Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday expressed concern about vitriol ahead of the general election and called on church and civic leaders to speak out against "gutter politics" as condemned by Anglican Bishop Laish Boyd in a recent pastoral letter to his parishioners.
Christie was speaking at the official opening of the Community Counseling and Assessment Centre of Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre on Collins Avenue.
"We must avoid in our country some of the serious things that I am observing when it comes to division," Christie said.
"Politics in small countries has to be managed properly.
"Hubert Ingraham and I tried to manage it properly.
"We happen to have been law partners and shared a lot of access together so there was an understanding that you have to be civilized, notwithstanding strong criticisms of each other.
"But I want to express some concern; it has to do with mental health, that there is a very tenuous line between the manifestation of hatred and violence.
"And we must exercise the greatest care as citizens of our country to ensure that we set a standard for our democracy.
"We should demonstrate that change can take place and take place fluidly from one toward the other, but we must exercise the greatest care because if you jump into my yard, as they have done, and tear down my posters, as they have done, what do you expect me to do?
"I am an average person.
"It means that you want a posterless election.
"And when you have me pulling down yours,and you pulling down mine; what do you expect to happen?
"At some stage there is confrontation, and what [do] you expect to happen where there is confrontation?
"So we have to recognize that when the bishop of the Anglican Church spoke out, that other church leaders must speak out; other leaders and civic leaders must speak out also, because we have too much of a wonderful country with a wonderful reputation outside of this country.
"We are making too many advances as a country not to recognize the care we ought to exercise and that no matter how much we feel that there should be change, at the end of the day we must remember we must all live together after it takes place."
In his pastoral letter, Boyd said he was "personally horrified at the level of gutter politics and venom that I see and hear being spewed around, even in conventional media".
"In social media it is even worse, and so often there is little or no regard for truth," he said.
"Fake news is propagated as facts and so many of us are gullible to believe whatever we see that is negative or degrading about others.
"This must stop. Let us discuss the issues and not demonize the candidates."
Boyd's and Christie's comments follow political jousting among candidates, defaced and destroyed political paraphernalia and a series of leaks revealing scathing financial dealings of candidates.

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