Dear Editor,
I have not conducted a scientific study but I can tell you, our dear prime minister and the rest of our country, that just by listening to the beat of the people's conversations in public, in private, on Facebook, Twitter, etc., those who will vote no will not be doing so because they are necessarily opposed to gambling or the legalization of it.
But, like me, they will vote no in protest, because they are grossly insulted by the fact that Bahamians are being taken for idiots with no ability to think for themselves or to see that the entire referendum on "numbers racketeering" has been presented to achieve one goal: To fulfill a political promise to the illegal numbers house boss(es), who provided funding for the political campaigns of the governing party in the general election of 2012.
All of us voting no are disgusted that our government would ride us like donkeys to satisfy its political agenda(s). We are annoyed that we have to be bothered with this when there are so many other issues of greater importance to be addressed. A real government would have taken a firmer stance and more decisive action if it meant to effect real change. And, ultimately, we are mostly annoyed by the process - or the lack thereof - that has taken (is taking) place to bring us to the point where we are at.
I anticipate that those voting no will also include the many persons who voted PLP instead of FNM/ DNA/independent, who, for a moment, saw or wanted to see a glimmer of hope in the likes of Bozo and his clowns, but were instead fooled by the rhetoric and empty promises they are so famous for crafting and distributing. And with government institutions already hemorrhaging money, owing to the "powerful" people stealing it, is a national lottery really a viable or sensible option? Who is trustworthy enough to administer it?
In a conversation about the future of our country, 20 years ago, one of my professors at COB expressed that The Bahamas has never really had to fight for its overall independence or its daily, basic freedoms as other countries have done for theirs, and until the time comes when there is a real revolution, Bahamians will not understand the responsibilities of true freedom nor benefit from its entitlements.
- Nicole Burrows

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