Christie mimics, extends and kowtows to the Pindling cult of personality

Wed, Jul 16th 2014, 11:42 PM

That Perry Christie was never his own man in the PLP was dramatized in his decision in recommending the appointment of the widow of Sir Lynden Pindling as governor general, thereby kowtowing and extending the cult of personality of the Pindling era. For fear of political retribution he perhaps dare not have appointed another.
Kowtow is the westernized term for kau tau in Cantonese or koutou in Mandarin Chinese. The term refers to an act of deference in which one prostrates, kneels or bows to another, "so low as to have one's head touching the ground".
At the swearing-in of Dame Marguerite, we were not simply witnessing the elevation of an individual to the essential constitutional post of governor general. We were more probably watching the emergence of a new potential center of political power for the Pindling Dynasty.
So it was last week that the head of government seemed almost like a supplicant to the incoming head of state, beseeching her to act in a nonpartisan and non-political manner. It proved embarrassing for a prime minister who may have grudgingly recommended her appointment.
Christie spent so much time extolling the virtues of past governors general and pleading with her for neutrality, that his praise of her seemed less than fulsome, almost second hand. Curiously, much of the support by PLPs for the appointment has been either grudging or defensive in nature.
At a 2012 general election rally, Dame Marguerite was in full political swing: "I want you to get behind your leader, my leader, Sir Lynden's chosen successor, his only rightful heir, the Right Honorable Perry Gladstone Christie... Perry's the man. Let's march with our leader and on May 7 let's all see that we vote PLP. I know that's what Sir Lynden would want us all to do."

Entitlement
While quite a number in the PLP are famous for their sense of entitlement, the Pindlings seemed to have more of a sense of ownership, as if the party belonged to their imperial court, with outer rings of supplicants and fawners. That Dame Marguerite believes that she deserved to become governor general speaks to an unmistakable mindset.
Notice the dynastic language and the sense of ownership, as if the party is a Pindling franchise: "only rightful heir" and "chosen successor", akin to the Juan and Eva Peron mindset in Argentina.
That mindset is one of, 'Look what we've done for you. We made you, now repay us with obedience and deference'. When Hubert Ingraham, Dr. B.J. Nottage and others did otherwise they became persona non grata.
Christie was on the outside for a brief spell. But eventually he was redeemed, with the Pindlings supporting his leadership of the PLP for a number of reasons, a primary one of which was their belief that he was controllable and would be held accountable to the dynasty.
With Christie boldly claiming that he would swim through vomit to get back to the PLP, the Pindlings knew that this was their man. In many ways they have been proven correct. He not only recommended her knighthood some years ago. Now he recommended her becoming head of state, still a bewildering choice to many.
During the 2002 general election the party propagandized that it was a new PLP. That was only an outer coat of paint on a party still mired in the bad old ways of the PLP, ways that have returned with a vengeance during this current term of office.
When Sir Lynden retired from the House of Assembly, he gave a moving farewell. But there was something missing. Sir Lynden offered the stylized form of apology of, 'If I offended anyone'.
Such apologies, lacking in specificity, never fully capture the gravity of wounds inflicted on others. The Pindling reign was often malicious and brutal, destroying lives, separating families, and with wide scale victimization. Many of the wounds inflicted by that period have resurfaced.
In coming to terms with the Pindling legacy, credit must be granted for the many accomplishments. Likewise, there must be an acknowledgement of the brutality of the reign.

Excesses
What so disturbs many about Dame Marguerite's appointment is that it appears that the excesses of the Pindling era are somehow to be whitewashed, with those excesses now vindicated and rewarded. Though up until last year Dame Marguerite seemingly could not bring herself to speak of the FNM's accomplishments in office, last week she called for national unity.
Such unity necessitates first truth and then reconciliation. The problem is that there has never been a truthful acknowledgment of the damage done to so many Bahamians during the Pindling reign. And there has never been any semblance of a fuller remorse and apology for the grave excesses of the period.
The notion of 'let's forget about all of that and move on', will not wash. We have heard this cry of amnesia throughout history.
In the idea of restorative justice and the Roman Catholic sacrament of reconciliation, there is first a coming to terms with the wrong inflicted on others. There is then the basis for greater mutuality with those wronged.
There is no genuine reconciliation absent a confession of one's wrongdoing, which is why Richard Nixon could never come close to redeeming himself in the eyes of the American people for the crimes he committed while in the White House, including the Watergate scandal and other abuses of power.
Dame Marguerite's appointment is the most controversial in an independent Bahamas. Her main reason for being recommended seems to be that she is Sir Lynden's widow, and that though she has contributed to the national good, those contributions did not rise to the level of recommending her appointment.
Scores of Bahamians do not believe, given her history, that at this point she will now somehow be nonpartisan. She may well use her new office overwhelmingly to favor PLPs with token signs of unity. The country will wait and see.
There are already troubling signs in terms of personnel at Government House. If inquiries begin to be made of the political affiliation of any staff member, we are in dangerous territory. The mere asking of such affiliation would intimidate staff members.
There will be respect afforded Dame Marguerite because of the office she holds. But it is not likely that she will win hearts and minds if she acts as if she is extending the Pindling reign, dividing the country into us against them.
One sign of progress would be an effort by Dame Marguerite to begin to acknowledge the grave errors and excesses of the Pindling years. This may be wishful thinking, for the PLP today seems to be generating all manner of excess, under the misrule of Perry Christie.
The Pindlings were correct: In not the most flattering ways, Christie is Pindling's heir and successor.

o frontporchguardian@gmail.com, www.bahamapundit.com.

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