The Bahamian people have been “conditioned” into frightened silence, it was claimed last night.
A public official who insisted on anonymity said the PLP government was to blame because anyone who spoke out was subjected “to some sort of punishment” by the Pindling regime.
The comment was one of many made in response to last week’s INSIGHT article, which claimed Bahamians were living with the legacy of the Pindling years.
In a letter to The Tribune, the source said: “Pavlov proved that conditioning works. Under the old PLP, the Bahamian people were conditioned that to speak out would result in some sort of punishment. The punishment would be swift and severe.”
The source cited a former government employee who was forced into exile in the United States, where he remained for many years.
Although the Bahamas has come a long way, there was still further to go if it was truly to consider itslef a democratic nation, the writer added.
Many Bahamians responded to the INSIGHT article – entitled “Legacy of Fear” – agreeing with its basic premise that residual fear was still evident and that democracy was not being served by the public’s continued silence on major issues.
The one dissenting voice was Bahamian “journalist” who took exception to the article’s attack on Sir Lynden Pindling and accused The Tribune’s John Marquis of “intellectual dishonesty” and having a “colonial mindset”.
Source: The Tribune
