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Usually I have a great deal of respect for Dr. Eva Hodgson's views on racial issues. However, a few days ago on talk radio Dr. Hodgson, supported by a variety of PLP boosters, suggested in essence that whites are racist because they don't join the PLP. I have serious problems with such an analysis. In as much as whites are being criticized as racist for their past allegiance to the UBP, asking or expecting them to change their allegiance to the PLP solely for racial reasons is at best unreasonable. At worst it is racial hypocrisy.

Despite this, I sense that Dr. Hodgson's suggestion is finding resonance with rank and file PLP members - but even that illustrates to me the strange and almost surreal aura the race debate has taken on lately.

Unfortunately, I am convinced the debate is being deliberately distorted for blatantly partisan motives. Not only are whites being intimidated into accepting that they are betraying racial harmony by not joining the PLP, members of the Portuguese community are also being goaded to see themselves as owing a debt of allegiance to the PLP for ethno-racial reasons.

This last argument, put forward by Rolfe Commissiong, typifies a cynical exploitation of race and ethnicity strictly for partisan purposes. I have come to expect this kind of exploitation from Mr. Commissiong. While he has the smarts to make useful analyses, and is well-spoken enough to articulate them, he seems to me to be locked in a blame and confrontation approach, with retribution as a preferred outcome. Mr. Commissiong has led PLP hardliners in exploiting virtually every issue for its race content. In my view he is one of the more racially divisive souls in the community. Hiring him as a consultant on race is perhaps the most cynical move our Premier has made so far. But for them it's a simple numbers game. If they can cajole, coerce, or shame enough blacks into voting for the PLP, they're banking they can out-poll the UBP - even if all the island's white voters support that party. Thus their recent attention to whites and the Portuguese community causes me to wonder if Mr. Commissiong and his cohorts are having doubts they can corral enough votes from the black community to win the next election. Obviously, race is being played as a big factor.

The call for whites to show they've abandoned racism by joining the PLP is, at its core, depraved. Those whites who do join the PLP will be suspected of having done so out of guilt, not ideological sincerity. Those who do not join will continue to be accused of making a racial choice. In other words, whites are being set up in a no-win situation. The reason people join or do not join a political party ought to be based on how well a party does or does not fit with their ideals for progress in society. They should be asking, "How well do candidates, whether party-affiliated or not, promote by their words and deeds an enhanced quality of life, a solid educational foundation, social harmony, justice, personal and national health, and sound policies for protection of the environment?"

These are the questions that, when answered, would ideally guide voters at election time.

Any suggestion that race or ethnicity should determine partisan affiliation or casting of votes is divisive and should not be entertained.[[In-content Ad]]

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