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Dear Sir,

This letter is to address the reader who was "disgusted with the picture on the front of the Bermuda Sun, Wednesday, November 8, 2006" and whose letter appeared in The Royal Gazette on Wednesday:

It's called 'satire'. Get over it.

You said: "We had a UBP government for 40 years and they had never depicted the UBP in such a negative and degrading manner." Where have you been? Peter Woolcock has been doing it for years. He's dressed both sides of government up in every costume imaginable, including drag, and made a fine living off it. (Keep it up Peter. Love your work.)

You went on to say: "In what country can you do this type of reporting and walk around and not look over your shoulder?" Answer: Any country that proclaims to have some sort of right to free speech. What about Time Magazine? US News? Toronto Star? Toronto Sun? New York Times? Wall Street Journal? Any of those reputable publications ring a bell? They have entire sections dedicated to political cartoons/satire on world leaders.

What about television? Jay Leno, David Letterman? John Stewart has an entire show devoted to making fun of (arguably) the "most powerful elected official in the world". No one, not even the pope, is safe.

If you want to get involved in politics, prepare to be made fun of. Like momma used to say, "If you can't take the heat..."

If anyone from the PLP, UBP or anyone in between is offended by such depictions as the Star Trek spoof, tough cookie. Don't run for government.

I agree that sometimes, opinionated pieces have a one-sided slant to them, but that depends on who writes them.

They are OPINIONS and, as such, the writer is free to voice his or her feelings. If you don't like what they're writing, go apply as a journalist and write your own opinion column.

I do not always side with Fred Barritt's (the Sun columnist who wrote the Next Generation article) opinions, but what is free speech without the right to voice opinions contrary to the government?

If you want to live in a place that only has nice things to say about the ruling party, there's a lovely place out east called North Korea. I hear the weather is nice this time of year.

In reference to your comment about the Bermuda Sun and the Gazette "pushing indecisive Bermudians towards the PLP government"...That is ridiculous.

I confess to being a middle-of-the-road voter, and I felt no such way after reading the article.

Anyone who is persuaded to vote for a party based on a CARTOON or anything else on the opinion page should be placed outside the polling stations with an "I'm too dumb to vote" sticker on their forehead. It's an opinion. Study the facts. Listen to what each party is saying, and vote based on what your heart tells you to vote, not because the Premier was made up to look like Jean Luc Picard.

Come on people. Use your common sense. Accept the fact that if you are in the limelight, and especially if you are a government official, you are going to be the target of ridicule. If anything, those who roll with the punches and show their sense of humour at such attacks come across more human and likable to the common voter. Blatant inflammatory attacks are one thing, but those who take humorous jabs too seriously appear not 'Flexible But Balanced' but rather 'Stiff and Off-Kilter'.

Philip Trott

Pembroke[[In-content Ad]]

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