Alred 'AC' Frett. Photo: VINO/File

When you jokingly say that you wish to be like me when you grow up, that suggests that you are unaware of the sheet of blows I continue to receive, but I will never push you to be like me because I know these fears are real… Unless you can take beatings like a jackass, be as stubborn as a mule, and possess the determination of a Honey Badger, you may be better off looking for much simpler examples to follow.

Please don’t mistake me for Mr Goody, because I was never, is never and will never be a willing Saint...My Sufferation list is long growing, but this is not about me - We will address my issues at a later time... Right now, our Youths are being made strangers in their own Home, residents of His Majesty's Prison and occupants of overgrown Graveyards... There is no doubt that we are in deep trouble and getting deeper.

We console ourselves by believing that, if we just tell or teach the Children, then that is enough and all will be well... In the process, we fail to realise that the best lessons are not from verbal Instructions, but from examples... This is how Children and Animals have learnt from Infancy... They imitate us, so when they see Leaders seeming to thrive by acting unlawfully and corruptly, they too will become unlawful and corrupt.

Hanging Our Hat Beyond Our Reach:

We see this locally and internationally, as Policies and Practices are engineered to promote inequality, based on the overwhelming support of Political Corruption... This is becoming the norm as the most religious and professed democracies, like the US, UK, France, and the Middle East, dehumanise and disenfranchise the less fortunate, to the point of starving them out and slaughtering their Children.

We are not a foolish people; we have Eyes to see and Ears to hear, but we are programmed to rely on the 2nd-hand examples and salvation from others... As usual, what happens elsewhere eventually trickles here... Meanwhile, we produce nothing for ourselves, but it seems like a good idea for us to demand Independence, without realising that the UK, would be more than happy to get us from around her neck.

We never miss the water until the well runs dry, but it would take a Lunatic not to realise that the foolish talk of Independence is a prewarning of what will be done to People in the absence of an enforceable measure of accountability... It should also be clear that without a reliable financial source, we will be sold for the first fistful of Dollars that reaches the leaders, and our own ambitions and liberties will be ended.

At this time, the UK has the capacity to help, but unless she regards it as a threat to her, there is very little incentive for her to lift a finger... She may still be forced to act, because the longer we remain her Off-shore Territory, the longer she is financially obligated... They may nudge us to go independent, but until then, we are her dependents, and those Political Pensions will be a primary claim on her Budget.

Knowing I Told You So, Brings Sadness, Not Joy:

Momma said, You can carry an ass to the well but you can never compel it to drink... For centuries, we remained fools and tools for Oppressors, because we prefer Fiction to Fact... Momma also said that those who don’t hear will feel, and History has shown that in the absence of Leaders with the balls, wisdom, and tenacity to stop the avalanche, the followers are doomed... Without Wisdom, the People will perish.

I try to avoid lying to you, but there is only so much that I can do, without you helping yourselves, and when I warned that the Minimum Wage gimmick was just a trap, intended to benefit Politicians and Civil Servants at your expense, while your own cost of living skyrocketed, you chose not to understand or believe... You now see it and feel it, so you now complain about all the bad things that are happening to you.

You may also recall me explaining to you that Governments and Civil Servants have no way to get their money except from the backs of people – poor people... If you think otherwise, then you are an idiot, for they even made laws to steal your bank accounts, and you are seeing their Police Force being used to act more like Traffic Ticket Tax Collectors, than as the enforcers of real Law & Order... We are in trouble.

I hear your concerns, and I can verify them from my own first-hand experience... It is no secret that I was blocked foe almost 20 years from building the New Medical Complex, and although we have ample parking, we still created an extra area for overflow capacity… However, vehicles recently parked in this area were ticketed at $100 each, while Vehicles were parked on the Sidewalk outside the Police Station.

Thanking The People Is Always A Pleasure:

Just in case there is doubt of harassment, take a look at the 2-lane Highway outside the New B&F Medical Complex... You will notice concrete slabs used to block the designated passage between the lanes... This results in more accidents, and drivers forced up to Purcel and extra Stop Lights before being able to take Patients to the Hospital… Note well - This was only blocked as the B&F Building neared completion.

Through it all, I still must thank the People – the General Public... They were the ones who offered me Hope, Encouragement, and reinforced the belief that not all persons are demons... For this and other reasons, we maintain the condition that no one will be turned away from our Services, for the lack of a Dollar... My Wife and I shared the Policy that while we may own the Business, it belongs to the People.

We have all heard that I am only targeted and penalised because I speak out for Fairness and Justice, and I should agree to be quiet and reap all the benefits... Maybe so, but if our Ancestors had been silent, then we would still be in slavery... When I speak out against political Corruption and Injustice, it is not an attack on any specific government, but simply a revelation of the Systems, and only the guilty should feel guilty.

Being targeted is not new, so I doubt that I am the only one... For centuries, the oppressed were forced to tolerate oppression, but sooner or later, we must decide if and when equality for some should mean equality for all... This should not be about us as individuals, but about the People at large... However, as long as Leaders are trapped by Greed, Society will move backwards, and failure for some will mean failure for all.

Why Be Ashamed Of Doing Right?

Unfortunately, we are taught to accept Public Opinion as the determinant of failure, so we become ashamed of doing what is right because of some Blabber Mouth... Older folks who escaped Alzheimer’s may recall that walking in my shoes was never as easy as it appeared, but the younger generation may stifle their own dreams and ambitions because they happen to regard my past experiences as failures.

Think about it... They may feel ashamed of being retired from the Public Hospital at a young age for refusing to join in what I regarded as Corruption - I actually felt pride... They may see it as a personal failure to be removed from a Ministerial post because I refused to chase the Dollar and opposed the UK and fellow Politicians for what I regarded as Inefficiency and Corruption... I saw it as a duty to the People.

The list is long, but, in every instance, I saw it as a responsibility and made every effort to serve without corruption or deceit – even when punished... I have neither Shame nor Regret for the consequences of my actions... If truth be told, had I not done so, we would never have gotten a New Hospital, the Beef Island Bridge, or UK Passports... Although I am still being victimised, I have no intention of stopping the fight.

Yes, we all feel pressure, and from time to time it does feel hopeless... However, I truly believe that the Children are worth it, even if they doubt themselves... At the same time, some claim that my guardian is Karma... I’m not sure I believe in that as described, because I wished no one harm, and it would be sad to think that most of those who made life difficult have already died or fallen from their peaks of power.

Nature is both kind and unforgiving... We come and we go, even as it provides both opportunities and examples to fulfil the primary law, ‘that we pass on the lessons learnt from our experiences, so that following generations may be better prepared whenever called on to make a decision’... Our failure to do so wastes the contributions of those before us, and reduces the value of our lives to a small lump of clay.