In an article titled “Propaganda and the pending BTC privatisation”, pundit Larry Smith exposes some of the lies and hypocrisy of those who are so vocally against the government’s sale of 51% of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company to Cable & Wireless Communications.
Indeed, much of the opposition to the sale relies on propaganda and convoluted logic to exploit the gullability of many Bahamians by concoting a false reality regarding the facts surrounding the privatisation process.
Smith exposes several of the more ludicrous cliches being bandied about by those against the sale:
– No turning back (to white rule)
– Hubert (“the dictator”) Ingraham
– selling our birthright (to white foreigners)
– the plantation economy
The danger is that there are too many mentally-challenged Bahamians who actually believe this garbage.
Never forget the idiot who, who when asked his opinion regarding the referendum to allow women the same constitutional rights as men in The Bahamas, told the ZNS reporter that he was totally opposed to the “rapparandum”, despite his complete ignorance of the subject.
The same thing is happening now.
People who are completely clueless on the privatisation of BTC are being swept up by a group of selfish Bahamians who are disgruntled because they did not get to buy BTC for a song and a dance.
The propagandists are blurring the lines between fact and fiction, structuring their remarks to give the ignorant what they want to hear.
With so many different groups of people involved in the long privatisation process, Smith points out, it would be almost impossible for there to be any kind of conspiracy behind the sale to CWC.
The most obvious hypocrisy is highlighted by the fact that many of the people opposed to the sale are guilty of the very same things they are currently railing against.
Smith notes that many of the people who are now most opposed to the privatisaton process are the very same people who had no objections back when Perry Christie and the PLP were dead set on selling the phone company to the mysterious Bluewater group. That includes senior PLP lawyers and even a few of the very same union officials who are now making such a stink.
How can selling BTC to a major international telecommunications company be any less desirable than selling the company to a group of mysterious investors who have no money or experience behind them?
Smith looks at the pension fund debate as an example. The PLP is loudly criticizing the fact that the FNM government has agreed to cover BTC’s unfunded pension deficit fund. Perry Christie has said it is “repugnant”. Yet, when negotiating with Bluewater, Mr Christie had earlier agreed to pay off the the full deficit and close the pension plan entirely.
Talk about hypocrisy!
Smith goes on to point out other outrageous examples of hypocrisy, debunking the conspiracy theorists and very clearly showing how those most vocally opposed to the sale are relying more on propaganda than logic.
How do you feel about attempts by the propagandists to hoodwink the public? We welcome your comments below.
