Dear Source:
In regards to former Senator Adelbert Bryan's remarks during a recent gathering of the 5th Constitutional Convention, I have this to say: The enemy of momentum is not always opposing force. It is also distraction. While we can rail against the forces that are against us, we can also find ourselves straying because we are not able to focus.
At this time, the words of just one delegate have become the reason for people to go off the path of discovery and down the road to chaos. I was so heartened to have heard of the delegates' big weekend summit and the progress wrought there. I only hope that those 30 elected members can come before the public and ask for input without anyone's feeling that they already have been discounted because of something over which they had no control – their various nationalities. We can discuss sensitive issues with an open mind and ear. We can also use the good manners that we demand from others. I'd like to see them come together as a body that represents all facets of opinion and community, and welcome us.
In a nutshell, I just wanted you to know how disappointed I am in former Senator Bryan's untoward remarks. I remain undeterred and I believe in this project, but I am unable to even share my excitement because people feel that Bryan speaks for the delegation, or that the delegation is too cowed by him to do anything about what amounts to rudeness and a deep antipathy. I am of Eastern Indian descent on my mother's side, Native American on my father's side, African on both parents' sides, and European (Irish/English) and who knows what in between. I am very much aware of how this came to be. I am very much aware of the struggle. However, until you prove yourself to be my foe, in this present day, you are not.
Let us move forward, with all of our divergent experiences and opinions, thinking first of courtesy and respect for each other.
Anita Davis
St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.
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