Lincoln
07-05-04, - 11:41 PM
The Lottery and Gaming Act is Illegal!!!
The Lottery and Gaming Act chapter 387 preventing Bahamians from gambling or owning such businesses is a complete travesty and an insult to our democracy. It is quite a surprise that this act that is inconsistent with, in contravention and a contradiction of the constitution article 15 could last so long in a ‘free’ nation. The problem with this act can be summed up in one word: dis•crim•i•na•tion
The act is worded in such a way that it states that gambling in the Bahamas is legal however this act was polluted by the inclusion of section 50 paragraphs B through D. These paragraphs state that the only persons prohibited from gambling are Bahamians! That’s incredible, but it is also illegal. We are the only nation (including the ‘evil’ communist) that has a law that states that a foreigner can come in your country and do something but the people to whom the country belongs cannot. The last time a law like this was pass was during the time of Mahatma Gandhi.
During his day salt was one of the most profitable industries in the world. One of the leading countries in this industry was India. Realizing this, the oppressive British colonist came to India- guns blazing- took over the sovereign nation and made a law stating that only a foreigner can make salt, Indians were prohibited from doing likewise. Most Indians were comfortable with this law: besides, the British were going to come in and provide a lot of good jobs in the salt industry. So the law existed practically unchallenged. However one man was not comfortable with the foreign monopoly of salt and the stealthy salt tax. Mahatma Gandhi saw the law as discriminatory and though it was on the books it was invalid to him. So he decided to treat it as such. He chose to defy. In actuality he did not feel as if he was defying anything because a law that is unjust is not a law at all. Gandhi embarked on a twenty day march to the Arabian Sea and made salt regardless of the law. As a result of his actions the law and the oppressor had to go.
The constitution of the Bahamas states that no person can be discriminated against because of his nationality/place of origin, race, sex, etc. By saying that a person cannot gamble in this country because they are Bahamian is to discriminate against that person because of his/her nationality. Nonetheless this has been the stand of the government and the church for a very long time while the masses sit comfortable like the negroes of old countenancing injustice. It was not so long ago in this country that blacks had to leave the Bay Street area by five o’clock. It was not so long ago that blacks had to leave school after completing the sixth grade; my father was one of them. I asked him how the people of his day could allow such rules to persist. In reverie he said “no one said anything. That was just the way it was”. Yet this is still the way it is. The way it is, is that they allow gambling at the casinos and the carnival because ‘foreigners’ own them. But I have news for the government: Bahamians want to make money to. Why can’t we own whatever a foreigner can own? Is that fair in a democracy?
We interrupt this message with a fast breaking news story; this just in- we are following leads into allegations that Bahamians, that’s right, Bahamians gamble every day. It is further alleged that those Bahamians who gamble risk an average of one dollar a day doing so.
A whole dollar! Can you believe it? However despite the wide spread epidemic of gamble fever the church and police are apparently unaware of any such incidents. When contacted the police indicated that they have received no complaints reference to illicit gambling at business establishment or on the ‘web’. We also attempted to contact several churches but they were unavailable for comment. They were reportedly too busy counting the tithe money of the thousands of Bahamians employed on casino properties to comment on any issues.
The problem with the church
The hypo-christians say that they are against gambling. Most of them say that it is a sin and contrary to scripture. However I have noticed something peculiar during their speeches on the topic: they never include scripture, not even a measly line of quotation. That is because there is nothing from scripture that they can use to support their fundamentalist claim. But I have a few questions for them.
If gambling is so sinful then why did the disciples, who were said to be inspired by God himself, gamble to decided who would replace Judas as the next disciple (Acts 1:26). That’s right they had a lottery, if you will, and the winner would not win money, a T.V. or a new car he would be the next disciple. Of course they won’t read that scripture in church.
If gambling is so sinful then why is it that priest in the bible were required to wear a robe fitted with a pocket designed specifically for carrying a lot? A lot is a coin like disk that they flipped just like we flip a coin. They were required to flip this disk to make any major decisions. That is called casting lots, as in lottery. That is why they call parcels of land lots; because the Jews cast lots to decide who would get which lot in there new kingdom- Wow, they gambled out the holy land. They also used dice or pieces of wood for lots. Then you would remember that in Jonah’s story they cast lots to find out who was the cause of the storm. I have heard preachers say that God caused the lot to fall on Jonah.
You mean even God participated in gambling! It’s a good thing he isn’t a Bahamian! Maybe that’s why Christians have lotteries all the time: A.K.A raffles. The next child I see on the street selling raffle tickets for the church I am going to tell him I can’t buy because his pastor is against lotteries.
The hypo-christians have their own form of lottery going on. It’s called prosperity; “I gave $10 to the pastor let’s see how much God will give me back. He owes me at least one hundred fold.” These lotteries are apparently a success because pastors are erecting new two and three story homes in West Ridge and other upper class areas at alarming rates. However to receive the benefits of this kind of lottery you must be a pastor.
The president of the Christian council was recently reported by the media as saying that we cannot stop the homosexuals from coming here on cruise ships because “we need their money!” Don’t we also need the millions of dollars going out of the country every day for foreign lotteries? Don’t we need money that can be gained by legalizing then taxing the number houses all over Nassau?
Social Implications
Some say that if we legalize gambling then Bahamians are going to go out and gamble all of their money. None of us know the answer to this question. However we can all agree that prejudice is quite simply, stupid. You should not prejudge a man’s future actions. A few years ago I was walking on Village Road. When I came to the junction of Village Road and Shirley Street I saw some men working on the traffic light.
I decided to stop and watch. One of the men, a white Canadian, approached me and asked me what I thought about the job they were doing installing new traffic lights all over Nassau. I told him that they were doing a great job but I had a pressing question. I asked him why it was that they don’t fix the lights to allow left turns on red where the road width allows as they do in the United States where they allow right turns on red. His response was a simple one, “these Bahamians aren’t smart enough to catch on to that. They would kill themselves.” I laughed but he didn’t crack a smile- he was serious. I told him that they are smart enough to do it when they drive in the US. He responded “Well let them do it there.” He told me that they had such a light at Baillou Hill road next to government house but they decided “change it back before these people killed themselves.”
The fact is gambling is legal according to the law. It is only illegal for ‘dumb’ Bahamians. In the countries were gambling is legal everyone doesn’t gamble- only those who want to. Neither did gambling destroy their economy or make every one poor. If the Christians don’t want to gamble then they are free to not do so. Everyone should be free to choose as in every other true democracy.
It’s time!
It’s time for Bahamians to taste the freedom that Sir Lynden and the boys fought for. Gambling was made legal a long time ago. It is time for us to exercise our legal rites. Freedom is a dish self served buffet style. No one is going to just give it to you. If the politicians are afraid to make the law allow us to dine in the freedom restaurant with the ‘foreigners’ then it is time to do what Martin Luther King Jr. and the boys did: defy! Maybe it’s time to show up to the casinos like everyone else and play. If they refuse to let you play like they refused to serve King then just sit there like King did. They may arrest you like they did King and Gandhi, but that would take the decision out of the hands of the politicians and place it in the hands of lady justice. I heard that she is blind so hopefully she won’t see your colour, race, or nationality. She will have to rule against discrimination: Dis crime in our nation. And when she makes a decision it is law. As with anything gambling in excess can be a bad thing- unless you are winning, which only foreigners are allowed to do- but I along with a growing number of Bahamians feel that discrimination is a far worse sin than gambling. The sweet aroma of civil disobedience is in the air. It’s time to defy!
Lincoln Bain
Dean and Director of urban re-education at F.U.
The Lottery and Gaming Act chapter 387 preventing Bahamians from gambling or owning such businesses is a complete travesty and an insult to our democracy. It is quite a surprise that this act that is inconsistent with, in contravention and a contradiction of the constitution article 15 could last so long in a ‘free’ nation. The problem with this act can be summed up in one word: dis•crim•i•na•tion
The act is worded in such a way that it states that gambling in the Bahamas is legal however this act was polluted by the inclusion of section 50 paragraphs B through D. These paragraphs state that the only persons prohibited from gambling are Bahamians! That’s incredible, but it is also illegal. We are the only nation (including the ‘evil’ communist) that has a law that states that a foreigner can come in your country and do something but the people to whom the country belongs cannot. The last time a law like this was pass was during the time of Mahatma Gandhi.
During his day salt was one of the most profitable industries in the world. One of the leading countries in this industry was India. Realizing this, the oppressive British colonist came to India- guns blazing- took over the sovereign nation and made a law stating that only a foreigner can make salt, Indians were prohibited from doing likewise. Most Indians were comfortable with this law: besides, the British were going to come in and provide a lot of good jobs in the salt industry. So the law existed practically unchallenged. However one man was not comfortable with the foreign monopoly of salt and the stealthy salt tax. Mahatma Gandhi saw the law as discriminatory and though it was on the books it was invalid to him. So he decided to treat it as such. He chose to defy. In actuality he did not feel as if he was defying anything because a law that is unjust is not a law at all. Gandhi embarked on a twenty day march to the Arabian Sea and made salt regardless of the law. As a result of his actions the law and the oppressor had to go.
The constitution of the Bahamas states that no person can be discriminated against because of his nationality/place of origin, race, sex, etc. By saying that a person cannot gamble in this country because they are Bahamian is to discriminate against that person because of his/her nationality. Nonetheless this has been the stand of the government and the church for a very long time while the masses sit comfortable like the negroes of old countenancing injustice. It was not so long ago in this country that blacks had to leave the Bay Street area by five o’clock. It was not so long ago that blacks had to leave school after completing the sixth grade; my father was one of them. I asked him how the people of his day could allow such rules to persist. In reverie he said “no one said anything. That was just the way it was”. Yet this is still the way it is. The way it is, is that they allow gambling at the casinos and the carnival because ‘foreigners’ own them. But I have news for the government: Bahamians want to make money to. Why can’t we own whatever a foreigner can own? Is that fair in a democracy?
We interrupt this message with a fast breaking news story; this just in- we are following leads into allegations that Bahamians, that’s right, Bahamians gamble every day. It is further alleged that those Bahamians who gamble risk an average of one dollar a day doing so.
A whole dollar! Can you believe it? However despite the wide spread epidemic of gamble fever the church and police are apparently unaware of any such incidents. When contacted the police indicated that they have received no complaints reference to illicit gambling at business establishment or on the ‘web’. We also attempted to contact several churches but they were unavailable for comment. They were reportedly too busy counting the tithe money of the thousands of Bahamians employed on casino properties to comment on any issues.
The problem with the church
The hypo-christians say that they are against gambling. Most of them say that it is a sin and contrary to scripture. However I have noticed something peculiar during their speeches on the topic: they never include scripture, not even a measly line of quotation. That is because there is nothing from scripture that they can use to support their fundamentalist claim. But I have a few questions for them.
If gambling is so sinful then why did the disciples, who were said to be inspired by God himself, gamble to decided who would replace Judas as the next disciple (Acts 1:26). That’s right they had a lottery, if you will, and the winner would not win money, a T.V. or a new car he would be the next disciple. Of course they won’t read that scripture in church.
If gambling is so sinful then why is it that priest in the bible were required to wear a robe fitted with a pocket designed specifically for carrying a lot? A lot is a coin like disk that they flipped just like we flip a coin. They were required to flip this disk to make any major decisions. That is called casting lots, as in lottery. That is why they call parcels of land lots; because the Jews cast lots to decide who would get which lot in there new kingdom- Wow, they gambled out the holy land. They also used dice or pieces of wood for lots. Then you would remember that in Jonah’s story they cast lots to find out who was the cause of the storm. I have heard preachers say that God caused the lot to fall on Jonah.
You mean even God participated in gambling! It’s a good thing he isn’t a Bahamian! Maybe that’s why Christians have lotteries all the time: A.K.A raffles. The next child I see on the street selling raffle tickets for the church I am going to tell him I can’t buy because his pastor is against lotteries.
The hypo-christians have their own form of lottery going on. It’s called prosperity; “I gave $10 to the pastor let’s see how much God will give me back. He owes me at least one hundred fold.” These lotteries are apparently a success because pastors are erecting new two and three story homes in West Ridge and other upper class areas at alarming rates. However to receive the benefits of this kind of lottery you must be a pastor.
The president of the Christian council was recently reported by the media as saying that we cannot stop the homosexuals from coming here on cruise ships because “we need their money!” Don’t we also need the millions of dollars going out of the country every day for foreign lotteries? Don’t we need money that can be gained by legalizing then taxing the number houses all over Nassau?
Social Implications
Some say that if we legalize gambling then Bahamians are going to go out and gamble all of their money. None of us know the answer to this question. However we can all agree that prejudice is quite simply, stupid. You should not prejudge a man’s future actions. A few years ago I was walking on Village Road. When I came to the junction of Village Road and Shirley Street I saw some men working on the traffic light.
I decided to stop and watch. One of the men, a white Canadian, approached me and asked me what I thought about the job they were doing installing new traffic lights all over Nassau. I told him that they were doing a great job but I had a pressing question. I asked him why it was that they don’t fix the lights to allow left turns on red where the road width allows as they do in the United States where they allow right turns on red. His response was a simple one, “these Bahamians aren’t smart enough to catch on to that. They would kill themselves.” I laughed but he didn’t crack a smile- he was serious. I told him that they are smart enough to do it when they drive in the US. He responded “Well let them do it there.” He told me that they had such a light at Baillou Hill road next to government house but they decided “change it back before these people killed themselves.”
The fact is gambling is legal according to the law. It is only illegal for ‘dumb’ Bahamians. In the countries were gambling is legal everyone doesn’t gamble- only those who want to. Neither did gambling destroy their economy or make every one poor. If the Christians don’t want to gamble then they are free to not do so. Everyone should be free to choose as in every other true democracy.
It’s time!
It’s time for Bahamians to taste the freedom that Sir Lynden and the boys fought for. Gambling was made legal a long time ago. It is time for us to exercise our legal rites. Freedom is a dish self served buffet style. No one is going to just give it to you. If the politicians are afraid to make the law allow us to dine in the freedom restaurant with the ‘foreigners’ then it is time to do what Martin Luther King Jr. and the boys did: defy! Maybe it’s time to show up to the casinos like everyone else and play. If they refuse to let you play like they refused to serve King then just sit there like King did. They may arrest you like they did King and Gandhi, but that would take the decision out of the hands of the politicians and place it in the hands of lady justice. I heard that she is blind so hopefully she won’t see your colour, race, or nationality. She will have to rule against discrimination: Dis crime in our nation. And when she makes a decision it is law. As with anything gambling in excess can be a bad thing- unless you are winning, which only foreigners are allowed to do- but I along with a growing number of Bahamians feel that discrimination is a far worse sin than gambling. The sweet aroma of civil disobedience is in the air. It’s time to defy!
Lincoln Bain
Dean and Director of urban re-education at F.U.