casualobserver
04-25-07, - 02:05 PM
Campaign takes disturbing twist
By ANGELO ARMBRISTER
Freeport News Reporter
The campaign for the May 2 general elections took a disturbing turn over the recent Easter holiday with an apparent mass mailing of a flyer linking a vote for the PLP to a vote for Jesus Christ.
The flyer read in part: "VOTE for Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour or your life" and "Let the People of God Live the life that Promotes peace and harmony amongst all faithful and noble members of the church." The letters PLP were highlighted in the last line.
Calling it "disgusting and sacrilegious," one resident who received the flyer in the mail was quite upset when he brought it to The Freeport News. After several calls into the newsroom from others who received the flyer, reporters from the Freeport News decided to get the views of some of the island's religious leaders.
Bishop Sobig Kemp of Freedom International ministries said that he was made aware of the handout by a friend, who seemed to be upset by its contents.
Though he admittedly thought the flyer was clever, Kemp said that the way it reads makes one question the motive.
"When we see that the letters PLP standing out, you wouldn't even go on and read what it is really saying," he said.
People, Kemp added, are extra sensitive around election time, "but I felt that it was quite an ingenious way to proclaim the message of the gospel."
"However, there is only one set of people that you can reach in that way and hopefully the person responsible for putting that one out will do one that will appeal to the other side so that it can be perceived as being objective," suggested Kemp.
Rev. Leslie Woodside did not find it at all clever, calling it the height of mischief.
Pointing out that the flyer names a constituency on the top, Woodside said that tells him that it is a political tool that someone is trying to manipulate the minds of people with.
"Easter, of course, is a holy time and we appreciate what the Lord has done, but we should not use that as a political tool to manipulate the minds of those persons who are undecided," Woodside said. "If in fact one wanted to suggest something like that, leave the Easter out and go on with your political propaganda."
The Church of God Fairfield pastor explained that citizens should be allowed to vote for whomever they choose.
"They have been given this right by the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to exercise their privilege as citizens to vote for the person of their choice," he said.
After seeing the flyer, one Grand Bahama resident, Sandra Kemp, said that she saw nothing wrong with the handout, adding that some people will always seek to make an issue out of nothing.
"I can't help but to think that if it had been the letters FNM, we wouldn't be having this discussion," she said.
Another resident, Jason Smith, said that the fact that a religious group or person would seek to suggest how persons should vote is simply "despicable."
"I don't think it is their place," he said. "It is a disgrace that someone would do something like that and it is political because it has Lucaya on the top. Why, if not politics?"
Officials from the Progressive Liberal Party denied any claim that the flyers were a part of their political campaign.
Plausible deniability - you gotta love it!
http://freeport.nassauguardian.net/national_local/306918791683493.php
By ANGELO ARMBRISTER
Freeport News Reporter
The campaign for the May 2 general elections took a disturbing turn over the recent Easter holiday with an apparent mass mailing of a flyer linking a vote for the PLP to a vote for Jesus Christ.
The flyer read in part: "VOTE for Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour or your life" and "Let the People of God Live the life that Promotes peace and harmony amongst all faithful and noble members of the church." The letters PLP were highlighted in the last line.
Calling it "disgusting and sacrilegious," one resident who received the flyer in the mail was quite upset when he brought it to The Freeport News. After several calls into the newsroom from others who received the flyer, reporters from the Freeport News decided to get the views of some of the island's religious leaders.
Bishop Sobig Kemp of Freedom International ministries said that he was made aware of the handout by a friend, who seemed to be upset by its contents.
Though he admittedly thought the flyer was clever, Kemp said that the way it reads makes one question the motive.
"When we see that the letters PLP standing out, you wouldn't even go on and read what it is really saying," he said.
People, Kemp added, are extra sensitive around election time, "but I felt that it was quite an ingenious way to proclaim the message of the gospel."
"However, there is only one set of people that you can reach in that way and hopefully the person responsible for putting that one out will do one that will appeal to the other side so that it can be perceived as being objective," suggested Kemp.
Rev. Leslie Woodside did not find it at all clever, calling it the height of mischief.
Pointing out that the flyer names a constituency on the top, Woodside said that tells him that it is a political tool that someone is trying to manipulate the minds of people with.
"Easter, of course, is a holy time and we appreciate what the Lord has done, but we should not use that as a political tool to manipulate the minds of those persons who are undecided," Woodside said. "If in fact one wanted to suggest something like that, leave the Easter out and go on with your political propaganda."
The Church of God Fairfield pastor explained that citizens should be allowed to vote for whomever they choose.
"They have been given this right by the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to exercise their privilege as citizens to vote for the person of their choice," he said.
After seeing the flyer, one Grand Bahama resident, Sandra Kemp, said that she saw nothing wrong with the handout, adding that some people will always seek to make an issue out of nothing.
"I can't help but to think that if it had been the letters FNM, we wouldn't be having this discussion," she said.
Another resident, Jason Smith, said that the fact that a religious group or person would seek to suggest how persons should vote is simply "despicable."
"I don't think it is their place," he said. "It is a disgrace that someone would do something like that and it is political because it has Lucaya on the top. Why, if not politics?"
Officials from the Progressive Liberal Party denied any claim that the flyers were a part of their political campaign.
Plausible deniability - you gotta love it!
http://freeport.nassauguardian.net/national_local/306918791683493.php