Dear Editor,
Do they really think that in this era of sophisticated intelligence supplying technology we the citizens of Sint Maarten are that out of touch with reality?
So I have to continue with a few more questions. Was Todd Peterson wrong? Do they really believe that no one would know? What about the respect for the people of Sint Maarten, do we really deserve this? But my bigger question is who all knew about this?
Even if the process cannot be interrupted before it gets to a certain point (I do not know, just speculating) would not that be role-playing and, as has become common practice among the politicians in government, taking the people for a ride?
When I say, “Out with all of them,” am I exaggerating? How much money has been bad spent and wasted for this process in a time when not only the Finance Minister but all of them knew about our precarious financial situation? Money is money, no matter whether it is airmailed for different posts or for one post, if you bad spend it you will have to get it from somewhere else and, as has become commons practice, APS is the solution, with no compassion for the pensioners because exactly those who are calling those shots are very close to and beyond pensioners age and should know better.
Someone asked me a few days ago what is the won/lost ratio for government cases? I could not give an answer, but what came out of that conversation is that they won the cases in which young Sint Maarteners were involved, but lost all the cases in which umpteen thousands and millions were involved owing to dubious deals. Not me; the facts are there. APS bailed them out.
Which brings me to another question. How much money was involved in that flag? Is not it a shame that we cannot even erect a flagpole to fly a flag? In less than one month so many attempts to get it right. I stand to be corrected, but how many years has the flag been flying on the fort in Marigot. I believe it is very windy up there also. And even if there is a difference in size then why did not we take the time and the steps to find out, measure, calculate what is necessary to sustain having a flag that big flown 24 hours in the type of wind that we have here? This is not “I did it,” this is “I did it wrong.”
There is this particular person who always stresses that it is the fault of the people, because they continue to put them back. So my question to her is. So the people deserve to be punished for that? Yes; when children do the wrong thing they are reprimanded, so should big people.
Someone told me that if they don’t stop making blunders I am going to run out of paper. As these scenarios continue to play out, more and more the word “dabblers” comes to mind. I do not think that I would like people to know that I am an adviser to these people, because some part of it would have to reflect on me. I would not be able to deny it because then I would have to eradicate the saying ”Birds of a feather, flock together.”
My father taught us that it is not a problem to be different as long as you treat people with respect. And when I asked him, “What if they do not respect me?” he did not tell me what to do, he said, “Respect has to be earned.”
Russell A. Simmons
