Vexed Bermoothes

As 21 Square points out, the Premier tries to explain away his racial stereotyping of white Bermudians in Parliament with an unusual set of verbal calisthenics:

Dr. Brown:  “When I say to you ‘If I had wings I would fly,’ I have not truly said I would or I could fly.  The key point in that sentence is ‘if’. The same way that if they [white Bermudians] vote in the [US] election along the same lines as they do in Bermuda.”

This is reminiscent of the bizarre obfuscation following an earlier outburst in Parliament:

Dr. Brown: “If I called that member a racist dog. You see it is the dog that matters.”
Dr. Gibbons: “Mr. Speaker is he calling me a racist dog?”
Dr. Brown: “Mr. Speaker, I would never call that member a racist dog, because I can tell that he is not a dog.”
Dr. Gibbons: “Mr. Speaker the Premier has made several comments over the last few minutes that impugn my integrity and I would ask that he withdraw that comment.”
Dr. Brown: “Mr. Speaker had I said ‘yes when he asked me are you calling me a racist dog’, then we would have had another issue.”

This was the same aggressive exchange in which the Premier exhorted his desire to “cross the aisle”- presumably a physical threat – in the face of Opposition questions regarding political fundraising.

No matter how he tries to tangle the oratory, the Premier’s words are offensive and derogatory.  And he intended them to be so.  They have no place in Parliament.

It’s no wonder that many white Bermudians do not trust nor vote for Dr. Brown.  Race baiting may be Dr. Brown’s business, but it is not the people’s business.  For once, please focus on what all of Bermuda needs … instead of grinding your sad little axes.