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Politicians and Citizens Falling Short

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At the root of  the state of things in Barbados is the high level of voter apathy commingling with a heavy dose of ignorance about the individual role John citizen must play to ensure an effective democratic system. One does not have to read, All the Kings Men or be acquainted with the insights of Niccolò Machiavelli in his well read Prince. The weight which comes from sitting behind the BU dashboard makes the task of enlightening our audience the more urgent.

In April 2013 Barbados Underground (BU) posted a blog George Payne v Edmund Hinkson: Storm Clouds Hovering Over MAM. The blogmaster wondered at the time why politicians who aspire to lead a nation demonstrate an embarrassing inability to resolve personal conflict.

In October 2015 BU posted a blog Remembering What Politicians Do. When the Eager 11 uprising threatened to derail the Stuart led DLP government- Stuart successful quelled the uprising David Estwick and a few colleagues threatened to sue the Nation newspaper for defamation. Here is a quote from the blog:

…this is innuendo and is defamatory in law. Pleased be advised that I have given my lawyers the instruction to see that my integrity in public and private advocation remains untarnished and unsullied…

There was the incident where David Estwick brandished a gun in the presence of Dale Marshall in parliament of all places. In March of 2019 BU posted the blog Two Members Of Parliament David Estwick And Dale Marshall Go At It!.  There is no doubt in the mind of the blogmaster the matter was allowed to fade by the political class with the prorogue of parliament. Why did the Committee of Privileges not honestly rule on the matter in the two years that followed?

There are other examples found in BU Archives that paint a picture of how members of the political class conspired to undermine the democracy they pledged to uphold. It must be stated that the challenge facing Barbadians is no different to citizens elsewhere. In developed countries the smell of decaying societies may stink less or more based on perspective. It is one of the greatest challenges human beings will face as life continues.

#atrophy?

How can Barbados be the proverbial diamond in the rough?

 

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121 responses to “Politicians and Citizens Falling Short”

  1. WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog Avatar
    WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog

    Has David Estwick travelled to the US lately…

  2. WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog Avatar
    WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog

    This is a blog where both Inniss and Greene should be happy to engage, without trying to bully any of us to start a DLP/BLP promotion of crap….and backwardness..

  3. Sunshine Sunny Shine Avatar
    Sunshine Sunny Shine

    A heavy dose of ignorance, David? Barbados Underground is here because the ignorance that permeates the psychy of the average bajan and keeps their indocility entrapped required that voices be raised in order to be heard through a means by which they cannot be directly victimised. BU has provided that provision since no one dares speak out openly against the political mob for fear of them evoking their protectionist laws against you. It does not matter if you speak in truth or just jest; no good thing comes out of advocating protest against the bigotry of a bunch of political posers that is hell bent on oppressing others while they status quos remains intact. What exactly do you expect to achieve in this article? Greater awareness of what will never see justice shining down on it?

  4. David Avatar
    David

    @SSS

    Here is a puzzle for the blogmaster, perhaps with your usual perception you can answer?

    If all the pundits agree that there is no significant difference in ideology/philosophy between the two parties that define the duopoly. How does one explain the affliction of Yardfowls who will rely on blind loyalty at the expense of being dispassionate to inform positions?

  5. WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog Avatar
    WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog

    SSS…never say never ..this is much bigger than Mia or any other fly by night political party including the EXILED DLP…

    never say never…

  6. Sunshine Sunny Shine Avatar
    Sunshine Sunny Shine

    David

    Before I answer your question, I have one of my own. The demographics of Barbados is split down two political plains, and those who pledge their allegiance to either or are driven to support on the basis of persuasive means. What possibly can the means of persuasion be, that one would blindly follow in spite of the wave of revelations painting them all to be birds of the same feather?

    Waru

    I would like to believe what you are saying, but until I see a different spectrum of light, Mia the Rogue-Works Mottley stands bigger than any criticism, tactic, or blog protest. She has purchased loyalities, and place them in key decision making positions;the intent of all of it is to ensure that all of them, including the ones she give tax breaks too, say Yes Mam!

  7. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Sunshine Sunny Shine
    “What possibly can the means of persuasion be, that one would blindly follow in spite of the wave of revelations painting them all to be birds of the same feather?”
    +++++++++++
    I can see only two possibilities… either the yardfowls have a rational expectation that they will realize a material gain, or they are motivated by the emotional rewards of being a fan in much the same way that people are fans of football teams.

    The promise of material gains is an illusion for 99% of yardfowls, despite the stories of flat screens giving way at Sinkler functions. This does not mean that the illusion has no power… most poor people vote for parties whose policies favor the rich because they do not see themselves as actually poor, but sustain the illusion that they are temporarily embarrassed millionaires whose luck is about to change.

    The emotional rewards of being a fan, of a political party or a football team, are very comforting to many people. It is worthwhile to remember however, that the word ‘fan’ is simply a contraction of the word ‘fanatic’ which means INSANE and irrational devotion to a group or idea.

  8. James Greene Avatar
    James Greene

    maybe the author should actually try to break down what the article is trying to convey. apart from the opening line it is quite difficult the unpack the intent of the article

  9. David Avatar
    David

    @Peter

    Are you not over analyzing?

    Our education system is failing us.

    The abundance of Yardfowls exposes a lazy thinking. A comfort level with established way of thinking.

    Understand the blind loyalty of 60% of the electorate and we find the lever to pull to trigger real change.

  10. David Avatar
    David

    One does not need an above average comprehension level to understand the point of those blog.

  11. WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog Avatar
    WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog

    “She has purchased loyalities, and place them in key decision making positions;the intent of all of it is to ensure that all of them, including the ones she give tax breaks too, say Yes Mam!”

    it’s all but for a time…according to the grapevine pre election..Sinckler was giving away this and giving a way that…and post election…he had the NERVE to want it all back after he lost his seat…but the people knew they were being BRIBED WITH THEIR OWN MONEY…even if Sinckler did not think they knew..lol

  12. Sunshine Sunny Shine Avatar
    Sunshine Sunny Shine

    David

    Your answer is lazy thinking and a fail educational system? Then let us go further. Why is the thinking amongst a segment of the population lazy? Who is responsible for educational reforms if we are going to lay blame at the feet of ES? Is this your answer to my question?

  13. James Greene Avatar
    James Greene

    in two sentences please state the central point of this article

  14. David Avatar
    David

    @SSS

    The blogmaster does not know how to answer your question. He is willing to be guided on some matters.

  15. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @David
    “Understand the blind loyalty of 60% of the electorate and we find the lever to pull to trigger real change.”
    ++++++++++++++++++
    That’s my point. We need a deeper understanding of this thinking beyond labelling it as ‘lazy’. What rational expectations or emotional comfort lies behind the thinking that you call ‘lazy’ or ‘blind’?

  16. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ PLT at 10 :10 AM

    Very insightful analysis of the syndrome which David Bu is trying to describe.

    @ David Bu at 10 :18 AM

    Please analyse what PLT has written. Unless we have party supporters the idea of democracy is dead. The General Elections provide an opportunity for fresh brains to tackle political,economic ,and social problems. Homo Sapiens does suffer from burn out.
    The electorate is well aware that there is no ideological difference. It is the ability to manage our res publicae that we ,the electorate, are seeking to achieve.

  17. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ David BU

    Do not blame the Education system. The fact that you are able to express your self in this media,suggests to me that the Education System is successful. Perhaps too successful to the extent that we ignore emotional intelligence. That is a part of man’s makeup as well.
    We are not machines that have been programmed to go down a prescribed path. Even God gave us the choice of Good or Evil , however you may describe these characteristics.

  18. David Avatar
    David

    @Vincent

    Do not assume where the blogmaster was formally educated. Read Peter’s comment with interest and took the opportunity to describe the symptom of the lazy thinking by our educated middles class. How we move the matter forward, see reply to SSS.

  19. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    So David & SSS, which do you think is main motivation for the electorate’s dysfunction: that the expectation or hope of receiving bribes or other enrichment themselves, or the emotional comforts of team spirit? Or is it something else?

  20. David Avatar
    David

    @Peter

    It is a comfort level but what is causing it?

    On Sun, Feb 10, 2019 at 3:12 PM Barbados Underground wrote:

    >

  21. TheoGazerts Avatar
    TheoGazerts

    All of a sudden no-one knows the answers and acts as if old questions are new insights….
    50 years of conditioning
    50 years of sucking up to get by
    50 years of this is what you need to do in order to succeed
    50 years of religious folk making out the God plays a part in our elections
    50 years of mis-education
    50 years of corruptions
    50 years o

  22. TheoGazerts Avatar
    TheoGazerts

    The question to be asked is not how and why did we get here, but is “How will we get from here?’

  23. David Avatar
    David

    Your question is no different to those in the queue. How do we break it!

  24. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ Theo at 11:35 AM
    @ David at 11:39 AM

    We are all here. And we are all trying to get there.
    The problem is we cannot agree on where we want to go. Are we really in a bad place? Is it not where we ought to be at this juncture? Learning? Reflecting? Planning? Are the other nations of the world any better? Do we have the clout to do better at this point in time?

    Just using my education tools.

  25. David Avatar
    David

    @Vincent

    We have two options, to benchmark against another or to your point, develop a vision of our own and detail plans to get there.

  26. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ David at 10 :57 AM

    Education is education,formal or otherwise. What goes in is not important. What comes out is the deciding factor.

  27. David Avatar
    David

    @Vincent

    Not following your last comment. Informal education is outside the school system we hold so dear. If we have homes for example which are not being adequately supervised by parents and guardians, does this not compromise the quality of informal education available?

  28. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    About 70 per cent of Bajan youths are unemployed or out of full-time education. Is this an issue to be debated?

  29. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    I point to those kids who found the purse as an example of using a moral persuasion to make a right decision a decision absent of self interest.
    Without having and persusing a moral path all hope is lost

  30. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    Why are we all dancing around the brutal truth that the problem we are discussing is a profound dysfunction deep within Bajan culture. It is not simply manifested in those that we identify as ‘yardfowls’ but is a part of all of us… it is this inane deferral of responsibility to someone else, anyone else, to take the blame for the mess we have made of our society.

    We have seen the enemy… it is us. Bush Tea labels it the brass bowl syndrome.

    The cure is to take personal responsibility for fixing it… the people around us have long since stopped listening to or trusting our words, but they pay attention to our actions.

    Here endeth the lesson.

  31. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    David
    Apathy is fashionable and therefore attractive (even feigned) and needs no robust defense. The most popular defense is yardfowl. Exhibit A – BU intelligentsia.

  32. WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog Avatar
    WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog

    Enuff…..ya sound exhausted..ah know, ah know…the pressure is on…

    ya better stock up on codeine, calm ya DOWN..

  33. David Avatar
    David

    @enuff

    Do you agree with Peter? The fault line is outside the political sphere?

  34. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    The ‘political sphere’ is simply a subset and representative sample of us.

  35. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    ““The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves…”

    http://media.quoteprism.net/img/627/7/698281-tyranny-quotes.jpg

  36. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    “About 70 per cent of Bajan youths are unemployed or out of full-time education.”
    Really?🤔

  37. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    Yes.

  38. WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog Avatar
    WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog

    Maybe above the pay grade though…

    Things are not going great, stuff they thought had remained buried and that can undo them…has just surfaced and arisen like well boiled milk…..for the world to see…and people are…anngggrrrryyyyy….while Owen’s article are opening nuff, nuff eyes..

    ya can feel the tense on Facebook…ah sure they are feeling it too.

  39. WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog Avatar
    WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog

    PLT…..these do not want to accept responsibility for anything, NOTHING EVIL THEY DID ..they want to take responsibility for…especially the titled asses….they think they are special…but it is only in their corrupt minds….and everyone of their names are calling…

    Got first hand info on how they operate …it’s even more vile than what we knew previously….people have to stay away from them or just leave the island…they cannot take back any thing that they did and ya can guarantee it was ALL NASTY…

  40. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    David
    Have I not been inferring such for years?

  41. David Avatar
    David

    @enuff

    The political class need to convert members. We cannot continue on this track. We will implode.

  42. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    Hmmmm….. are we FINALLY considering the roots of the problem then?

  43. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    Hal
    70% of school leavers being unemployed is not the same as youth unemployment being 70%. I think it is more around 30%.

  44. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    When we talk about youth unemployment, it is internationally accepted that we are talking about the cohort from school-leaving age (in our case age 16) to age 25. There is a reason for this. It s accepted that if a young person does not get training, further education of a job by age 25 they are likely to spend the rest of their lives in and out of low-paid jobs.
    In short, it is a crisis. Youth unemployment in Spain is about 50 per cent; in London black youth unemployment is about 45 per cent. In both cases they are treated as crises.

  45. WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog Avatar
    WARU, Crazy & Unstable, Hogging the Blog

    Enuff…in LaLa Land.

  46. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    I understand quite well that youth unemployment refers to 16-24, I also maintain that in Bdos unemployment in that age group is not 70% but more in the region of 30%.

  47. David Avatar
    David

    This link maybe useful.

    https://www.statista.com/statistics/811658/youth-unemployment-rate-in-barbados/

  48. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    Barbados youth unemployment according to the World Bank
    https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Barbados/Youth_unemployment/

    Barbados youth unemployment according to the CIA
    https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?c=bb&v=2229

    Barbados youth unemployment according to the Barbados Ministry of Labour
    https://labour.gov.bb/gender-youth-unemployed-rate-percentage/?from=2014&to=2018

    None of them are up to date. Does anyone else have better (more authoritative or up to date) figures?

  49. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ David BU

    At 10:57 AM you wrote: “Do not assume where the Blog master was formally educated.” This is the statement I responded to. Did I miss the cue?
    Barbados ,like any other society ,does have its share of irresponsible or incapable parents that gap was filled by the extended families and the community.I see no indicators that the same does not obtain today.

    The problem is not education .The problem is that we are not accepting disruption as part of the process of transition.As human beings we fear change and uncertainty. Charismatic leaders used to fill that gap. Our leaders may have undermined their credibility by their track records of non-performance and betrayal of the trust the people placed in them.
    It is not too late for them to repent….to wheel and come again.

  50. David Avatar
    David

    Thanks for the clarification Vincent. How are you able to separate education and the ability of the population to be disruptive?

The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.

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