---

In a recent column, Tom Vesey expressed his frustration that the racism debate had devolved into an argument over definitions of words. Unfortunately it’s worse than that — the declaration of racism has become a debate ender, the final word which, once invoked, requires no substantiation with examples and retains its legitimacy by not addressing any specific issues.

As an emotional hair trigger but completely meaningless in its present form, the pretence of a debate on racism has become the favourite tool of an unimaginative and unscrupulous government to energize an otherwise uninspired and increasingly frustrated electorate.

The PLP did not so much win the 1998 election as the UBP lost it — the natural result of their constant infighting and blatant self interest. Even so, there was probably no-one more surprised by the result than the new government.

The 2003 election caught the PLP still reeling from the after party. With no achievements under their belt and a leader even they disliked they played the only card they had.

With no platform, no debate, no issues and no solutions to offer, the mercifully brief election was fought entirely on racial terms. The PLP rally that preceded it was a shameless exposition of name calling, fear mongering and stereotyping directed at whites and anyone who didn’t support the PLP. Lacking contemporary examples of racism, 50-year-old conflicts were dusted off, wheeled out and presented as yesterday’s news.

Certainly there is power in leveraging your difference. The civil rights movement and, to a greater extent, the black power movement made skin colour the trait that united black people into speaking with one voice and in so doing achieved political strength.

Faced with the awesome challenges of seeking basic human dignity and the rights and protections of full participation in a free democracy in the southern states in the 1960s, the civil right movement made an entirely justifiable choice in pursuit of an honourable cause.

The 2003 election was no such honourable cause. The card of last resort was played out of desperation by a party that was out of ideas in 1998. The legacy of that desperate act has been a reflexive and unfocused resort to characterizing every form of opposition as racially motivated. If you disagree, you’re a racist, end of debate. This government has no motivation to re-engage the debate or to identify and resolve any real vestiges of racism. The lingering unspecified, unsubstantiated threat of racism is their last best hope of forcing any issue they cannot win on merit.

There is a point when more progress can be made by recognizing our similarities than by harping on our superficial differences. Bermuda was well down this road by 2003 before the process was set back 50 years for political gain.

On a tiny island, more lifeboat than country, it’s the breakdown of rational dialogue and the inability to work together for our common good that will eventually sink us all.[[In-content Ad]]

---