Column: ‘Substantive Action To Curb Trends’
[Opinion column written by Senator Marc Daniels]
As we move about the community, our countrymen are saying time and time again that they are tired of politicians politicizing crime as if they can singularly and magically make criminality disappear overnight.
Bermudians are telling us that words of condemnation and sympathy alone cannot curb the negative trends; only real substantive action.
Why do so many of our young men and women engage in criminality?
How can an individual pick up a gun with murderous intent?
Why would someone be so brazen to enter another person’s home and violate their privacy?
How can any one of us callously stab another or even strip our clothes in jest or mockery of our own traditions?
Too many of those who say they have all the answers, don’t truly understand that far too many of our people, our families and neighborhoods are broken.
When we understand that our students are attending school hungry, that they suffer mental, physical and sexual abuse in their own homes, plagued by a society that places materialism above relationships, and status symbols as tokens of success, we only begin to reveal the underlying causes that drive us to hurt one another.
It seems that each year there is a more concerted effort to undermine the essence of Cup Match in exchange for debauchery. Whether it is under age sex, sliding down the wicket, or streaking, we are seeing trends to usurp our own community.
The fact that a celebration of the anniversary of Emancipation was marred by stabbings and streaking is reflective of our lost appreciation for our collective struggles and triumphs.
The PLP appreciates that there are no quick fixes, and that there are root causes that must be acknowledged and addressed if we are to effectively combat crime and improve our present condition.
We understand that we must tackle the economic disparity that is evident in every aspect of our society, inclusive of the lack of comprehensive knowledge of ourselves and our history.
The people are saying that they are tired of politicians that place style over substance, and they understand that photo ops won’t stop crime, won’t stop murders, and won’t tackle the root causes that create crimes and murders in our society.
We have some serious dysfunction within our community, and crime will not abate until we establish stronger pathways for success for our people, including:
- Education Reform that prepares our children to take control of their economy, teaches them knowledge of self, gives them a future, and creates hope for a better life than the one their parents had.
- Tough immigration laws that protects Bermudian jobs and opportunities, and harshly punishes those who seek to deny opportunities to Bermudians.
- A diversified economy where there is room for Bermudians not just at the entry levels, but at the top as well.
- Job Corps to give our young men and women a pathway off the wall and into full time employment or entrepreneurship.
- Investing in the training and retraining of our people to create new employment opportunities, career advancement, and entrepreneurial know how.
Increased job opportunities, economic advancement, improved health and living conditions, decreasing challenges between our foreign work force and local labor market, and readjusting social attitudes are the way forward in respect to combatting crime.
An attitude that any behaviour is acceptable is crippling us as a society, and we urge the OBA to rethink their approach before more of our people fall victim to senseless crimes.
- Marc Daniels
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Mr. Daniels, agreement here.
To tell you the truth, the oba/U.B.P.have never addressed Bermuda’s deep and serious social issues.Their pockets have been addressed. Where is that Baron person?Where is dunkley?
If violence were to land on any of the oba/U.B.P.’s door steps, then and only then , would anyone really see anything done.That is THE TRUTH!!
The rhetoric talk from this current government is insensitive , cruel and heartless.
May they not get into power again.
Just want to know, do you feel that PLP anything to address the issues in the 14 years of their power?
Baron probably busy smiling at his fat Minister pay check $156,864 and the dunkley might be getting ready for more photo opps.
Current salaries of Members of Parliament
Position Annual Salary
Members of House of Assembly $56,023
Speaker, House of Assembly $82,592
Deputy Speaker, House of Assembly $69,308
Premier $207,285
Deputy Premier as (F/T)* Minister $168,965
Minister of Finance as (F/T) Minister $177,033
Minister of Finance (part-time) $116,528
Attorney General $203,045
Ministers in the House of Assembly (F/T $156,864
Part-time Ministers $106,444
Opposition Leader $86,390
Junior Ministers in the House of Assembly $67,410
Party Whips $63,616
Nandi fills like 4 positions.
Beyonce $3m an hour.
Grand Atlantic $50m of borrowed money.
Refurfing a golf course $25m.
Swimming pool $25m.
Emissions testing $15m.
Don’t forget the UBP=OBA has committed to provide a guarantee of up to $165 million for the new Grand Atlantic twin called Morgans Point.
Bermuda get rdy to pay more out of de checks every month.
Lets not forget:
Dockyard Pier
T-Street
It landed on the doorsteps of many PLP members and what did they do? You seem to believe that some politicians magical words of wisdom and some conversation will heal everything and these punks will all of a sudden become model citizens.
If we all got to know our neighbors a bit better and took an interest is what is going on around us our neighborhoods would be safer. If we started assisting the police when we know of an illegal activity (even if only anonymously using crime stoppers) instead of “not wanting to get involved” our neighborhoods would be safer.
Keep waiting for the PLP or OBA or someone to clean up your own house and let me know how that works out for you. If you see something broken in your community do what YOU can to FIX IT. Stop with the f’n sense of entitlement and believe that some great politician has the answer. You hold the brains and have the power you need to fix almost anything important to you. All you need to do is start doing and stop complaining.
“To tell you the truth, the oba/U.B.P.have never addressed Bermuda’s deep and serious social issues.Their pockets have been addressed”
Whose ‘pockets were addressed’ in the Roban/ Furbert/Desilva planning scandal?
And where have the PLP been. For longest time, they actually denied their was a gang culture here. The fact is the problem is beyond a political fix, it requires a social fix, and there isn’t a government on this planet, in this history that can fully effect social issues. They can stimulate social improvements through legislative incentives, but they can do nothing about the mother who cries out about how good her son is (all the while his social media is postered with him flashing gang signs and colours); or a parent who tells their child an education won’t do them any good… No government can, PLP or OBA, can ever rid us of the social issues that plague us; that solution lies solely within the realm of families, and raising our children in supportive and tolerant environments in the home. It has long been established that a child raised in a strong supportive and tolerant environment will be better equiped to face the realities of adulthood; and without that foundation, no government stands a chance for creating a better, more socially equitable society. But as it stands now, you have children who’s mothers won’t or can’t even tell them who their daddy is; dads’ who are teaching by example that women are nothing more than objects to be oogled and cat called at, sexually objectified and passable when something prettier comes along, children raised in an atmosphere of toxic masculinity, that the measure of a man is somehow tied to his virility and agression; parents who put their kids in gang colours before they are put into daycare; parents who teach their children that who someone loves makes them lesser than them because of some 5+ thousand year old social doctrine; parents who teach their children that someone is less than them, 2nd class, because their parents weren’t born here… There is a strong community here that is raising their children to be better than what they were, it is here, I have seen it. But we all live on the same island together, and no matter how well you mix together a thousand eggs, but it will only take one rotten one to ruin the omelette.
If we want a better society, than we need to stop expecting a government to make it better for us and raise our children better, so they can make it better for themselves.
I, personally, gave you 14 years to fix things…why didn’t you fix them then?
Over the 14 years the PLP made things even worse.
OBA are performing miracles. Whereas Daniels just regurgitates bullet point ideology.
So we had none of these social issues before the PLP was elected to Govt? Sick of hearing about 14 years… how many years has their been economic disparity and other damaging social issues within the community?
likely because he wasnt a PLP parliamentarian during those years. but continue with the blame game instead of considering the truth that he has shared.
There is no blame game. It IS his partys fault that we are where we are. But go ahead and deny it/ deflect. As usual
Dont think no one is denying it. Seems like you just do not want to acknowledge what he is saying just because of the party he represents. And he has already pointed out his parties short comings in the past.
The truth be told neither party can fix them. The votes will come down to black and white when people vote PLP/BIU & UBP/OBA 2017.
Dunk needs 20% but the question is will the UBP/OBA receive it when the polls close.
That’s the truth now please don’t hate the messenger.
Bean’s response when measures were suggested in 2007 to curb crime was “They’re locking up our people”.
So the PLP watched with their arms folded as crime exploded.
All we got from Brown was “alternatives to incarceration”. Be nice to criminals. Look where that got us.
This is the most vapid opinion piece I have seen in some time. All surface level – no substance. Kind of like his legal arguments in court the other week.
It is what Daniels does best .. Vapid surface pieces….I recall others you could write on the back of a postcard
Hot air. You made yours as a lawyer keepin’ some of these crinminals on the street. Man speak with forked tongue.
Thank you for sharing these words senator and it is so true. We must look within first if we are to fix these problems
This senator is a joke and will never get a gay vote in any election talking about pathways to Sucess?.?… WTF
The guy is one one the shameful politicians who wants to put our bermudian LGBT community back in the closet and treat them like second class citizens , we heard his archaic and shocking diatribe in the senate beyond unbelievable when he knocks on any door remember it may be a home of a LGBT bermudian he will get an ear full, oh and in case he is so naive newsflash some of Bermuda’s youth are GAY.
The final count showed that 69 per cent of those who voted, or 14,192 people, opposed same-sex marriage, with 6,514 voting in favour. That means out of 44,367 registered voters, 31.99 per cent were against, with 14.68 per cent in favour. Now go pick some flowers.
No flowers but we will pick and choose which politicians we will vote for
I love the OBA and I always will. The PLP, God love them, were clueless as to governing.
…..and before politics we’ve never seen you write an opinion piece on anything.
So anything you write now is politicising any topic as you accuse other politicians of doing
So many of you politicians burst onto the scene having done nothing in the community that is publicly heard of and then all of a sudden talk about what you did for this organisation and that person’s auntie and this school as if to say “I did that” only for the sake of political gain.
Go long bie!
“As we move about the community, our countrymen are saying time and time again that they are tired of politicians politicizing crime as if they can singularly and magically make criminality disappear overnight.”
And that’s exactly what the PLP has been yelling at the OBA about since day one of their time in office. Give it a break, Marc. You’re just looking for votes.