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MP Says Foreigners Can STFU
Grifter
BermudaModerator mod
BermudaModerator mod
So I picked up a local paper in passing today. It was from a few days ago. Front page has this Member of Parliament talking about how foreign workers on the island should stay out of local politics. This comment came after several people had made comments against the recent removal of a foreign worker on the island being removed due to an incident with another MP. In any case, here's a link to the article. And here's a link to my open letter in response to the article. I'd like to hear further discussion on the matter.
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Most groups of any large size have lobbies to replace their need to vote anyways.
I'm not making the meaningful distinction here. Its not like he was a tourist who got kicked out of the country for talking bad about the government. He was a construction site manager who mouthed off to this Bermuda Industrial Union chief and got told he couldn't work there anymore.
Which is not to say that using your professional authority for personal reasons isn't abusing that authority. It is, but to me this feels on par with granting your idiot brother-in-law a favor. Maybe a factor or two worse because the guy 'didn't know who Scott was'.
I'm sure the construction worker made a few mistakes in his scenario but what Burgess is conveying is just outrageous. Denying a person the freedom to voice an opinion simply because they aren't born in the country just feels all kinds of wrong. I'm pretty sure that if I was working in the US and made disparaging things remarks about George W. Bush that I would not be kicked out of the country.
In any case, the circumstances of the worker's incident don't concern me much. Perhaps he was a complete asshat to the man. It doesn't change the fact that there was a gross misuse of political power. That concerns me much more than "Jethro" mouthing off a bit.
Exactly how much should an official who is in power at the behest of the citizenry give a rat's ass about the opinions of people who are NOT of the citizenry?
While, clearly, he's being an absolute arrogant ass, he owes no duty to anyone who isn't actually a member of his locality.
You're right, he shouldn't care about the opinions of people who don't have a say on whether he stays in office or not. So, why is he caring so much about whether or not a foreigner expresses an opinion on Bermudian politics?
The other matter at hand is that he is the Minister of Labour and Immigration. His statements have given local businesses broad powers of dismissal since what he says is basically policy. If an employee doesn't agree with company policy then he thinks they should be dismissed and a company could very well do that whether they're Bermudian or foreign according to him. Sorry if that just doesn't sit right with me. I like my freedom to say that I have a better way to handle business to my boss and not be afraid of being fired.
Your constitution rather explicitly states that an individual can waive his right to free expression. You should probably check the documents that foreign workers have to sign in order to be granted the privilige of working in Bermuda and see what rights they have signed away before you go off half cocked about how the government has violated those rights.
Also, when I read your letter, this made me giggle.
- John Stuart Mill