Dear Editor,

In an attempt to squeeze out some pity for himself for of his latest indiscretion, the Prime Minister has decided to point a finger at the Bahamian public. Levelling the accusation that we are not active enough when it comes to speaking about what is wrong in our nation. He is also saying that we should be raising the level of dialogue among ourselves when it comes to such matters; he also reminds us of how important this is for us since we are going into election. Upon hearing his speech in Parliament “regretting” what he had done, I realized that our expectations of this Prime Minister are really too high; because there is nothing in his tenures as Prime Minister that support what he is requesting of us. He is a man who does not have a context to speak from on matters of civility or competence. There are a probably a couple of Editors compiling a list of all of the reports that he has “promised to get back to Bahamian people” with.

If you listen to the video clip as to what the Prime Minister said caused his “gesture” it is apparent that what was said was not in line with the reasons he told us. The allegations in the video could be easily disproven and being a lawyer it would not be difficult for Mr.Christie to add a tidy sum to his bank account if the allegations are false. Being the political strategist that he is this should be a walk in the park for him. However, he has accused some of us of not being vocal enough in matters that relate to certain areas of public discourse, but maybe he should have put down a foundation of answering the public regarding any of the multitude of concerns that we have brought to his attention. Now he wants us to feel sorry for him. We are happy that he flipped the bird at us instead of some international forum or stage. History has shown that we are not able to predict when someone becomes “unhinged”, even though we can see the signs.

Since the Prime Minister is not able to make a credible connection between what he said and what actually caused his gesture, what he has told the Bahamian public would not stand up in a court of law. And, if this is the case, one question remains, “Who was he really “flipping the bird” at? Until I see otherwise, I am of the opinion that he was flipping the bird at anyone and everyone who does not agree with him.

He even took a shot at me one time when he gave a short speech at a family member’s funeral, where he remarked with a very straight face that “I should spend less time writing letters to the Editor and more time singing”. Almost stood up in Bethel Baptist Church that day, but I did not want to show any disrespect for a lady who was like a second mother to me. However, there is a “deepest regret” that I did not take him to task in his use of what was really a public forum, to voice his personal concern.

Perhaps this is the difference between apology and regret, the former is about those you have harmed by your actions, the latter is only about how you feel.

The Prime Minister needs to move “beyond deepest regret”, and, “apologize”, at least before the T-Shirts and posters start coming out.

Sincerely,

Edward Hutcheson

March 2, 2017