Bmda: The white man's burden

Based on this very cursory analysis, it is easy to see why white Bermudians fear independence rather more than their Black fellow citizens. They see England as their protector against an increasingly powerful black majority. Yet, blacks also have fears about Independence and believe it or not, their fears are based on the self doubt engendered by centuries of racism.

Deep inside the psyche of too many Black Bermudians is the nagging question “Can those ‘byes’ really handle the finances?” This concern has persisted despite the fact that the Civil Service of the Government of Bermuda has been managed almost entirely by black Bermudians for much of the time the UBP was in power and during the entire time of the PLP’s term of office.

It is also true that many of the black civil servants in the Ministry of Finance are eminently more qualified to carry out their duties than their white predecessors.

This is because white Bermudians with the qualifications of the Blacks who now manage the Civil Service can easily find a lucrative career in the private sector. What is the probable impact of existing racism on Bermuda’s future? It could be bad, it could be good. In order for the impact to be good, racism needs to stop being a criterion for action.

There is the nagging question that haunts many White Bermudians: “Can we expect Blacks who are now in the driver’s seat politically, to act fairly to members of the race that has subjugated them for generations?”

I believe this fear is groundless based on the PLP’s performance during its short term of office. For instance, the PLP has enacted the Hotel Concessions Act which has benefited major white owned hotels both Bermudian and Foreign; the PLP has appointed white males as head of the civil service, chairman of the Hospital Board, and Deputy Head of the Board of Education.

In fact it has been initiatives such as these that have led many PLP members to believe that the PLP are acting like UBP ‘wannabes’. I believe that the examples I have given support my argument that as a government, the PLP has demonstrated very evenly balanced political and economic management of Bermuda.

I conclude, therefore, if Bermuda is to survive as a successful economic entity, the onus is on White Bermudians to make a greater effort in assisting the PLP government in guiding Bermuda to a place where race ceases to be a factor in the achievement of national political and economic goals.

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