By Patricia Glinton-Meicholas
One of the dirtiest cuss words to Bahamian ears is change. For as long as I can remember, speaking the word within earshot of Bahamians and you will would get the scalded cat reaction—loud shrieking and a lightning fast dash to escape. Recently, though, my people have accepted two new notions with alacrity— protest and rejection in the face of change that will force them out of their comfort zone.
The Bahamian comfort zone nearly always includes the protection of one’s personal agenda with little or no questioning of the validity of the change, or of the degree to which the change might contribute to the greater good. It makes the non-reflective Bahamian pigeons reading for the plucking. No better theatre can be found anywhere on earth as when the change has been proposed by government and tabled in Parliament for passage into law.
The newly publicised Non-Profit Organizations Bill, 2018 (NPO Bill) is an excellent case in point and, so far, it has already called forth a number of Golden Globe-worthy performances on the most accessible of public stages—letters to the editor or the direct statement to the press, if you have enough social or economic clout. I am pressed to discuss two of the most remarkable. Read more >>