Time for commonsense in DLP

Although there were no fireworks to celebrate 50 years of Crop Over, events at the DLP’s annual general conference – August 23 to 25 – made up for that, as some members’ tempers flared, and emotions ran amok.   The conference was held at The Errol Walton Barrow Auditorium in George Street, Belleville.  Verbal abuses were exchanged, shouting, table thumping, finger-pointing, financial members were locked out and law enforcement was called to keep order.  Prior to this commotion, the spark had been lit, when on August 15, former president, Dr Ronnie Yearwood, and general secretary, Steve Blackett’s’ suspensions were subsequently turned into expulsions.  The public watched in disbelief, as officials and some rank-and-file members of the once respected Democratic Labor Party (DLP) squabbled endlessly.

As the DLP struggled to stay afloat, with new political and opposition leader, Hon Ralph Thorne, KC MP, at the helm, in this chaotic period, the appeal, succinctly expressed in Gypsy’s SOS classic song, ‘The sinking Ship (The Trinidad)’ – “Shall we abandon ship? Or shall we stay on it, and perish slow? We don’t know, we don’t know Captain, you tell we what to do” – maybe worthy of note. And others, similar to Shakespeare’s Brutus’ thinking, regarding the new leadership, may have also wondered, “Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed, that he is grown so great?”

Eventually, it’s hoped that emotions will simmer, and commonsense will prevail, for the continuity of the party to be viewed as a serious alternative government.  The infighting should also stop to avert any further resignations from long standing members, and to encourage new membership.  The memory of the late, great prime minister, Errol Walton Barrow, PC QC -a founding member of the DLP – should be preserved in perpetuity.  And this current party debacle should be remembered as just ‘a tempest in a teapot’.

Michael Headley
Brooklyn, New York