Dear Editor,
Historically, politicians have described their colleagues with disparaging slurs. We have heard the terms 'Jezebel, enemy of the state, fish, whimps, lackeys, yes-men, pathologically mendacious, and the list goes on. However, I have never heard the description 'John Crow' used by a politician to describe a colleague. This has brought our politics to a new low.
The nation breathed a collective sigh of relief that Bunting recognised and apologised for the error and negative impact of his statement. However, it will take more than his apology to correct the damage done to the Unite for Change Programme.
Luckily, the nation has an Opposition leader who has vowed not to pursue politics as usual. Had such a statement been made about the PNP, they would have been on the warpath. I recall then Prime Minister Bruce Golding, in November 2007,saying: "the People's National Party suffers from a kind of intellectual depravity, it is as if termites have infested their brains". The end result is that then Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller withdrew participation in the Vale Royal talks and destroyed a very useful institution in our evolving democracy. Today there is no credible mechanism to house bi-partisan exchanges.
To his credit, Andrew Holness has not taken the bait of engaging in any distracting quarrels or taking any retaliatory action that would have the side effect of undermining our very fragile democratic institution or unravelling our social fabric. The Opposition has generally ignored the rhetoric coming from the PNP through Damion Crawford,Dayton Campbell, and now Peter Bunting. In so doing the Opposition has kept the focus on the real issues, and not given the PNP cover to escape accountability for poor performance.
Jamsine Phinn
jamsinephinn@gmail.com
An apology is not enough, Bunting
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Historically, politicians have described their colleagues with disparaging slurs. We have heard the terms 'Jezebel, enemy of the state, fish, whimps, lackeys, yes-men, pathologically mendacious, and the list goes on. However, I have never heard the description 'John Crow' used by a politician to describe a colleague. This has brought our politics to a new low.
The nation breathed a collective sigh of relief that Bunting recognised and apologised for the error and negative impact of his statement. However, it will take more than his apology to correct the damage done to the Unite for Change Programme.
Luckily, the nation has an Opposition leader who has vowed not to pursue politics as usual. Had such a statement been made about the PNP, they would have been on the warpath. I recall then Prime Minister Bruce Golding, in November 2007,saying: "the People's National Party suffers from a kind of intellectual depravity, it is as if termites have infested their brains". The end result is that then Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller withdrew participation in the Vale Royal talks and destroyed a very useful institution in our evolving democracy. Today there is no credible mechanism to house bi-partisan exchanges.
To his credit, Andrew Holness has not taken the bait of engaging in any distracting quarrels or taking any retaliatory action that would have the side effect of undermining our very fragile democratic institution or unravelling our social fabric. The Opposition has generally ignored the rhetoric coming from the PNP through Damion Crawford,Dayton Campbell, and now Peter Bunting. In so doing the Opposition has kept the focus on the real issues, and not given the PNP cover to escape accountability for poor performance.
Jamsine Phinn
jamsinephinn@gmail.com
An apology is not enough, Bunting
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