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From:TheBahamasWeekly.com The New Bahamian - Joseph Gaskins  Last week, in my introductory article
for this column, I attempted to answer the “who’s” and the “what’s”
of our impending adventure together. Specifically, I tried to be clear
about who I am and what I intended to do with the new platform that
has been afforded to me. I think now I want to focus on the how, and
for me (with all my shiny, new sociological training) this is a question
of methodology. How do I intend to advance the “New Bahamian” perspective
that I spent considerable space in my last article discussing? How do
I hope to push my country toward the new politics I argued were so essential
for our continued growth and survival? And lastly, how will I endeavor
to “challenge—as radically as possible—Bahamian business as usual”?
Tough questions for a little column like mine; but I think the answer
is obvious.
After last week’s article was
posted, I got varying reviews by email, through Facebook and by word
of mouth. Interestingly enough, one thing most people wanted to make
clear to me was that I had said things that people had apparently been
afraid to say, afraid because of—what one person described as—“reprisals”.
In my opinion, this fear has seemingly atrophied any kind of deep and
meaningful public critique of Bahamian politics, society and culture
by the media, many non-governmental organizations, and especially by
what can be loosely described the Bahamian intelligentsia. Simply put,
I am talking about pissing people off by calling them out on their foolishness—the
foolishness that has become the norm—and by clearly showing what their
foolishness costs us. I want to talk about the foolishness that transcends
political party lines, religious affiliations, and business relationships,
because I have none of those. What I do have is a theoretico-political
orientation from which I intend to levy my critique. This particular
orientation demands not only a radical
reading but also has an
inherent principal that can be described as
construction. In
other words, I can’t only piss people off by calling them out; I must
also suggest a clear alternative to them or their foolishness.
Critique
and
construct. This fear is justified given recent editorials by The Nassau Guardian itself. In “Rallying the FNM’s Troops,” the paper thought it more important to instruct the current government in deft election-time political maneuvering, encouraging the FNM to brand McCartney’s Democratic National Alliance (DNA) a mere tool of the PLP, instead of encouraging its readers to be mindful of such campaign tactics—to consider political substance over partisan styling. I know that I’m new to this writing for public consumption thing, but I thought the purpose of a newspaper editorial was to elevate public discourse by presenting the paper’s opinion on issues important to the community in the interest of the community (see here or here if that’s difficult to believe). This point becomes particularly lucid in light of the WikiLeaks cables. Elected officials (or rather, officials who can’t seem to get elected) are confident that securing votes can be as simple as providing “free paraphernalia” . The last thing we need is to give our politicians a license to smear while they’re busy buying votes.
The WikiLeaks have provided a unique opportunity for the Bahamian public to have some honest, candid conversation about how and by whom our country is run. The U.S. Embassy has released a statement claiming that the publishing of these cables could potentially damage the progression of our “shared objectives”. We’ve seen in the past that the United States’ definition of “shared” is often at best a euphemism for something much less cooperative. And, if I may speak frankly, there is a difference between a relationship defined by “shared objectives” and one defined by an acute asymmetry of power and dependency. Let’s not pretend.
That it took a massive breach in
United States security for us to have such conversations is a sad
commentary. Let’s try not to get bogged down in the easy and entertaining
stuff—the political backstabbing and character assassinations. What
do our politicians think of us, not each other? How do Bahamian people
decide how to cast their votes? Who is funding political parties during
election time and when will we have a law that requires such disclosure?
What kinds of debts are owed to political underwriters after the ballots
have all been counted? And, why is the United States really so interested
in the fine details of the Bahamian political landscape? These are the
questions that are sure to piss some folks off and I think that’s
when you know you’ve struck a chord—just ask
Fred Mitchell and the
U.S.
Embassy
.
Joey Gaskins is
a graduate of Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY with a BA in Politics. He is
currently studying at the London School of Economics and Political Science
(LSE) where he hopes to attain his
MSc in Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies and go on to pursue
a Doctoral Degree. Joey also writes for
the Nassau
Liberal
www.nassauliberal.
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