If I were Mr. Dart (one can only dream – nah God made me what I am) I would be more than a little upset at some of the posters the organisers of the motorcade last Saturday (10) protesting closure of a small part of the West Bay Road, were saying. Yes, some were aimed at our premier, but the real ‘villain’ in the mix is Mr. Kenneth Dart.

Whilst I have every respect for Capt. Bryan Ebanks, a man I have met on a number of occasions – I even used to eat at his restaurant every day – and I have never met Mr. Dart, I am bothered when Capt. Ebanks makes statements to the press saying, “People do not want this relationship.” He was referring to the Dart-Government ForCayman Investment Alliance (FCIA) and I would have preferred the word ‘some’ had been inserted at the beginning of his statement. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but Capt. Ebanks you do not speak for everyone and I am not sure you speak for the majority. You do speak to the noisiest but that is often the case for minorities. The “loudest voice is heard first” mentality.

This is not a perfect world and Mr. Dart is not perfect. Nor are you Capt. Bryan and neither am I. If Mr. Dart was to answer another of your statements and say, “You are right. You don’t need more Dart. I’m closing down,” what do you think would happen to this Island’s economy? Have you thought of that? Would you be in a position to donate to government the many millions of dollars he has done? Would you be able to employ all the many Caymanians he has done and still does? Would you be constructing the projects he is doing? If Mr. Dart is gone will you be putting bread on the table for us so we can eat? Whether you like it or not, the only person willing to help this country out of this recession is the man you are maligning.

I am not saying you shouldn’t protest. I doubt any of us are happy at the closure of a few thousand feet of the West Bay Road, which very few of us travel on every day of our lives. However, if it is a choice of putting food and water on my table against near starvation I know where my vote is going. Do you not understand that we are in a recession? A recession this country (and most of the world) has never seen as huge and as long. Do you not see all the small (and not so small) businesses that have closed down? Do you not see all the office space that is “To Let”? Do you not see all the unemployment there is? Do you not see how few local advertisements are in the newspapers and on television?

You don’t bite off the hand that feeds you even if you dislike the man that the hand belongs to. You certainly don’t malign him with signs that you might think are funny but to him might cause him anger.

Has any of these protesters figured out that this country is broke? Have you not read that the government had to seek nearly $50 million in supplemental grants to the 2011/12 budget? It’s on page 7 of iNews Cayman’s Wednesday (14) edition. The final bill to finish both of the high schools (Clifton Hunter and John Gray) will eventually total around $197 million. However, a combination of reshuffling money and an increase in expected revenue has resulted in the anticipated deficit being reduced to around $7 million. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention it, there was also a donation that helped most from ….. are you ready for this? ……. Dart! I can hear the wailing and screams of horror in the streets. The car horns blaring their disgust.

Did anyone read our front-page headline in the same edition of iNews? If you haven’t it read “Owners lose control: Ritz-Carlton property in receivership.”

Another of these Islands developers, Michael Ryan, is in financial trouble, or I should say a number of the companies he owns are. All of his other building projects have stopped and I know personally that a local sub-contractor who worked on them is owed a sum of money many of us would be quaking in our boots by now at the thought it might not be paid.

I am not advocating that we shouldn’t protest. Another one is looming with the Lower Valley residents against Whiterock Investments quarrying. I can sympathise with them as when I was living there our house shook every time the quarrymen blasted and cracks appeared in the house walls that got wider at every blast. Despite Whiterock’s planning application being turned down twice they have not given up. Neither will the residents and you can probably guess what side of the fence I am on this one. Bishop Sykes is not a man who gives up and he leads his flock now with a crosier (staff) that is shaped like a shepherd’s crook. I might just be one of his sheep.