook is a little different from a book book in that it is smaller, generally comprised of poetry, and it's often done by very small presses, or by the poet herself. My book was a bit of both.Nic Sebastian, an online fellow-poet, created the idea of what she calls the nanopress as a way of publishing collections of poetry. This idea grew out of a number of meditations on the state of publishing, the purpose of poetry, the role of the internet, and the liberation of the word from the page. Here is her description of the nanopress:

The nanopress is a single-publication, purpose-formed poetry press that brings together, on a one-time basis, an independent editor’s judgment and gravitas and a poet’s manuscript. The combination effectively by-passes both the poetry-contest gamble and the dwindling opportunities offered by existing poetry presses, while still applying credible ‘quality control’ measures to the published work.

And here's what she says about the genesis of it:

my personal perspective is that there is no money in poetry and that poetry sits very uneasily in the traditional commercial publishing paradigm. I envision the nanopress as a completely no-profit, non-financial undertaking, with the editor providing editing services on a volunteer basis, the published book sold at cost-price only, and the poetry also delivered free via the web. In the case of Lordly Dish Nanopress, we published book, CD, e-reader and website versions of Nic’s collection. The book and CD are available at no-profit cost-price from the print-on-demand publisher, the e-book is a free download, and the poems (both text and audio) are available free on the website.Be clear why you are doing this: are you trying to make money by selling your poems, or are you trying to get your poems read as widely as possible?

Almost a year ago, Nic put out an invitation for people to submit concepts for nanopress publications to her. She would oversee their production, and she would help get them into print. I spoke to Sonia Farmer, my editor from Poinciana Paper Press, and she came on board, and we submitted the project to Nic. I wrote the poems and sent them to Sonia. She arranged them, discussed titles with me, sourced the cover image (Stan Burnside's fabulous "Age Ain Nuttin But a Number"), corresponded with Nic, looked over proofs, did everything an editor is supposed to do. Lent / Elegies is the result.Nic did all the formatting for us, and even began to work on the audio for me. She has published two of her own chapbooks by nanopress, Forever Will End On Thursday, collection edited by Jill Alexander Essbaum, published by Lordly Dish Nanopress, and Dark And Like A Web, chapbook edited by Beth Adams, published by Broiled Fish & Honeycomb Nanopress. The audio didn't make it yet; Nic had to abandon a lot of her poetry work owing to the interference of what other people might call real life, and I had real problems finding a space quiet enough for me to make recordings that passed Nic's high standards. I'm still working on recording all the poems so that eventually they will all have audio recordings attached and be downloadable as an MP3 file and burnable on a Lulu.com CD. But that will come in time.So here's the thing. Yes, I've published another book. It's called Lent / Elegies and it's a nanopress chapbook. That means you can read the poems for free online, here, or you can download the collection free in ebook form from Smashwords here, or you can order a hard copy from Lulu.com, ($7 + shipping, stamp tax, and 10% duty) here, or buy it from me, which will cost you a flat $3 more per book, as I have to cover the cost of shipping, landing, duty, and delivery, and because I don't like dealing with dollar bills for change.I just love the concept. The book's apparently not too awful either.

James Smith: Gov't must 'move' to run recurrent surpluses | The Tribune

As for a strategy to rescue the Bahamas from its fiscal woes, Mr Smith told Tribune Business: "We've got to grow the economy, reform the tax system and move to producing a small surplus on the recurrent account. That's where the problem is."The Bahamas will find achieving consistent recurrent surpluses difficult to put it mildly. Although it did run an $8 million surplus in 2005-2006, and $24 million in 2007-2008, when the economy was booming, since then it has run recurrent deficits of between $168 million to $259 million. It is projected to continue incurring recurrent deficits of between $48 million to $166 million for the current, and next two, fiscal years.And, looking further out, Mr Smith told this newspaper that the Government needed to take "some very hard and fundamental decisions".He warned that bringing the national debt and fiscal deficit under control, and down to a sustainable level, would require a combination of revenue and spending measures - including "curtailing" the size of the Bahamian public sector/civil service."I think down the road we're going to have to take some very hard and fundamental decisions," Mr Smith told Tribune Business. "One is tax reform to capture more in the net and broaden the base to include services."Two, is curtailing expenditure by stopping the growth of the public sector. It's expenditure containment and revenue enhancement."

via Gov't must 'move' to run recurrent surpluses | The Tribune.

Lessons from the East (and it’s not China) | tmg*

Barbados has also taken an aggressive approach towards growing its creative economy and developing its creative class, implementing policies that take advantage of the CARIFROUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement. This agreement allows Caribbean investment in European creative services and makes it easier to supply those services to the European market. In short, it provides easer market access and facilitates the formation strategic partnerships between Barbados and Europe for services from architecture to music. Barbados has also passed a Cultural Industries Development Bill which encourages private sector investment in the creative industries by using tax incentives for investments which support those industries.via Lessons from the East (and it’s not China) | tmg*.

Gardening in the (sub)tropics

Apologies to Olive Senior.Re-starting my garden, which I abandoned during my exile in government.I include some photographs: 

Goodbye, Telcine

Yesterday, Arien Rolle, my former student and always friend, posted on Facebook that his mother, Telcine Turner-Rolle, Bahamian playwright, poet, storyteller, teacher and friend, had succumbed to the cancer she has been fighting for years.I cannot begin to express my sorrow at the news. I can't imagine a world without Telcine in it. I have known her, and of her, it seems all my life. She was my mother's friend and colleague in the early years of the College of The Bahamas. She was my colleague when I got my first adjunct appointment at the College to teach literature in 1986; she, like me, taught luminous young Bahamian intellectuals such as Ian Strachan and Tony Bethell—otherwise known by his professional intellectual name, Ian A. Bethell-Bennett. She alone, of Dr. Strachan's admiring teachers—he was an outstanding student, and his brain and his heart made him universally loved—dared to flunk him for not doing his work, which meant that, he couldn't give the valedictorian speech he had planned to give at graduation. He challenged the grade; she won. She was uncompromising, unrelenting, a hard taskmaster, not content to let talent languish untrained or untested. I am sure she pushed Ian because she knew just how brilliant he was, and she was not afraid to do so. She frightened me.Later, when I took over teaching full time, I had the pleasure of teaching Telcine's only child and son Arien in a class of people almost as brilliant as the first class I ever taught, which was at COB when I met Ian and Tony  for the first time. Meeting Telcine the mother was an entirely new experience. Telcine the uncompromising, the brilliant, the prize-winning playwright, regarded Arien as her greatest work, and he was a work in progress. She raised him as she saw fit—which didn't necessarily mesh with what anyone else thought, not even the redoubtable Sammie Bethell at St. Anne's. When Telcine judged Arien was not well enough to go to school, she kept him home, and would send him later with expertly written notes on memorable paper—tinted sometimes, scented sometimes, always incontestable. Arien, for his part, was the most well-balanced, self-contained, even-tempered student I had yet met, who tolerated his mother's attentions without ever complaining.I knew and worked with Telcine's husband and widower, James. He had worked with my father before me, and had charge of the art that went through the Cultural Affairs Division, and was in charge of Jumbey Village before its destruction in the late 1980s. He was one of the senior civil servants who took over as acting Director of Cultural Affairs in the seven years that passed between my father's death and the appointment of Cleophas Adderley to that post. He, like Telcine, invested his own brand of excellence into Arien, and he also invested himself into Telcine, who was always uncompromising and often considered "difficult".There is a reason that her masterpiece, Woman Take Two, was not performed for many years after it won the Commonwealth Prize for literature. This was because she was as uncompromising about its direction as she had been about writing it. She should have directed the play herself; but she wanted it handled by someone else. Not until 1994, when David Burrows began his local directing career, did she find someone who would be as accommodating of her views of the play as he was enthusiastic about the play itself, and so it was David Burrows—David Jonathan, as Telcine insisted on calling him—who had the honour of staging Woman Take Two for the first time, almost twenty years after it was written. The bond he developed with Telcine lasted for the rest of her life, as she was as loyal to her friends and allies as she was uncompromising, unconventional, and perfectionist.I think that as I write this, I am expressing the deep admiration, and, I admit it, the little bit of fear, that I had for and of Telcine. I respected her craft, which was as rigourous as her talent was great. In our country, where talented people often simply let their talent run wild, Telcine was a hard taskmaster. I got the sense that she let nothing leave her desk until she was completely finished with it. She had a mind like a razor, and if she ever offered criticism you'd better take it and follow it. She was one of our greatest playwrights, and one of our best known and beloved. She was an unconventional mother, but a successful one; her son Arien is a gentleman and a scholar. I happen to agree with Telcine that he has not yet achieved his full potential—he is a young man who is brimming over with talent—but he is her greatest work.This week I grieve with Arien and James, and with the rest of the cultural community of The Bahamas. We have lost one of our greatest stars. May Telcine Turner-Rolle rest in peace, and may we honour her lifelong commitment to excellence with excellence of our own.

The Bahamas Corruption Narrative: Get Yours and Say Amen

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.

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 electionhttp://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 GOVERNMENThttp://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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Predicting the 2012 General Election: Third parties & other things

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.

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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