Love him or hate him, you have to admire Christian Dunleavy’s dedication!
Four years, man… wow.
Here’s to you, Christian! From the newest to the oldest!
I cannot begin to describe how happy today’s news of the possible Southlands swap makes me.
We won’t have a bloody great tunnel, the hippies are happy, the Southlands guys get a fantastic, MUCH safer for them - hurricanewise - location, we get a possible 36-hole (or at least two 18 holes) golf course (although, that existing one is such a monster for an idiot player like me (yeah… I suck at golf. Ray Charles beat me after 9 holes. Last week. And he’s been dead for three years!) that I can’t even bring myself to say its name. That beast HURT me, y’all!) AND Morgan’s Point will be developed.
It’s always been a bit of a bug up my ass that it’s just sat there. I know cleanup is going to be a nightmare, but… well I’ve had this dream of there being a world-class water park there, with rides, stalls, concessions, etc. I always thought that would be an amazing spot for a theme park type of thing. Hell, they could have even moved the Deliverance up there!
This is EXACTLY what needed to be done. It deals with everyone’s concerns, it shows that (at least certain) members of the Government are listening, even if the developers are saying that the demonstrations didn’t change their minds. I’m glad that they changed SOMEONE’s minds.
This is how stuff needs to happen. Not just demonstrating and bitching, but actually coming up with solutions and trying to implement them.
Well done, P.
I’m just sad that there will now never be Uncle Elvis Land…
I just read this: (loosely translated)
”There are those that get caught up in the strategy. They spend so much time figuring out HOW to fight that they’ve forgotten that they should be figuring out how NOT to fight.”
It’s from a comic book (Tuesdays are my new favorite day! The new shipment comes in and I can get my fix of that papery goodness that so many dismiss. It even makes up for the fact that Tuesday is my Monday, workweek-wise!). However, that doesn’t defuse or diffuse the validity of it.
I think in this crazy world and especially on this crazy island, we spend so much time fighting that we forget the old maxim, “Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity”. We spend so much time looking at the indignities and injustices that we face every day, real and imagined, that we have lost sight of the fact that the goal is togetherness. The goal is unity and equality.
I also read recently that it isn’t good enough to stand against something. You have to stand for something. This is the problem we’ve got going on right now, here in our beautiful home.
Everyone seems to be against something. The current and past PLP administrations and their supporters seem to be waging a campaign against the UBP and, although, for some, these are one and the same, the white community. The UBP are campaigning against the PLP.
The problem is that we never hear what they’re really FOR. The PLP claims to be for black empowerment and, yeah, they’ve made some strides, some good, some simply well-intentioned, but the attitude, the belligerence, the words used, when asked about it makes it seem like it’s a “Screw you, Whitey” kinda thing… or worse, a “Screw you, UBP” thing. Should the motivation of a Government be one of “We can’t let the other guys win”? Should the motivation for doing the right thing really be “We gotta stay in power”? This is the feeling I get when I hear people speak.
The Opposition isn’t much better, both in actual Members and in supporters.
We’re in a position now where “You’re just saying that because I’m black” is a legitimate response to any questioning or critique. It’s now easy for the current administration to dismiss any criticism with the use of race. I recently had a conversation, talking about a third party talking bad about the Government, all legitimate complaints against specific members. One of the things pointed out to me was that every one of them was black, thus, it must be racist. Here’s what I didn’t get. If the entire pool to choose from is of one race, is it really racist when all the people pulled out are of that race?
And how did we get to this point? Well, when everything written about them is bad, which it pretty much was for a while, let’s be honest, there’s a whole lot of stuff that’s NOT valid that gets in there. There HAVE been instances where racism has occurred. Where prejudiced opinions have biased people’s thinking. I’m guilty of it. You are, too. If give someone something that they can point at and legitimately say, “Yeah, THAT one was because I’m black.” it’s a hell of a lot easier to dismiss the rest of it.
I firmly believe that this is all because we’re all so busy strategizing and trying to figure out how to fight and have forgotten that we should be trying to figure out how NOT to fight.
We should be trying to figure out how to see things from the other guy’s standpoint and not condemn them because they can’t see ours. We should be trying to seperate the REAL problems from the politically motivated bitching. We should be trying to address the problems we face clearly and not just shouting that it’s not fair.
Hell, I’m as guilty of doing anything I can to win an argument as the next guy. But I’m going to try to find a way to not fight. I’m still gonna pitbull, or, as it’s been dubbed, “Pulling an Uncle E”, but I’m going to try to do it FOR something, not just ‘cuz someone pissed me off.
Sure, there’s going to be times where I go off. But I’m going to try to keep this in mind.
Wanna try with me?
Heroes is back, you lot!
Cue happy dancing in the Elvis household!
THIS is why I love September! Remember when you were a kid and September was the worst month of the year, ‘cuz you had to go back to the living hell that was school, dreading the moments you’d have to enter those halls of torture that we call education?
Not any more, babies! Now that I’m old, September brings with it so many wonderful things. Days that you can actually walk a block without sweating out every drop of liquid you’ve ever drank… even the stuff from past lives!, a slightly higher quality in the profile of our tourists (for those of us in retail and/or hospitality), the promise of a visit to Nebraska to visit your brother, sister-in-law and the three most wonderful demonchildren on the planet… ok, maybe that one’s just me… and, of course, the new TV season!
NEW TV SHOWS! EEEE! Just the thought makes me squeal like a little girl.
We got a new Survivor, with a rather hunky (shut up… that’s not gay! The dude is CUT!) gravedigger (GRAAAAAVE DIGGGGGGGERRRRRR! SundaySundaySunday!), Frosti, my early fave, just ‘cuz he does Parkour, a sport that appeals to the comic book geek in me, and a hole load of other whackjobs, including a “Christian Radio Host” that doesn’t know her Ten Commandments… but think she does.
And we got Heroes…
I am Heroes bitch.
That’ll be all, ye scurvy knaves! I’ll keelhaul the lot of ya!
I have a question for the Consul…
If I buy you a nice hat - maybe a nice Panama, or a good straw one, like they used to sell at Smith’s… or a nice felt one… anything, really - would you wear it? Or at least wear it to more formal events, instead of that ubiquitous baseball cap?
Hell, I’ll even take up a collection and buy you a selection of top of the line headwear if it means you don’t look like a college frat boy at important events.
Picture blatantly stolen from Sirkka Huish of The Bermuda Sun, originally used without permission, but now, used with… I think.
Ok, so here’s something I’m wondering.
Mr. Commissiong today defended the whole emissions control deal… apparantly. The problem is: um… he didn’t.
According to the story, he just attacked the UBP. Instead of actually saying, “Look. Here’s the thing. Yeah this happened and that happened and this is why it’s ok.”, he just pulled out the ol’ “I can’t believe that the UBP would attack a black man and a Portuguese man. Why you always gotta pick on the black man? You people are RACIST, man.” defense.
Then, “Asked why the tender hadn’t been opened to more bidders in the black and Portuguese community rather than just two specific individuals Mr. Commissiong said he didn’t want to get into the details.”
Um… isn’t that what he was there for? How much of a defense is “I don’t want to get into details.”?
The response from the other side wasn’t so great, either! At least Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin said, “It could very well be that BEC and Correia were the best people for the job, but because of the sole source tender the public would never know.” Which was pretty even handed.
But… what ever happened to statesmanship? What ever happened to outrage? What ever happened to Jimmy Stewart-style ass kickings? The UBP is so afraid of losing votes that they just can’t seem to man up. Love him or hate him, can you imagine someone trying to pull “I feel like coming across the House” crap with Harry Veira?
Why is the UBP so afraid to step up? Why didn’t Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin step up and say, “Wait a minute. You’re going to tell me, a Black Woman, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, that the UBP doesn’t create opportunities for Blacks? You’re serious? You know what? BULLSHIT!”
Or at least, “What the hell does the UBP’s policies, real or imagined, past or present, have to do with this issue? Answer the damn question!”
For me, this “Stop picking on me ‘cuz I’m black” thing has gone too far. It’s actually hurting the cause, I think. It’s a “Boy Who Cried Wolf” thing.
How the hell are ANY of us supposed to take any of it seriously, especially the real cases of injustices occurring, when every question, legitimate or not, is answered with, “You’re only saying that because I’m black.”
I dunno. It just seems that this is one of the biggest problems we got going right now. We can’t have THE Conversation if people aren’t being honest or are using race and racial inequalities as an excuse to get away with whatever they want. If this deal is on the up-and-up, and I’m not saying it’s not, why won’t Mr. Commissiong “get into the details”?
So, here I am, new blog all set up, ready to go… and I am drawing a blank.
I’ve been racking my brain to come up with the perfect first posting. Concise, literate, intelligent, with a little humour… or a lot, if I can muster it, a little cleverness, topicality, meaning, something that’ll set the tone for the rest of the time we’re here.
Um… yeah. No pressure.
Yeah. I got nothing.
So, I got to thinking. Why do I do this? The blogging, the constant posting, the verbal spankings laid on various people, the outrage… you know… THIS.
I’ve come to a realization. A humbling realization.
I don’t know shit.
About the stuff I DO know about, I can go off on a rant like nobody’s business. When it comes to something I believe in, my opinion or thoughts on something, I’m off and running like a maniac (and anyone who’s seen me run, knows very well that I do, in fact, run like a maniac. I could have sworn that I only had one set of knees and elbows each, but when I run… there seems to be some anatomical miracle that occurs, adding a few extra joints to each limb). When something or someone pisses me off, I can usually be relied on to lay into them with wild abandon, “sinking my teeth into their Hind quarters” and not letting go, as one notable so flatteringly put it.
And it’s fun! It gets my blood going and makes me feel like I’m doing something positive when I start debunking someone’s bullshit, ripping useless arguments apart. It’s like chocolate and espresso and moonbeams and rollercoasters all rolled into one.
But that’s not why I do it.
The truth is, I love my home. I love Bermuda. I think it’s the best place in the world and, while there are some problems, it has the potential to be as close to perfection as possible. One of the things that I admired about Limey In Bermuda was that the intention, even when I disagreed with what was actually said, was always to improve Bermuda. I’d like that back, as I think it is infinitely important. I want to help in anyway I can.
But I realize that there is a WHOLE lot that I don’t have knowledge of. Legal matters. Political manouverings and procedures. Certain aspects of history. And that’s just the factual stuff! There’s also the Black Experience. The Portuguese Experience. The Gay Experience. What it was like to grow up in the 40s, 50s and 60s. A bushel of stuff. That’s what blogging does for me. It puts me in discussions with people who DO know about these things, people who know a whole lot more’n me about… well… pretty much everything.
And that’s what I want here. I want input from everywhere I can possibly get it. I firmly believe that the ONLY way that we can make this crazy little beautiful place the best it can be is to talk. To discuss. To bitch and moan and kick each other’s butts and yell and scream and rant and rave… then bloody well try to come up with some sort of solution. Or at the very least, a common ground that we can, albeit grudgingly, agree on. Hell, who knows, we might even become friends, heaven forfend! I know it can happen. It HAS happened. I just want it to happen on a larger scale. This is how we do it. Not by dismissing those who disagree with us, not by just saying “What an asshole” to someone, but by… well… ripping each other’s arguments to shreds, chucking out the bullshit, the agendas, the ulterior motives and then putting a new argument together. ‘Cuz that’s what we need. To come together. To kick shit about the stuff we’re pissed off about, to howl and rant about inequalities and unfairness and injustice and then to join in and figure out the solution. There’s no use in just bitching if you’re not prepared to help find a solution.
Having said that, I would like to ask that posters here have a little respect for conversation. If you’re going to post something extreme or outrageous, you better be ready to back it up. If you’re called on something you’ve said, you better be ready to answer reasonable questions about it.
If not, be prepared to have the teeth sunk in. Remember, THAT is what I do best and I’m nothing if not tenacious. :-D
Hopefully, this little blog will help us get to that point, even if it’s a baby step.
Fingers crossed, y’all. As yet another notable put it, “Come on in. The water’s fine. ‘Cept over there. I just peed there.”
I just wanted to let you guys know. The reason that your comments aren’t being posted straight away is for security reasons. Every user’s first comment must be approved by an administrator. After the first comment has been posted you are free to post as you like and it should show up straight away. If this doesn’t happen then please let me know in an e-mail to grifter@thedevilisland.com. This is to prevent SPAM bots from signing up and posting. If the first post of a user is SPAM then they will be banned from the site automatically without anyone ever having to see that comment. I hope that nobody has a problem with this setup as it is the feeling of the administration of this site that it is a good way to keep this sort of unwelcome advertisement off of the site.
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