How many of us have felt the sting betrayal from someone you love? How many times can you forgive someone who betrays you not once but numerous times? When do you say enough is enough and as much as it hurts you, you know you must walk away from the person or situation that makes you mad. This is not an endorsement for True Labor nor Vere Bird 3. This is an attempt to have person’s understand through the eyes and ears of a child of The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party who has seen and heard the disrespect from “comrades & foe alike. (Taking an insult from a UPP supporter is an easier pill to swallow than having that insult come from a “comrade”) At some point you have to take a stand and say enough is enough. Having a hand extended to you by The Leader will not suffice. At least not to me. I DO NOT SPEAK ON BEHALF OF VERE BIRD OR ANY OTHER MEMBER OF THE ALP. I am speaking from MY POINT OF VIEW. Growing up with a Father who joined the ALP I was raised to believe that the ALP under the Leadership of V.C Bird stood for Loyalty, Respect, Honor, and Love for people & even more so its comrades. When Papa spoke we all knew as children to show respect and not say a word, people respected him as much as he respected them. Growing up I took much ribbing and jabs from many because of who my Father is and the Party he represents. I took it all in stride because I was taught to respect other people’s views and opinions. How would you feel after being raised with a positive influence and strong role models who exemplified all these wonderful traits and doctrines you are asked to stand aside and watch the legacy of your grandfather, father, and uncle’s hard work torn down by people who don’t seem to understand and appreciate the meaning of LOYALTY, HONOR, RESPECT and LOVE. They have their mission and will stop at nothing regardless of who they have to run over and slay. How do you stand aside and see the laws of the ALP being broken and you turn a blind eye without saying anything. This is not how we were raised, this was not how we were taught, we were raised to stand up and speak out against injustice and fight until it is corrected. The men and women of 1939 did just that. Now that Vere Bird 3 has decided to do what people of principle and honor do, he is being condemned. How do you as a person who holds dear these principles listen to a “comrade” wear a wire to implicate senior members of the party and instead of this person being punished and sanctioned they are rewarded and patted on the back. His behavior is accepted because as a Leader you haven’t been raised from the same yard stick we were. You think this could happen during Papa Birds era? How does one stand aside for the sake of party and have a person like Dean Jonas call the party you love and respect “corrupt” and instead of him never holding a seat within that party is now PRO and is given a chance to run on an ALP ticket yet a party your grandfather started you are being told NOT ON MY TICKET. Former ACLM members who condemned the Leadership of the party is now sitting at the right hand of Judas. How would you feel, having an upstart challenge the Leader of a party when everyone knows out of RESPECT you do NOT Challenge him/her regardless of his age, physical limitations etc. You do not condone others when they speak ill of the Leader of your party. You wait your turn because if you play fair and abide by its RULES, your turn will come. How does one put aside their dislike for a person when they insult you and your family? How does one break bread with people who wish to see your Fathers reputation and honor sullied by his own comrades and every other word from his mouth is I, I , I as if he owns a party. How does one bury the hatchet with people who after 2004 elections and my father as the most senior member of the party wins his seat, a seat that most lost and is chosen by Lester Bird to be sworn in as Leader of the Opposition is sworn in during much turmoil and stress in the party takes the Leadership role only to have a young, over ambitious, ungrateful bully, go behind my Fathers back and get the wire tapping drunk, Cutie Benjamin, et al to hold a meeting with the Governor General to remove him from being Leader of the Opposition. Any one coming from an ACLM/PLM back ground has no idea what a great institution the Labour Party was. When you sat in the presence of Papa Bird, Reuben Harris, Dennis Gardner, Bill Abbott, Lewlyn Smith, Rodney Williams, Lionel Hurst & Robin Bascus you felt the love, pride, respect and comradeship they had for each other. You knew you were in the company of greatness. Black Men who stood for something. Men who would fight for injustice and would protect our democracy with their lives. After all of this would you not want to break away from all the back stabbing, and mistrust of these upstarts and power hungry individuals? Vere is doing what no one so far has been brave enough to do, he is doing what his grandfather would do, stand up for what is right and bring back the honor, respect and integrity that has been lacking in the party for many years. I yearn to feel the pride I once felt when I put on my red shirt and walked through the streets. It’s that same pride that allowed me to hold my head high when others would point fingers and ridicule me, at the end of the day I knew I belonged to an organization that was honest, loyal and loved me and my family as much as we loved them. Today with a heavy heart and tears in my eyes, I cannot say the same.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 17:17:22 +0000
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