Beware the return of plantation politics

FRIDAY, OCT. 19: Oh, Man... those white byes are at it again!  This time they’re going’ after Grand Atlantic.  Quick, rally the troops!

Just in case you haven’t noticed, “plantation politics” are being employed again during the run up to the next election. 

The way it goes is basically this. You look for that “thing” that boils a black voter’s blood so much that they’ll be compelled to come out and vote against “the other guy”.

If you can find it, and if you can exploit it, then you get votes.

It doesn’t matter how truthful or accurate you are in your agitation — the point is quite simply to agitate the voter.

Such has been the case in Chris Famous’s October 12 column about xenophobia; I mean John Swan; I mean housing; I mean the UBP; I mean white people; I mean the OBA... I’m sorry, LaVerne is right...  sometimes a negro can get a little confused!*

* see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfDjL837dCE

Let’s start with a clear example of plantation politics.

Famous gets in early with, “Was it not Sir John, under the UBP, who opened the Pandora’s Box re independence in 1995? I have yet to see the PLP discuss independence with the UK.”

If you think long and hard about it, the only real value this statement has is to discredit Swan. It’s one thing for Famous to claim that he’s yet to see the PLP discuss independence with the UK, but quite another to make no mention whatsoever of the PLP’s 2004 Bermuda Independence Commission.

But we aren’t supposed to connect those dots. The intent is for us to just dislike whatever comes out of Swan’s mouth, because (psst!) he’s UBP and he can’t be trusted.

Famous then goes on to ask: “How many guest workers do we need, to strike a balance between a bubbling economy and displaced locals?”

To that question I would ask: “Why don’t we already know?”  The Government should know the population, the number of company registrations, the number of work permit approvals and the number of available accommodations.

Wouldn’t a government that has a mandate to ensure that low income Bermudians aren’t displaced have implemented a long term housing strategy from November 1998? I would have thought so.

Understand that in plantation politics, the responsibility of the PLP Government is deliberately left out of the discussion. Instead, Famous goes for the OBA jugular with:

“Five years ago, the average cost for a starter home was upward of $1.2 million. One bedroom apartments for rent started at $1,700. Not bad if you were selling houses or renting apartments.

“However, many of our fellow Bermudians were essentially locked out of owning property in their own country.  No one in the then UBP, now OBA, seemed to be crying ‘crisis’ then.

“Many of them, enjoyed the benefits of home ownership and or multiple apartment rentals. At one point, landlords used to post ‘apartment available to professionals only’ which is code word for ‘Bermudians need not call’.  Thousands of Bermudians have had to leave their island home to move to the UK, simply because they could not afford to even rent in their own island. Did UBP MP Bob Richards cry ‘crisis’ then?”

Hmmm... Were all those houses somehow flown into Bermuda, or did Famous leave out contractors for some reason?

Perhaps it is because if you brought contractors into the discussion you’d appreciate that many blacks, including PLP members and supporters, did extremely well during the housing boom. 

The idea that only OBA members (read whites) did well during the boom, that only blacks got blocked out of home ownership, and that only the PLP stood strong for Bermudians is quite simply, false.

Landlords posting “apartment available for professionals only” is code for foreigners? Really?  And how prevalent was this alleged tactic of discriminating against “non-professionals”, and why didn’t the Government address this obvious violation of human rights?

Was it allegedly only whites who posted these signs, or is this plantation politics at play? Thousands of Bermudians (is he implying blacks?) had to leave due to high home costs? Really? What data is Famous using to back up that claim?

If Famous had his way he would have us believe that the PLP Government is in as he put it “help the needy Bermudian’ business” instead of the “getting re-elected business.”

But that would require that we ignore the fact that Loughlands and Grand Atlantic were pushed through a mere year before the 2007 election.

And he’ll throw in Grand Atlantic no matter the fact that it is absurd to call that development “affordable housing” even by 2008 standards.

In my opinion, the fact that Grand Atlantic pretty much stands empty is not so much an indication of the downturn in the economy, but an indication of a Government that went on a knee jerk, pre-election building spree, because they failed to implement a proper housing strategy as they should have from the very start. n

BRYANT TREW, a former Best of Bermuda award winner for his Bermuda Sun columns, is not a member or affiliate of (or in any way associated with) either of Bermuda’s political parties. Feedback: [email protected]