Carroll joins the debate of Editorial Freedoms following Oswald Brown's Firing

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Forrester Carroll-1<<< Forrester J Carroll J.P

Brown Speaks to Love97FM

Dear Editor,

Mr. Oswald Brown was fired from the Freeport News for criticizing Hubert Ingraham; of that I have no doubt. As well, I have no doubt that it was at Hubert Ingraham’s insistence that Mr. Brown was terminated without notice. Ingraham’s signature is all over this whole sordid affair. We have now come to a point-in this quote; unquote democratic country-where the freedom of the press, like most of our other freedoms, is no more. Hubert Ingraham has been allowed to single-handedly curtail “free speech,” in the Bahamas, which is a fundamental in any matured Democracy, which we claim we are.

Brown is not the first or the second to feel Ingraham’s wrath, for criticizing him, and neither will he be the last. Ingraham has now grown to expect that no citizen would dare engage or become critical of him; that he could do as he likes; say what he pleases and no one would dare oppose him. He will become more intolerant of opposition, as time goes by, unless we, the people, grow the testicles needed to stand up to this bully (Ingraham) and say, “enough is enough.”

The print, sound and visual media in the country ought to rise up and say, “Hell no; no more” and lead mass demonstrations against what is happening. Reporters ought to regard the firing of Mr. Oswald Brown as an attack on all of them and their industry and resign themselves to do whatever it takes to force Brown’s re-instatement. If they allow this episode to go unchallenged, there is no telling what next Ingraham would be embolden to do; a firing squad maybe? oswald-brown-copy.jpg

In any other country, except for (maybe) China and Cuba, media giants, their reporters and all their employees would have shut the country down the following day after Mr. Brown was let go. I can’t think of any other people, in the world, like Bahamians. We don’t seem to concern ourselves about anything except to have money in our pockets, food whether it’s on our tables or someone else’s, liquor to drink, a couple sweethearts to lay up with, junkanoo and generally having fun.

All the cabinet, civil servants and government workers and all Bahamians, it seem, are scared to hell of this night schooled, academically deprived, pea brain, boxed fish head Hubert Ingraham. We have grown into a bunch of “jelly back” “yessa boss” Negros who regard Ingraham as some god. I am quite sure that that is what the people of Uganda thought, at the beginning, of Armin and Zimbabweans of Mugabe, but we all know the misery these two tyrants brought down on their people, in the end.  History always repeats itself; we should never forget that fact.

I would have expected, by now, that at least the almighty Mrs. Eileen Carron, who’s Publication boasts a couple hundred years, would have taken issue with Ingraham’s very obvious interference here, and regarded it as a blatant attack on “freedom of the press,” but her silence is deafening.  This is issue is not about Oswald Brown and his being fired; it’s about something more fundamental than that; it is about our constitutional freedoms. Haven’t you noticed that Ingraham never talks about the rights of Bahamians; only his rights as prime minister to do what he pleases and no jack leg dare objects?

Wake up Bahamas before it is too late. We should remember that Ingraham is setting precedent here, all by himself, and ten years from now any other dictatorial minded prime minister can say; “well, ten years ago Ingraham was allowed to do it, so I can by precedent do the same” and he/she would be right.

Thank you.

Forrester J Carroll J.P
Freeport, Grand Bahama
30th January 2010

14 COMMENTS

  1. Oswald Brown is better off out than in. The Guardian operation is crap – poorly run, poorly edited and spineless. I gather its sales are now under 5,000 from 20,000 ten years ago and still falling. The woman Wells has less ideas about editing newspapers than Charlie Carter, and that’s saying something.

  2. Press freedom died in the Bahamas when the guy Marquis lef the Tribune las year. He woulda burnt ass over the firing of Ossie Brown cos he took no crap from no-one nowhere. Ingraham tried to bully him once and Marquis told him to p… off. I know that for a fact cos a Tribune reporter told me. Hubert hung up on him cos he couldn’t stand the abuse he was getting. Marquis said ‘I don’t give a f…who you are, don’t talk to me like that’ and Hubert backed off and dropped the phone. Hubert the Hog never tangled with Marquis again as far as I know.
    As for F Carroll, he’s full of horseshit, always has been. He wouldn’t know his own ass from a conch pile.

  3. you are the idiot russell johnson. if our iq was more than 100 you would know that such a thing as violent words exist. carrol constantly engages in violence with his words, and one day he will get frogy with the wrong fnm, someone who doesn’t care,or who has a shorter fuse than him. it is not me though, so do not fret.

  4. The FNM is wutless too…it is just that they are not as overtly corrupt, slack, and as trifling as  the PLP. I choose the lesser evil..

  5. So Raah, do you have good governance?, and since you are not a PLP, everything should to perfect right?, remember who’s the government, it kills me to see how biased some of you are, is it money, ignorance, acting like there is not a large piece a turd on your living room floor, as long as who you want is at the helm, right is right people, Bahamians first not party.

  6. If you aint do nuttin’, you have nothing to fear..all I want is good government, where you do not have to know someone, or be PLP to get things done!

  7. Correction Raah, the questions is how come your scared, and not about him not being scared, like I said before, he’s trying to show you something.

  8. 100 years ago, the insults thrown at a man by another man may have led to a duel, by saber or pistol. Those are fighting words being leveled by Mr. Carrol. On the street, his bottom teeth would be falling out and his noggin would be split!

    • There you go revealing your wutless self by using threats.Thuggery is the method used by the FNM from 1972 to try and bring opponents in line.Your threats are laughable as you are hiding behind behind a computer espousing foolishness.Your candidate called Elizabethans greedy then had everyone trying to retract the statement for him,shame,shame.No desperate act on your part will change the conversation of who is better for Elizabeth.You hear PAPA cusssing eh?Dont be no fool and just stay in your little corner and be quiet.By remaining silent no one would know that you are foolish and stupid.Your side loses Elizabeth and I wish it is by a very large margin.Bahamians want no part of this wutless Govt. so be gone as we are in the process of firing you.

  9. The real question is how could you scared, don’t worry about him not being scared, he’s actually trying to show you something.

    • You never make any sense and might end up in prison as you think thru your feet.PAPa is reminding me daily of Caligula and the good people of Elizabeth will have the opportunity to put their foot down his throat on 26/02.Will Dennis Dames be fired from Urban Renewal as he also criticised PAPA? PAPA understands numbers and will surely face the crowd in Parliament square very soon.Ossie Brown was an unapologetic PAPAMITE but it seems as if he has testicular fortitude now that the obeah lady in Haiti is dead.How much PAPA paying you RAAH?a word of wisdom to you,despots turn on their own ask Ossie Brown.

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