Dear Editor,

I was shocked after I read on the Facebook page of a popular internet news source the incendiary comments of a radical political opponent of former prime minister Hubert Ingraham and his administration.
The blogger was commenting on the recent alleged suicide of a young woman at Arawak Cay.
From what I have read, it looks like the blogger was insinuating that the suicides that occurred while Ingraham was prime minister were linked to the "failed" policies of the Free National Movement (FNM) government. Because people were struggling to make ends meet during those challenging times, they ended up killing themselves.
Apparently, the blogger is also well aware of the alleged murder-suicide of Breon Carroll, which took place in early July. Carroll allegedly killed his next door neighbor before, reportedly, taking his own life.
There were two suicides in the month of July alone, and Ingraham is no longer the leader of this country. Yet, the blogger commented that the alleged suicide at Arawak Cay could also be laid at the doorsteps of the former prime minister and his administration because of the economy and the high murder rate.
But how does the blogger know the exact circumstances behind the woman's death? For all we know, there could have been other factors that led to her untimely death.
Rather than bemoan this tragic incident, the blogger, seems to only be concerned about the political ramifications this apparent suicide could have for the PLP.
I think he was afraid that the FNM would have gone to the press in order to score brownie points by blaming the Christie administration for the alleged suicides. But the FNM party has not stooped to that level.
The blogger cannot see that his comments have the potential of causing more harm to the grief stricken family and friends of the young woman.
The blogger's reckless and highly irresponsible comments remind me of similar comments made by a PLP member of Parliament several months before the May 7 general election.
The PLP MP said that the failure of the FNM administration to create sufficient jobs to deal with the country's unemployment problem led to the untimely deaths of Bahamians.
What concerns me is that many impressionable young Bahamians browse these social media sites.
The FNM's public relations machinery needs to start reaching out to these young voters. It needs to respond to these bloggers before more damage is done.
The FNM ignored these bloggers leading up to May 7 and it cost them big time. The opposition party must see to it that the same mistake is not repeated.

-- Kevin Evans

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