Letter: Guest columnist was wrong about Dr. Brown and PLP chauvinism

Dear Sir,

I guess we can all forgive Ceola Wilson’s memory lapse and her lack of knowledge of historical facts and time lines since the PLP was swept to power on November 9, 1998. 

Each time that I am privy to Ms Wilson’s bemoaning of Premier Brown’s leadership (whether in print or on talk radio) I am reminded of the adage “people who live in glass houses really should be careful when throwing stones”.

It is uncanny that the Bermuda Sun attracts columnists of Ms Wilson’s ilk. She joins fellow columnists Larry Burchall and Stuart Hayward who have this “thing” about Premier Brown. 

In my opinion none of them (Wilson, Burchall or Hayward) has the esteem that Premier Brown has, neither locally nor internationally, and one wonders the reason for their constant character assassination of a man who has done so much for Bermuda and Bermudians, both privately and publicly. Maybe the Ceola Wilsons of Bermuda believe that if they make Dr. Brown look bad, they’ll look good.

Now to correct some of the inaccuracies in Ms Wilson’s column ‘Will the PLP elect another woman leader?’ published in your newspaper on Wednesday.  While Dame Jennifer Smith took the PLP to victory on two occasions, history has already recorded that there was no mutiny led by Dr. Brown. Maybe Ms Wilson perceives an attitude that says ‘we don’t want a woman leader’; however, my unofficial polling confirms that at least 80 per cent of the PLP membership is looking forward to the next leader of the PLP being another woman. 

Their decision would not be based on gender, but ability. It is apparent that Ms Wilson has no idea how the PLP delegates are thinking or what they thought of the Premier’s decision to give asylum to the ‘Guantanamo Bay refugees’.  In fact none of us, even those of us who are active party members, know who the delegates will be at the upcoming Delegates’ Conference.

It is untrue that Terry Lister “quit his post” as Minister of Education because of Premier Brown’s decision to bring the Uyghurs to Bermuda. Mr. Lister resigned his post long before that incident and has never stated the reason. On another note, I doubt if either Messrs. Lister, Butler or James — who were all reared in Christian homes — would hail anyone other than the ‘real’ Messiah, as the Messiah.  However, if any of the aforementioned gentlemen “hailed Dr. Brown as the man who would lift the country to higher heights”, they were absolutely right: Dr. Brown has done just that during his four years as Premier.

To correct another error, Dr. Brown did not “take the top post from Alex Scott”.  Dr. Brown was constitutionally and democratically elected as the Leader of the PLP by the delegates and the MPs at the Annual Delegates’ Conference in November, 2006. Maybe Ms Wilson will want to explain to us in Part II, why, if former Premier Alex Scott had a social agenda, he fired ProActive Management Systems from the senior school project, as many young black men were employed by that construction company.

As far as leadership of the party is concerned, every MP, whether it is Terry Lister or Dale Butler, have the right to aspire to that position, whether or not they supported Dr. Brown’s leadership bid four years ago.  Another correction is necessary here. Dr. Brown publicly stated many years ago that he was interested in leading his country, not just “three years into a PLP Government” as Ms Wilson suggests. Unlike many of us, Dr. Brown set a goal, prepared himself through hard work and sacrifice, and in the end, he was able to realize his dreams. 

It is true, there has been escalating crime and gun violence during Dr. Brown’s leadership and certainly if those young, black men whom Ms Wilson claims “have been left out of the country’s agenda” were encouraged to take a page out of the Premier’s book (when he writes it) they would not be shooting, maiming and killing one another.

History has recorded that there have been two women leaders of the PLP. I have no doubt that when history is written on November 1, 2010, another woman will take the helm of Bermuda’s first political party.  However, I believe history will also record that Paula Cox will not have been elected to lead Bermuda’s first political party because she is a woman, but because she is the superior candidate.

One thing is for certain, Ms Wilson and others, who are willing to take the time, can learn one thing above all others from the women leaders of the PLP and our outgoing leader, Dr. Ewart Brown — and that is, grace.

LaVerne Furbert