Bahamas Blog

Often we get a craving for fast food even though we are not really hungry. The craving could be contributed to the food additive MSG, or the fact that most of us are emotional eaters, looking to fill boredom, frustration and loneliness. This was not true for me when I pulled into Wendy’s Fast Food on Thompson Blvd. I was actually hungry as I had not eaten in hours.

All it took was the time to place my order to change my mind.

I was suddenly not hungry when I noticed the female cashier had these long tentacles, painted in the color of a panther to match her uniform. She constantly tapped her head which was blonde and bonded in OPH (other people hair), as she smiled at me to take my order. I could hardly see because of the shiny gold teeth in the front of her mouth, flashing from behind her metallic silver lip paint.

The cashier took my order and I handed over my hard earned cash in exchange for food to crave my hunger. After taking my money, digging through the cash drawer and giving me a handful of change, the same cashier turned around, without ever washing her hands, and scooped up some ice to fill my drink request.

Now here comes the good part, when she brings me the chicken nuggets I ordered and they fall onto the filthy tray that was sitting on the counter. I indicated that I wanted the order "to go", to which the cashier impatiently responded, "you did not tell me that when you placed the order".

She then proceeded to put my order into a bag and asked if I would like her to pick up the spilled nuggets and place them into the bag. I am so glad that she asked before picking up the nuggets with her unwashed hands and painted tentacles. I guess it didn't matter, since I had long since lost my hunger, but if she had not asked, I probably would have barfed all over the counter.

I'd tried, and ultimately failed, countless times not to eat fast food. This incident, once again, confirms my decision to avoid it. Nothing can make you lose your appetite faster than being confronted by the poor service and unsanitary practices which often plague the fast food industry.

I had an apple for lunch instead.

Bahamian press lords have the unenviable job of balancing journalism with small town practicality. Most fail miserably by compromising the facts with their desire to successfully function in a society that "blacklists" anybody who doesn't tow the line.

This is why big stories get mysteriously dropped and investigative journalism often stops at the ad manager's door. In small towns, like we have in The Bahamas, the powers that be can make life miserable for those who make life miserable for them, especially if it involves exposing their corruption or misdeeds.

Since many of those powers that be are involved in the tourism industry, they are especially protective of the Bahamas' reputation as a tourist destination.

This is why, no matter how bad the quarterly tourism statistics are, the Ministry of Tourism and the newspapers will usually spin the facts to find one bright spot they can trumpet in the headlines, while burying the real picture deep in the article.

It is also why crime statistics are under reported and press conferences, denouncing crime while promising new initiatives, are used to mask the true depth of the crime problem.

Tricky headlines help too.

"Murder Rate Up, But Overall Major Crimes Down, Police Say".

The headline above, from The Bahama Journal, insults one's intelligence. Most of us always thought murder was a serious crime. Apparently, that is not true in The Bahamas.

Here, to keep our tourism boat afloat, newspaper editors use the highest levels of manipulation, turning a sow's ear into a silk purse, when concocting headlines.

Out of sight, out of mind. That keeps the tourists coming but the nauseating spin does nothing to address the increasingly severe social problems that will ultimately destroy the fragile egg we are trying so hard to protect.

It used to be, that unscrupulous lawyers and politicians in the Bahamas could get away with just about anything.

But the Internet has changed all that.

Corrupt Bahamian lawyers and politicians would routinely rip-off foreign investors, unethically quiet titles, steal land and generally get away with even the most brazen of crimes, including rape and murder.

The victims would complain, but the complaint would always fall on the deaf ears of a crooked crony who would make the problem disappear. The legal community would "blacklist" the complainant and frustrate their legal pursuit of justice, by engineering countless delays and legal hurdles, usually assisted by a compromised member of the judiciary.

In time, the matter would drop from the headlines, the victim would give up their quest for justice, and the crooks would start the process all over again on another unsuspecting victim.

This went on for three decades, resulting in hundreds of major scams, involving tens of millions of dollars, and the enrichment of numerous corrupt attorneys, politicans and their cronies.

But the Internet has changed all that.

Now, when someone gets the shaft in The Bahamas, they simply post their grievances on the Web and, within a few days, the whole world knows about it.

This is making Bahamian ne'er-do-wells most uncomfortable.

In the past six months, dozens of people have been "outed" in news articles exposing their corrupt activities, portraying them in a negative light. Rather than change their evil ways, these people complain that the airing of their dirty laundry on the Internet may potentially damage their reputations.

What reputations? Nearly everyone who knows these fools, knows them as crooks. The only reason they have been able to find new victims is, because, the old ones get forgotten and the constant flow of tourists and foreigners to the Bahamas brings a fresh batch of potential victims every year.

Many Bahamians have gotten away with this sort of unethical and illegal behaviour for far too long.

But the Internet has changed all that.

Thanks to the communicative power of the Internet, their crooked games may be coming to an end.

The Internet is exposing con artists and keeping former rip-offs in full view, acting as a warning and a deterent to others who may have become victims themselves, had they not read the truth on the Web.

Some of the characters involved don't like the fact that their shenanigans have now been exposed. They have been making phone calls, threatening law suits and trying to intimidate the media into cowing to their demands to retract stories about their scandalous deeds. They, and others like them, are about to reap the bad karma they've been sowing.

And it's about time.

If you thought religious tourism, afro-american tourism, chinese tourism and some of the other recent goofy ideas, coming from top Bahamas tourism honchos, were bad, wait until you hear this gem.

Entertainer and consultant, Fred Ferguson, told an audience at the National Tourism Conference last week that The Bahamas needs to "go all out" to make Bahamian entertainment the foundation of its tourism product. I thought that sounded good, initially, as it might widen the distribution of tourism revenues and generate greater visitor spending, as Mr. Ferguson suggested.

I immediately started worrying, though, when Mr. Ferguson said the Government needed to find a way to bind hotel developers to using Bahamian entertainment in the Heads of Agreement for their developments and project expansions.

Say what?

Not only would it stifle foreign investment, something our economy is addicted to, but regulating entertainment in private businesses, to the extent that the government demands that hotel owners have to feature Bahamians acts, will ultimately hurt our economy more than a few unemployed entertainers will.

Tourists would flock towards other destinations to see the world class entertainment they desire, and are paying for.

Besides, top quality Bahamian entertainers already play some of the biggest venues in town. The ones that do not, don't because they aren't in the same league. T'Rez Hepburn's long standing gig at Sandal's and Tony Seymour Jr.'s run at Atlantis are just two examples of Bahamian entertainers getting plum jobs.

It appears that only the disgruntled, those who do not want to improve their acts and compete with international performers, are complaining. These complainers are just like the contractors, real estate agents and other nationalist groups who want to continue to embrace their isolated island mentality, shunning the globalization trend that is rapidly re-shaping the region.

Hotel and restaurant owners must be allowed to hire whoever they want, for entertainment, in order to compete with the many other competitive destinations that are increasingly drawing tourists away from the Bahamas at an alarming rate.

After examining the prison situation, in light of the most recent prisoner escapes, I have come to the conclusion that what we need at the helm of Her Majesty's Prison is an administrator, not necessarily a criminologist.

It would seem that a criminologist might be valuable to a prison, but only if working under the overall leadership of a qualified administrator.

Having a "trained criminologist" heading the prison is like having a plumber manage a plumbing company.

Sure, if one operates a Mom & Pop Plumbing business, it is likely the business will be managed by a plumber. But not in a big operation.

A smart plumber would probably hire competent management, at least an office administrator, to take care of managing the business, something a plumber doesn't ordinarily learn as a plumber's apprentice.

Even the geniuses that started Google knew when to turn the reins of day-to-day management over to competent professional managers.

If we had a few bad boys at a primary school, we could put them in a place with a trained criminologist and he could, perhaps, use his training to decipher their minds and help steer them in the right direction.

But, our prison is a big operation. We would need dozens of "trained criminologists" to deal with the thousands of prisoners at Fox Hill. But we still need an administrator. Someone with actual experience in running a fairly large correctional facility.

The current head of the prison is a trained criminologist, not an experienced prison administrator.

And since there is no one even close to being qualified for that position here in The Bahamas, I suggest we hire an experienced prison administrator from abroad. That would also have an impact on corruption, because an outsider is unlikely to have any cousins in the jail.

Related news articles:

Officer Attitude An Obstacle To Rehabilitation Of Bahamian Prisoners

Outrage As Derelict Bahamas Prison Guards Get Off Too Easy

Petty Criminals Burden Bahamas Prison System