What’s Trending: Non-issue

Mon, May 14, 2012 - 9:24 AM

The Nation’s Associate Editor Sherie Holder-Olutayo takes a look at what’s trending today in Barbados.

Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has finally weighed in on the firestorm created by Sir Roy Trotman’s comments of businessman Jacob Hassid calling it a non-debate. Stuart went on to say he’s still trying to find out where to locate the offence. Readers weighed in on the prime minister’s comments.

Devaron Bruce: As the PM said time to move on. it’s been what two weeks? Nothing will happen to Sir Roy, it will be business for him as usual, so why dwell on it further?

Angela J. Thomas Branch: We need to get past this racial issue. I think we are as a people still hurting because of our history, so hurt that most of us will only acknowledge ourselves as Barbadians, are ashamed out of pure ignorance of our past and will hit out whenever we get what we think is a reasonable cause. Please let us get past this point, our workers now more than ever need positive people to plead their cases ,it is not going to be easy doing it alone.

Aleshia Bourne: So do you think that if it were a white person making racial comments about a black person that we would still think of this as a "non-issue"? We all need to be responsible with our words, especially those in powerful positions.

Simon Gooding: It’s a non-issue...true. All this talk about racism is just a distraction from the real issue....exploitation and rights for the workers. Why should Sir Roy apologize, for what and to whom?

Charles Tibbits: Are his minister's views at variance with his?

Conchita Moseley: It is who suffers the most because of racism and that is not the issue here. To be quite honest people should be asking the question do we want to live in a country where there no freedom of speech. Stop the copycatting all the political correctness isn’t going to change nothing and racism will be in this world for generations to come. Stop procrastinating leave out the politics and remember that in this world blacks suffer the most because of "racism" so like the PM said non-issue, and get back to the topic which is about employees and their fight against being treated unfairly.