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What a remarkable few weeks it’s been. First, Sybil Barrington not only enters the Bermuda Day Parade as The “Queen” of Bermuda, but gets over $500 from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs to do so. Then, after receiving “more than one hundred” e-mails, there is an emergency Cabinet meeting where they “unanimously” disallow the entry. It just goes to show how fast the PLP can react when it’s REALLY important.

Meanwhile, months ago more than 15,000 people signed a petition demanding a referendum on independence and they have been simply ignored. And after weeks of very public outcry about their exotic animal “encounter” DNA got their permit any way. It seems that the PLP don’t mind us staring at caged animals, but a solitary transvestite walking down Front Street in eveningwear is intolerable! Imagine how they’d react if a Rocky Horror Convention came to town!

Then Government throws a Tea Party, proclaims it to be “Seniors Week” and then claim to be doing great things for pensioners. Meanwhile they barely get a cost of living raise while the Government is busy giving themselves a hefty pay increase backdated to last April! I guess they figure that if they keep the old folks juiced up on caffeine and sugar cookies they won’t notice their meds have run out.

Anyway back to the Homophobes on the Hill who overwhelmingly defeated a bill that would add “sexual orientation” to the list of discriminations specifically prohibited in the Human Rights Act. It seems we live in more of a theocracy than either Renee Webb or I would like to believe as the Ayatollahs in the AME Church got to inflict their narrow mindedness on us again. Don’t forget, these are the same people who are against gambling, unless its bingo and they can get their cut.

Of course the most ironic thing is that the PLP is probably the gayest ruling party in the world! Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Seriously, one of the things I am most proud of as a Bermudian is that the personal lives of our politicians are irrelevant to the electorate. One of the advantages of living in a small community is that we know our politicians. We went to school with them. Hell, we cut school with them. And we were the ones smoking weed with them behind the bicycle shed. We know were they live and who they live with. But we vote for them anyway.

Switch-hitters

There are several members of Cabinet — past and present — who are widely regarded as “batting for the other team” (or at least being “switch-hitters”), but it’s never mentioned. And rightly so, because it’s irrelevant to their abilities as MPs. In any other country in the World they would be “outed” in the press and their political careers ruined. But not in Bermuda. It’s the one area of Democracy where we are ahead of the evolutionary curve. Maybe one day we can drag our “leaders” into the twenty-first century. (No pun intended)

But Bermuda’s gay community shouldn’t be too down hearted though. After the verdict from the PLP’s Human Rights Commission on the “Burch Affair” it’s obvious that the Act provides about as much protection as the police outside Swinging Doors.

The PLP have even refused to abide by a code of conduct that would curb racial tactics at election time. They couldn’t even come up with an excuse for rejecting it. According to Minister Butler “There’s no reason … we just decided ..no”. This from the man who begged the local Filipino community to participate in the Bermuda Day parade when they were reluctant due to racial comments directed at them after last year’s event. When the Government won’t agree to stop using racial slurs and the Human Rights Commission attacks a complainant for wasting their time I can’t blame anyone who doesn’t look like a member of the PLP from being reluctant to participate in anything. But then maybe that’s their goal.

And then as soon as the Auditor General leaves the Island Herr Oberst sends in a hit squad to “relocate” his office to the “Eastern Front”. Mr. Dennis will be lucky if his name is not the Airport stop list.

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