The Editor
The Anguillian
“WE’VE BROUGHT OUR PIGS TO FINE MARKET”
Dear Editor:
Despite some of the things that may or may not have been attributed to the father of our nation, Mr. Webster, it’s become clear that the vision that he had for his beloved Anguilla, that of slow but steady growth, has fallen on deaf ears. Mr. Webster was adamant about us not becoming a nation of “busboys and waiters.” Well, here we are some forty-five years later and we’ve become the very same thing that he admonished us about. It takes a strong stomach to see some of the tacky and low class adventures that the present government has actively pursued in the name of tourism. Where do I begin?
Last week while channel-surfing I happened upon a channel on which I recognized one of our landmarks, Sandy Island, so I decided to wait and see what that was all about. At first glance, it looked innocent enough, people were milling about and, given some of the dialogue, it was easy to figure out that a wedding was about to take place. I saw nothing wrong with a couple who looked like they genuinely cared for each other getting married halfway across the Atlantic on Sandy Island.
Fast forward now to Viceroy and you soon figure out that what you’re looking at is a trashy reality show called “The Housewives of Atlanta” on Bravo Channel. Well, pretty soon our tranquil setting of Anguilla comes alive when all hell breaks loose between the housewives. This was a no holds barred brouhaha that would have made Jerry Springer, famous for his raucous no holds barred television show on daytime TV, look tame. I could not believe my eyes, that our lovely piece of tranquility wrapped in blue was the backdrop for a bunch of angry black women trying to gouge each other’s eyes out. It was downright embarrassing. All I could think about was, is that what we’ve come to? We’ve brought our pigs to fine market. Who’s responsible for bringing this debacle to our shores?
I thought to myself, that’s not good. Knowing that reality shows of this ilk are famous for their confrontations and raunchy language and situations, I wondered what are the guests who pay for this high end accommodation and who probably own a condo on the premises thinking and saying? I mean, here you had these adult women whom I’m sure knew how to conduct themselves in public, acting like a bunch of jealous out of control teenagers calling each other out in ways that are not conducive to civilized engagement. In addition to the behavior of these women, the attire that they were wearing failed to cover up very much. Having checked my TV guide, I became aware that these ladies, and I use the term loosely, would be gracing my television over a three night period. If you miss any of the episodes, they’re available on You Tube.
After putting my eyes back in my head, I asked the question, why would our government embark on a mission such as this? What could we hope to gain? Someone should ask Haydn that question since this little adventure has his name all over it. You’ll recall that this isn’t Haydn’s first venture into the reality show market. Remember last year he brought in the Bachelor, seen on ABC television. While that show may not have resulted in an endgame that Haydn thought, it did highlight several different venues on Anguilla – Shoal Bay and the Dunne Preserve among them. Haydn in his quest to make Anguilla the Caribbean home of the reality show has outdone himself by bringing a gangsta rapper to film a video using our young women from the ALCHS- a video whose lyrics were so objectionable that I can’t see any parent letting her 17 year-old have anything to do with this. To his credit, Haydn did acknowledge that it was a mistake to get involved without first knowing what it was all about. Is this what we have become, a backdrop for raunchy reality shows and rap videos? Not what the father of the nation envisioned for us. I know he must cringe every time he sees this nonsense.
I understand that the government is trying to promote tourism because that’s our lifeblood, but when you pursue shows like the Bachelor and the Housewives of Atlanta and, as in the case of Housewives, let them run roughshod over our brand, that’s not saying very much for your leadership abilities. Maybe someone should ask Haydn, did he do any research on these shows to see what they were and were these compatible with the Anguillian brand? Another question that should be asked is who picked up the tab for these shows. If we did, what is the return on our investment?
The people who watch these reality shows are not going to come down and stay at Viceroy, Cap Juluca or Sheriva for that matter, simply because these are our high end accommodations. Those shows cater to the lowest common denominator. Is there a plan here somewhere? What is it? How do we accommodate these folks and are we actively pursuing that market? What is going on? Is anyone being held accountable for this total lack of transparency? Is there a comptroller, someone who keeps an eye on the people’s money? This sort of thing is totally unacceptable. People are struggling right now and our ministers of government are off to every corner of the globe all in the name of tourism. You couldn’t get a better gig than this. We are spending exorbitant sums of money on crap like reality shows as a way of advertising our little piece of paradise. Not what the father of the nation envisioned. What’s the end game here?
I have a question for the minister of tourism? What are your qualifications? What makes you qualified for this job other than the obvious? Seriously? I’ll tell you what. What is your vision going forward for Anguilla? Assuming you don’t get fired or the government fails, what is your vision? It has got to be more than picking the low hanging fruit which, if you ask me, is not very appetizing right now. I thought we were promoting our country as a high end destination. If what we’ve seen is your idea of high end promotions, then we’re really in trouble. What is it that you’re trying to do? What do you want us to be called? The realities show capital of the Caribbean? When people come to our shores, they want peace and tranquility. They’ve left all that reality crap behind. They’re looking for a new experience. They want to experience Anguillian hospitality. They don’t want to be kept up all night because a bunch of black women can’t seem to get along and are rowdy as hell. If that’s where you see us, then shame on you. We are better than that. If you don’t know that then you’re definitely not qualified to occupy the office that you are currently sitting in.
I believe the absence of standards, and a way of enforcing these standards, are the reason that we have a government that shows a total lack of respect for its constituents. Not only should we overhaul the electoral process, but the way we operate on the whole. One can only assume that the Parliamentary Secretary with a responsibility for tourism is operating with impunity from the Chief Minister. There needs to be a system of checks and balances to make sure that this sort of nonsense does not continue to happen. We need to learn the right way how to do things – and when someone tries to show us the right way, we balk at it and sees it as interference. I know I’m preaching to the choir, but there needs to be a system in place to guarantee that any and all wrongdoing, wherever it may be, whether by omission or commission, that it ceases. Those who would take advantage of the system, and think that all is well, need to be held accountable and jerked in front of a magistrate to explain his or her actions. The argument that we’re a new nation does not hold water. We’ve been at this long enough and it’s high time that we learn the art of good governance. Good governance has to be first and foremost on everyone’s list. There is no place for the Peter Principle here – that is to say that you’ve reached the level of your incompetence. You’re in the job because you’re qualified for it, not because of who you know.
We have a system of government that is characteristic of most, if not all, of the British Overseas Territories, but we seem to be the only one who has not yet learned to master it. We elect the same people time after time and given the way things are structured, unless someone does something really bad, these guys come back time after time rehashing the same old worn ideas and gets nothing done. They wind up doing the very same things that they’ve accused the opposition of doing. This sort of thing needs to change. We need to know why you are running for office. What makes you qualified to represent me, a constituent? What is your philosophy of government? Do you understand the magnitude of the job at hand? Do you understand what the job entails? Do you have the intellectual wherewithal to master the process?
The old days of voting for or electing candidates because you like them or you knew their father are gone. We’re living in a different era. We now have the World Wide Web. Billions of dollars can change hands with the touch of a button. The world is now a global stage and we need people who can play on that stage. In his 2011 address to the Nation’s youth, the father of our nation, Mr. Ronald Webster, had this to say: “Seeking political office is an enormous national commitment, but only well-qualified persons, in terms of education, dedication and integrity, and with the right leadership charisma, should be selected for public office at the highest level. This holds true whether it is by ballot box or other forms of legal appointment.”
Education alone is not a panacea. It has to be tempered with common sense and you had better be prepared if you are going to sit across from the Oxford educated Prime Minister of Great Britain, Mr. Cameron. You need to conduct yourself in a manner commensurate with his. In other words, I expect you to be fully prepared and be versed in world affairs. You saw what happened to Mitt Romney during the last presidential elections in the United States. Mitt was Harvard educated as was Barack, but Mitt was unprepared and, consequently, Barack cleaned his clock. If you are going to be a doctor, you have to know your way around the human body. That comes with years of study and practice. I think the same applies to politics. By goodness, this is the career path that you’ve chosen, then it’s incumbent upon you to learn about the workings of government.
Don’t decide to run for office one day because it looks like a nice easy gig. Lots of travel and expense accounts and I’m on easy street for the next five years and, if I play my cards right, I could make a career out of this thing. Those are all the wrong reasons for getting involved. Public service is for the greater good. It’s a calling. It’s to help your fellowman, the less fortunate, the vulnerable, those who are too bashful to speak, the elderly and, of course, our most precious resource, our young. Yes, folks, as Mr. Webster said, this is a calling. Many will run, but few are chosen to use some biblical words.
I also want you to know that after I’ve elected you, and you fail to execute your office as you swore on the Holy Bible that you would, I want to be able to recall you and throw your behind out of office. Still want to be a politician? Well, strap yourself in because “it’s going to be a bumpy ride,” to use the words of Margo Channing in the movie “All about Eve.”
I want my representative to be highly visible in my district. I want him to know me by first name. I don’t want him to duck behind a tree when he sees me coming, because he might be afraid of what I might ask or say. I want him to be transparent with his constituents, to be honest and straightforward, to not sugar-coat anything, and to tell it like it is. I don’t think that’s asking too much.
Before I go, let me say this: Anguilla, as a student would be told, has great potential, doesn’t quite live up her capabilities, wastes many opportunities and fails to live up to expectations. Anguilla has had a rip roaring start out of the starting blacks, but somewhere along the way, has stumbled miserably and is now in a free fall. We have to have a plan. We cannot continue to head in the same direction that we currently are. We are concerned about balancing the budget which looks out for everyone except the most vulnerable around us. We have made allowances for everyone who works for the government, but what about those households who are struggling, who can’t afford to feed their children, the ones whose electricity has been turned off now for the longest while. What the devil is going on here? Chief Minister, are you listening? How the devil are you gonna’ take these people into independence? Don’t you think you should concern yourself with seeing that your people can support their families? And while we’re at it, what’s with this clearance tax – and now you’re going to start taxing land whether it’s being used or not? Whose side are you folks on? You pass bills that you don’t bother to read. You go away and come back and do not even have the common courtesy to tell us what the hell you did while you were abroad. I suspect that one day someone will come and tell us that we have to pack up and leave because our dumb legislators willed it. Come on guys. You’re acting as if you don’t have any skin in the game. I’ll tell you one thing: we’re not about to blindly follow any of you over the cliff. I said it.
I was thrilled to hear my own brother, Kennedy Hodge, give us a history lesson last Saturday, on the Mayor Show on KOOL FM, on the pros and cons of political independence. I might be a bit biased, but the show speaks for itself. Ken made some salient points that I dare anyone to find fault with. This idea of independence is all well and good when we are readyfor it. Some people are for it and some are against it. Everyone needs to be educated. As Ken said, you don’t go independent because you don’t want to do something that you are supposed to.
Ken very adroitly pointed out that we’re an independent people who don’t take kindly to being told what to do, therefore we want our own way whether we’re ready or not. There are thousands of people out there who need a leader to look out for their best interests. Can anyone truly say that this government is doing that? When you have our people starving, and off of the electric grid because they can’t afford to pay their bills, something definitely needs to be done. In a conversation that I was privy to a few weeks ago, someone said we need a Shaka Zulu. That is to say someone who is fearless, someone who is big and strong. We need someone who knows what the hell he’s doing. When the CM says things like, “I don’t owe anyone a cent” that implies tough on you who do owe. That’s not the callous sort of thing you want to hear from your leader. You want to know that he’s on your side. When you have a budget that has no contingency funds for social services and so on, the old adage of government of the people, by the people, and for the people is nothing more than mere words that are as empty as they sound.
The time has come for us to take our concerns to this government and let them know that we want them out of there because they’re useless, self aggrandizing free loaders who should be ashamed of themselves. Instead of fighting with the British, and talking nonsense about independence, we should be looking out for our people, making sure that they’re being properly educated and fed. Stop wasting resources with this reality show crap. Just think about how many homes could have been subsidized with the money that was paid to Housewives. Why is it that everyone thinks that we are still Bobo Johnnies? We’re a highly educated and talented people. We’ve lost our identity. We don’t know who the devil we are anymore. We’ve lost our mojo. We’ve lost that adventurous spirit that took us to Curacao and Aruba, the USA and Canada, the BVI and the USVI. We built us those places but when it comes to our own house, we’re content to do nothing. We’re content to sit on our lazy behinds waiting for someone else to do it. My father didn’t wait for someone to show him how to take the Excelsior to Curacao. He did it with nothing more than a sexton and Anguillian ingenuity. What has happened to that Anguillian exceptionalism? Until we rid ourselves of this current crop of politicians, and start anew with our goals in place, we’ll continue to flounder on the rocks.
Let us trim our sails and put this ship to the wind and sail back to prosperity for all. Our best is yet to come. So until then, may God bless us all and may God bless Anguilla.
Tyrone Hodge
