Dear Editor,
The University of the West Indies lays claim to educating some of the brightest intellectuals and learned citizens of the Caribbean. Had they read a recent salvo from the leader of The Bahamas opposition, the university might have wanted to rescind that boast. No less than 12 sitting or former prime ministers of Caribbean countries are graduates of UWI and the distinguished academics and researchers who were graduated by the university include one Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott, and our own international jurist and former Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall. And then there is Dr. Minnis, who seems to have concentrated his time on the study of medicine to the detriment of all other requirements for a university degree, trivial pursuits such as English language, the classics, logic and critical thinking.
I salute the good doctor for having the presence of mind to want to honor those larger than life women who led the crusade for equality, justice and fair play for women. But instead of looking at history through the lens of these heroines, he chose, in his press release, to take the condescending tone typical of male chauvinists, of inadvertently (perhaps) intimating that those women who rose to so-called "male" professions did something extraordinary and out of whack with the "female" jobs he enunciated - clothes washers, hair stylists, janitors (he called them floor cleaners but even I cannot stoop so low), food service workers, hotel maids and the like.
I cannot sit still and give Minnis another pass. We want our leaders to be one of us, but we yearn for a higher quality, an ability they say Pindling had - he walked (and presumably talked and corresponded with) queens and kings, all the while retaining his ability to suck his teeth and say "yinna" and "mudda sic" like the rest of us. But, as in other countries, we want our leaders, and most especially those who aspire to be prime minister, to occupy a bully pulpit; to lead by example, to inspire our children by the use of proper grammar, to earn us respect on the international stage by being conversant with diplomacy and protocol, and most especially to inspire us all to lift up our heads to the rising sun.
We respect intelligence in our political leaders. We were proud of Sir Lynden and found his occasional stammer endearing. We looked past Hubert Ingraham's 'V' and 'W' mispronunciations because we knew he had something intelligent to say. We swooned at the prospect of Sir Kendal Isaacs or Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield making it to the big table. Hubert Minnis can't keep company with any of them. He blundered through his latest press release in the same fashion he butchers and mangles the Queen's English in his interventions in Parliament.
Did he sleep through debate classes at his local alma mater, St. Augustine's College? Did he ever cross paths with Fr. Alvin Fong Ben or the legendary Vince Ferguson whose studied countenance got students to stop in mid-sentence if their argument was not making sense or their subject and verb didn't agree? He has made his living as a doctor but today he is not auditioning for the role of the nation's family doctor. Instead, as the alternative prime minister, he is the ringleader who the people could put in charge at any time.
We want, nay, deserve someone who can step into the role on day one, commanding the respect of those he represents whether red or gold, or green or whatever color Greg Moss feels mixes with his northern city style politics. A word to the good Dr. Minnis: Don't play the Bahamian voters for fools. We will not take it from Perry and hand it to you simply because you happen to be standing next to him. Your long audition is still producing failing grades.
The old people say that it is useless to push a car with no battery. I'm afraid when it comes to the good doctor, there is no battery, the tires are flat, the engine gone and only the horn is working, because all we are getting is noise.
- The Graduate
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