London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

'Them vs us' is never good governance

'Them vs us' is never good governance

Now, one narrative that runs through the Commission of Inquiry is the subtle quest to divide the Virgin Islands population into various groups, by certain officials.
This may be an attempt to distract from the legitimate proceedings of the COI, or worse, to perversely influence the outcomes of the investigation.

There is a caveat, however: the aristocrats and gentlemen who governed the British Empire of yesteryear were masters of this game of divide and rule. So, it is indeed a paradox that in 2021 an overseas territory of the UK should appear to be following a similar divide and rule narrative.

Simple observation from all over the world will reveal that the preceding culture of divide and rule is still attempted by unscrupulous leaders. Caribbean Islands and West Indian leaders are not alone in singing this divisive medley.

Divide and Rule was a very effective strategy for the UK of the 1930s and 40s, but today’s world is far more complex than the black and white world of yesterday, with one homogeneous British ruling class, warring against hordes of savages.

This writer has warned in his column in past years that divide and rule is never good politics. In fact, it frequently backfires.

Why? It places people in specific geography into different camps- Ancestral Virgin Islanders and One Generation Virgin Islanders; Belongers and Migrants; white and black; Spanish, Philippines, Guyanese, and Arab, Haitian and more.

People are tribal by nature. The moment they are placed in a specific subset they bind together with others of that group and behave accordingly. This is one of the drivers of racism and xenophobia, that so many people in the Virgin Islands apparently abhor and scream against.

Any talk of unity of a society becomes "pie in the sky" when politicians sing the divide and rule song. And this disunity poisons community. Most families in this tiny country for example have DNA from various other countries and islands.

Only a very tiny minority are actually Virgin Islands native to four and five generations without intermarriage with migrants. That is the Caribbean Demographic. When West Indians become xenophobic they look ridiculous and absurd. West Indians are one culture of different hues.

One official went as far as stating that allowing specific groups to migrate into the territory would anger natives and locals. Using terms like ‘’our people’’ actually can become offensive to some, as it automatically sidelines a significant section of residents. That is why this Writer prefers the term residents.

In fact, some would believe when these officials open their mouths that the country is made up of only one single demographic group or a subset of residents. How absurd!

That type of assertion is actually a bedrock of divisiveness and ethnic tension.

Yes, all countries protect their indigenes, however, they do so with tact and subtlety.

Open xenophobia and hostility for ‘’outsiders’’ is self-defeating, and very unhealthy for any community.

The wise politician builds bridges and glues the various subsets in his country together.

Julius Caesar builds a big, secure, and friendly tent, for all the people in his jurisdiction. He understands that a united society is a strong society.

A divided society is a passport to underdevelopment and misery.

Once upon a time, after a devastating hurricane, this country was attacked by anarchists. People were in hiding. The so-called "big guns" of this community simply disappeared. It took the "despised colonialists" and their disciplined soldiers to quell the uprising.

OK: Imagine a highly unlikely hypothesis. The Virgin Islands are attacked by a tribe of bloodthirsty cannibals. The minute that happens all the ethnic and cultural differences will disappear. The one song will be the song of survival; as every resident works with his and her neighbor to defend the country’s borders from the lethal invasion.

On the other hand, if the society is severely divided, then it is easy for the invaders to secure a foothold, and conduct a devastating rampage.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×