Breezeblog

This is the moment Janice Battersbee told Premier Dr. Ewart Brown what many Bermudians think of him. It took great courage as a PLP supporter to stand in front of her country’s leader and deliver that – and credit to Brown, he stood there and took it with dignity, even if he must have been seething and humiliated inside.  [Apologies for the jerky camerawork but that was as close as I could get].

There’s been a lot of internet and radio chatter about how the crowd was overwhelmingly and depressingly white – no surprise there – and sadly Hott 107 almost seemed to dismiss the protest because of the racial imbalance. But  the pro-Brown support was noticable by its absence. Save for Laverne Furbert and a few diehards, it was neglible perhaps indicating that there is no great groundswell of support for Brown either but a lot of black Bermudians are going to look at this video and others and just see a lot of middle-aged white people screaming abuse at a black man and not see the bigger picture.

Having said all that, it was encouraging to see Bermudians willing to stand up and be counted and as such it was a good day for democracy. The people told their elected Premier in no uncertain terms what they thought of him without fear of arrest or police brutality. If nothing else, it will have impressed the four Uighurs who can only dream of such freedoms back home.

A very amusing musical take on the crisis that sums up a lot of public feeling right now about the Dishonourable Ewart Brown. But will he go?

[Disclaimer: contrary to a rumour doing the rounds I did NOT create this video. I picked it up off YouTube from somebody called “bermudastandup“]

Bermudians are being urged to take to the streets on Tuesday in an unprecedented “people’s protest” against Premier Dr Ewart Brown. The call, circulated by e-mail and social networking sites throughout the Island, states that a march on Parliament will take place on June 16 at 12.30pm. The organisers – who seem to be a mixed grassroots bunch led by an insurance clerk, Janice Battersbee – are calling for the Premier to resign and for the “Gitmo Four” to be returned immediately.

Realistically, they are unlikely to succeed on either count but the fact that this protest is taking place at all is an indication of the widespread anger and disgust people here have for Brown right now. It will be interesting to see if that widespread anger is reflected in the makeup of the protestors on Tuesday – that it is a true cross-section of Bermudians of all colours, races and political backgrounds rather than a gaggle of self-righteous white Bermudians and expats stamping their feet. Many people now believe Brown is someone who will politically, financially and morally bankrupt the Island if he is allowed to remain in power any longer.

With the UBP having tabled a motion of no confidence in Brown – and no doubt he will try and stifle that debate next Friday if he lasts that long – its going to be an interesting week in Bermudian politics. A watershed even.

Meanwhile, I highly recommend my fellow blogger Vexed Bermoothes for further commentary.