January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Is the Premier really interested in dialogue?
It could have been entirely accidental but, knowing of the Premier's attention to image, it's hard to believe it wasn't deliberate.
The Premier's first words were to our gathering to hand him the petition proved free speech was alive and well in Bermuda.
Actually, it proved no such thing. In countries from the most liberal in Scandinavia to the most repressive in Africa, Europe or Latin America, people gather to make public protests. They are treated differently for sure. Some are beaten and jailed, some are photographed and later identified for surveillance purposes, some are subjected to repercussions of one sort or another, some are covertly or overtly intimidated, some may be deported without a word, some may lose contracts or jobs, some are isolated or ostracized.
Our gathering didn't prove anything about free speech in Bermuda that isn't being disproved by "pay backs" and other suppressions.
Once the petition was presented and the Premier got his hands on the microphone, he proceeded to lecture the audience and provoke individuals - hence the heckling.
Among the Premier's condescending comments was his twice-repeated suggestion that BEST expand its areas of concern. He cited The Mid Ocean Club and the Reefs as projects he didn't hear any objections to.
While that kind of argument may hold water for high school debates, it is frankly a bit juvenile for real-world issues.
It is an attempt to invalidate one campaign by questioning why other campaigns have not been engaged - akin to criticising parents who enroll their children in sports for not enrolling them in dance.
But beyond the irrelevance of the argument, the Premier's implication that BEST's net is cast narrowly is just plain wrong.
Given his comments, one could legitimately question whether the Premier knows what BEST or any other environmental or social justice organization is doing.
For example, does he know about our efforts to save Alexandrina Hall?
Does he know about the residents in an area back of town who asked for and got assistance from us? Does he know about our objections to a subdivision in Tucker's Town, or our objections to the Coral Beach/Horizons redevelopment?
He obviously doesn't know about the time and effort we put into producing objections, observations and recommendations for the review of the Bermuda Development Plan.
The Premier would have known about the forum we initiated and hosted on Sustainable Tourism - we sent him an invitation.
He must have known about our interventions at the western end of the island to have the construction of the cruise-ship piers follow the government's own Planning rules.
He must also have known about our push toward the eastern end of the Island to have Planning laws respected at Duck's Puddle in Bailey's Bay.
In short, BEST has been engaged from construction to subdivision, from west to east, from research to publication, from behind-the-scenes to direct action. Other individuals and organisations have done as much or more. If the Premier knew about those, why would he make the spurious suggestion that we ought to expand our scope?
I won't speculate as to why. I will note, however, that the Premier regularly attempts to discredit any group he has a disagreement with, whether it's the taxi drivers, local musicians, truckers and now environmentalists. Far too often he doesn't get called on it. Not this time.
But back to the petition itself. If the Premier is really interested in dialogue, he should take the time to read the many comments included on the petition. If he does he will hear a clarion call from the heart of Bermudians and visitors, blacks and whites, to preserve an irreplaceable, natural jewel in Bermuda's crown.
To dismiss such an overwhelming statement would suggest that the Premier cares about "dialogue" only when others have to do the listening.
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