EDITOR, The Tribune.

Re: Your editorial of Feb 2, 2017: “It’s Time For The Opposition To Get Its Act Together”, and in which you reference and quote the thrust of an excellent editorial letter by Luther McDonald published on January 24th.

I am in hearty agreement with everything that Mr McDonald espouses, as the attributes of a Bahamian leader like Brent Symonette, except perhaps, his conclusion that most people would have, that the Bahamian people would never support him because he is white.

I have it on very good authority that Mr Symonette’s birth certificate states that his race is MIXED. Certainly the Symonette name originated in Europe and very likely is of French origin. And somewhere between the first Symonette landing in Eleuthera and Sir Roland being born, there was an inter-racial relationship between a pure European Symonette and a pure African spouse or partner. But the question that begs asking is why would a mixed race Symonette, and a clearly mixed race Christie, be any different politically? Wikipedia provides a couple of origins of “Clan Christie” one of which being: “Christie is a shortened form of Christian and possibly also of Christopher, which is established in Fife and Stirlingshire1 According to Scots Kith and Kin, Clan Christie was in the area of Fife in the 15th Century. Said to be a sept of the Clan Farquharson. So, that being said, one of the Scottish Christie’s must have had an inter-racial relationship, with a pure or mixed race African.

So, if our acceptable Parliamentarians, and or Prime Ministers, can only be based on the degree of BLACKNESS then we are really in trouble in this country. Philip Davis is probably the only qualified MP. Just look at the Parliamentarians of today, including senators, and decide if any of these are black enough to meet this test. Perry Christie himself, speaking of pure white Spanish Wells Ryan Pinder, expressed the belief that he was a Bahamian who “could” be the Prime Minister of a Black Majority Country.

So, what is the real criteria here. Is it only some mixed race people that are acceptable to the Bahamian people? I don’t think so!

And, if the current state of our nation, and its finances, and the state of almost every other Ministry of Government being in shambles, does not tell us that the colour of a Bahamian’s skin is not a sensible bar to preventing someone who can engender and re-establish international respect for this country, then we are really and truly a people beyond all hope.

So, yes, I think that Brent Symonette is the one person who could lead a Unified Opposition against the PLP and by so doing bring the FNM, DNA, XYZ, and ABC, parties together under one banner to defeat the PLP and form a Government, to be run on sound financial and business principles. Such an alliance would require that all groups withdraw their constituency nominees, so that a selection of the best and most likely successful candidates can be re-nominated. It also supposes that the three or four contenders for Alt Prime Minister stand back, and take a secondary position. I have been told this could work, and it would be the cornerstone of any such venture.

Urban Dictionary defines a Come to Jesus Moment as:

An epiphany in which one realises the truth of a matter; a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something; coming ..

I think that now is your “Come to Jesus Moment Gentlemen and Lady” . .

BRUCE G. RAINE

Nassau,

February 6, 2017.