Skelton forced to apologise to Walwyn over ‘Antigua’ joke
Former Opposition Leader Ronnie Skelton was made to apologise in the House of Assembly on Thursday after making an inappropriate comment about Myron Walwyn’s parents that drew strong objections from the newly appointed Opposition Leader.
The exchange happened during a heated debate on the controversial review of volume two of the law enforcement and criminal justice bodies in the Virgin Islands. In a moment of levity that quickly turned sour, Skelton joked about relocating residents to Antigua while questioning the UK’s genuine interest in the Virgin Islands.
“We were supposed to be a bird sanctuary. The majority of people were supposed to be moved to Antigua,” Skelton said. So, the leader of the opposition… probably, we’d all be in Antigua with him. We would all be neighbours. You know.”
Walwyn, who recently replaced Skelton as Leader of the Opposition, immediately pushed back.
“I have to go ahead and remind the territorial member that I’m in fact a BVIslander. And I spent my life here—he tends to forget that at times,” Walwyn stated. “I find it most inappropriate… I’m highly offended, I must say, by that comment.”
Skelton attempted to explain, saying: “What I meant [was] that his parents would not have been in the BVI. We all would be down there. That’s what I meant.” But the Speaker and Walwyn remained firm that he could not accept the remark.
“It’s still inappropriate,” Walwyn responded. “Inappropriate. Very inappropriate. And disrespectful.”
However, Skelton remained adamant that it was a joke and rejected Walwyn’s objections. “Be offended…,” Skelton said. “I feel offended too because he misinterpreted what I said. You can’t tell me what to say in this House, anymore,” he responded.
After insistence from the House Speaker Corine George-Massicotte, Skelton was instructed to issue an apology before the sitting ended. “Well, while you may have thought of it as simply maybe a joke, he did not take it as such,” the Speaker told him. “Given that it’s a reference to his parents, I just ask that you apologise to the member.”
Skelton complied, stating: “Madam Speaker, if I offended the Leader of the Opposition, I apologise.”
The apology comes amid rising tensions within the House following Skelton’s removal as Opposition Leader earlier this month. Skelton was replaced by Walwyn, who is part of a loosely formed Alliance group of opposition members, after those opposition members submitted a formal request to the Speaker.
The incident has added another layer of friction to the ongoing debates over the UK-commissioned report, which Skelton called “a racist report” and argued was “totally disrespectful to us as a people.”
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Myron acting like a lil pu..$$y and Skelton to damn childish. A set of clowns not doing the work they were elected for. Fire all their a$$.
You have to listen to the undertones. Myron is right to be offended. Ronnie meant to dog whistle Myron so that others could say he is not from here. He is still mad at the leader of opposition switch and the NDP election loss and they bubbled to the surface last night. Skelton should be ashamed of himself. That was a swipe to tell Myron that he doesn’t belong to the BVi.
During Myron’s comments, he said that his parents were from Antigua and he said some things that were offensive to BVIslanders in the house. You see we talk a lot about how BVIslanders mistreat outsiders but never on how outsiders treat BVIslanders.
What Ronnie said was in the context of making a point. It was not offensive at all. But it’s okay when Myron is in the house pulling down others and threatening. Then when you call him out on being anti BVislnadrs he denies it
By the way Ronnie spoke very well making his points.
You are lying and you know it. Myron said nothing that was offensive to anyone. Stop the untruthful behaviour. Lies is what have us where we are.
if what Ronnie said was offensive, then the other said was too.
this sounds like his bestfriend talking here
Nothing Myron said was offensive to BVislander . You are totally untrue
He wants to brainwash the voters and plant it in their heads that Myron is not from here….. so come next election they would see to it that he doesn’t win the Premiership.. this is evil
Myron is not from here and he should not be allowed to run for office. PERIOD!
It happened to my friend before with his family member. That was rude and discriminating. Make you think that’s what they out they insulting people not born bvi. Maybe that’s why he will never see the daylight of premiership.
This is below the belt. You are better than this Hon. Skelton. He knew that he would get a particular narrative out to the public.
Skeleton is just a bigot and myopic. It’s the same people you need to march and give dissonance to what the UK is proposing. Really bright that one
What a bunch of children.
Grow up asshats
On a good day this man hardley want to talk to anyone in the street.The title of Mr Aloof is well deserved. Now he is being exposed for his true feeling about other Caribbean people. The vitriol is real. Arrogant and entitled and embbrassed that a so called “Island Man” ate his lunch.
Did Ronnie tell lie?
How in God’s name was Skelton’s comment disrespectful? Walwyn is always spoiling for a fight. I think Walwyn made a mountain out of a molehill. .
Something is definitely wrong with you then.
You are correct. Walwyn stoking divisions among BVI people. He knows the makeup of the population and is making this a prevalent issue for political gains. He obviously has some inferiority complex about his nationality and bitterness towards Virgin Islanders which he will never get over but wants to manipulate the voters into thinking he is a unifier of all people. I for one not fooled!!!!
Dont spin it
Ronnie is a disgrace to say such a ting
Ronnie’s comment was meant to embarrass Walwyn about his Heritage and to remind voters of his parentage. That was an awful and very low thing to do. Someone could only say what is inside of them.
Premier Wheatley should have denounced that type of xenophobic rhetoric in his wrap up statement. It now seems like he too is in agreement with Hon Skelton’s remarks. Premier even praised Skelton for his Patriotism and said nothing about his poor decorum in the HOA.
and his wife is a vincy
Skeleton’s wife is a Vincy?
Or Wheatley’s?
I just rewatched the exchange on YouTube, and it’s clear that Myron overreacted to that comment. However, I think the deeper issue lies in the fact that he’s constantly confronted with remarks about his heritage not being from here. That kind of comment has become a trigger for him.
He did not over react. He has to show how serious it is for him for the nonsense to stop. It has gone on too long and its time to confront it.
This is Ronnie’s trade mark. He’s been quietly perpetuating that island man talk since losing the NDP Chairmanship to Myron in 2019. Now he’s lost the Leader Of the Opposition post to Walwyn in 2025 his festering xenophobic sentiments has bubbled to the surface. He’s unraveling right before our eyes.
Ronnie should be ashamed of himself. What comes out of the mouth is what defiles the body.
Weather you meant no harm or not, if someone says they were offended by something you said about them, just apologize. You can state your reasoning for your comments but simply let an apology accompany it.
I can’t believe these are big people with children and also the leaders of the territory.
We get offended when Donald Trump say things that we see as racist. We have some Donald Trump’s here and last night Ronnie was one. Xenophobia and racism resides in the same place. Ronnie’s statement was one to attempt to make Myron feel inferior to him because of his heritage. Racism is designed to do the same thing to black people. Ronnie’s comments were xenophobic and downright disrespectful. And anyone who supports this conduct should be ashamed.
No Leader with an education and common sense would feel the need to make such an ignorant comment about one’s parents then call it a joke. I am 2nd hand embarrassed and offended by the ignorance and lack of decorum by RS who is obviously still hurting. If the only thing he has against MW is his parents not being from here, this explains why he refused to merge the parties, this explains why he is so full of hate and jealousy and this proves why he is completely unfit to have a seat in the House. Speak sense at least once. RS is lost and may be too far gone to ever find his way. Is Marlon really associating himself with this level of behavior? Enquiring minds want to know.
You are in the bottom few that would be surprised Marlon thinks the same way as Ronnie. These guys are full of hate for other caribbean nationals. They laugh, abuse and use all of them. Watch out for damage control but hopefully everybody wise up.
To @leader, it was a sarcastic and rhetorical question. Birds of a feather usually flock together
where is RONNIE parents from? Skelton?????
But his mother is from Antigua so what’s the big deal fu**y man is weak and cannot lead
Myron is an intelligent man, can lead, and is certainly not weak. He was born in the BVI and is a BVIlander. Respect his parents and keep them out of your commess !!
It is truly sickening at this point.
You could see the bitterness for Myron inside of Ronnie. Myron go form up a group and do what you have to do. It is clear that these people don’t like you. They could kill you.
Hon. Skelton …smh
The anguish and mental damage from Honorable Skelton comments is no different from slavery. Caribbean nationals who grow up and live here cannot breathe. It’s the mentality of these leaders that ruin all of us. Your so call joke is not a joke Honorable Skelton. It hurts like poverty. Myron Walwyn and his parents do not deserve this. Basically you telling him to know his place. He doesn’t belong and he has no right to leadership of the BVI. WE HEARD YOU LOUD AND CLEAR RONNIE AND IT BECAUSE OF YOU WE WILL GET NO WHERE DIVIDED.
The law needs to be passed to put Myron in his place. An individual who does not have ancestral ties to the BVI should not be able to run for office. The fact that Myron was born in the BVI is irrelevant.
This is the exact statement they are spreading behind closed doors to deter people from voting for Myron. All anyone has to do is watch any HOA sitting to see how hard Hon Walwyn fights to make sure that our Rights as Virgin Islanders are not striped away by 99% of these legislations Premier Wheatley bring forth to the HOA. They can’t keep a good man down
Skelton has called the law enforcement report racist while displaying xenophobia in his debate. What is the difference between racism and xenophobia? He did to Myron the same thing that he is accusing the UK of. I swear we are special in this place.
This shows the anger of Skelton, he has this black racism mentality and perhaps all of us too against other Caribbean islands since we feel we are in the house our British masters and the Caribbean people are field ni**ers, so we the BVI people are the house ni**ers. When we check the slave master have areas or plantations called after their names, Pahram town in east end area and other Caribbean islands have a Pahram town too, since it was chattel slavery we were properties as the animals on the white murderers farm, do he pack us on ships to his plantation on othe islands, so if we do a DNA test we may learn about our original parentage, so be careful Skelton who you curse, because all of us in the BVI never thought of calling white people or the governor “island man” only black people are labeled so.
And they claim blacks is not racist. Some of the biggest racist is blacks. My aunt who is now gone told us she use to work for the S*’s for less than a dollar a week. She stated she use to walk from Sea Cows Bay over Slaney hill before the roads were fixed to get to Road Town. She also stated she use to take two of her children to work with her and her children had to sit outside in the yard because her children were not allowed in the S home or was allowed to play with the S children because her children was poor and beneath the S children.
Skelton was saying to Walwyn that he is a field slave and he should know his place. In other words your parents are not from here so you are an outsider. You should know your place. That was the message. If it was intended to be a joke he would have apologized at the first opportunity. Instead he doubled down on it and only apologized because the speaker insisted that he does. Very unfortunate.
RS is a washed up, ra**st, l**y and past his sell by date! His ideology is the same as Frazer, Marlon, Natalio and their ilk. They want be act like protectionists and double speak when election time rolls around looking the expat belongers votes.
Ronnie’s mask slipped and we saw a glimpse of his true identity. Imo he was and still is very overrated. BVIEC is his legacy and what grade would he objectively get for his performance there? Ronnie said what he said as that’s what his buddies (Ivan the Terrible aka Pastor Ram, Herr Fraud Kline etc.) have uttered to him behind closed doors. These guys will do anything to hold on to their perceived power. Lame ducks and over the hill…need putting out to pasture now!!
Ronnie does double talk. If he was looking out for BVIslanders’ rights when he was a member of cabinet the labour and immigration issues that we are currently facing would not have been so extreme. He has no issue using cheap imported labour for his businesses yet he now proclaiming that BVIslanders cannot eat because of the cost of living. If he had been looking out for BVIslanders’ employment and advancement the situation would not have come this. He is NOT for BVIslanders; he is for himself obtaining power. Ronnie just does not want Myron to get premiership over him. People see through his foolishness that is why he lost elections as party leader.
Ronnie mask slip and expose the likes of Marlon, Luce,Frazer and Natalio. This Antiguan national know their suppression of black immigrants will come back to bite all of them haters of Caribbean nationals.
You heard the part about the member for 6th that you wanted to hear but go back and listen to the whole thing
Myron was right to object.
Hatred, envy and bad mindedness often hide in jokes, backhanded comments, playful digs or “just kidding” remarks. Pay attention as humour and LOL can mask envy.
The debate yesterday was interesting. I listened as Marlon spoke more about his family ties than what he said about the report. If it was a comment in passing I would think nothing of it but he kept on speaking about it as he was sending a message to someone aka Myron.
Then Ronnie comes with this swipe about Myron’s parents.
I am left to believe that this was planned. Ronnie and Marlon deserve each other because they both feel that way. And then they pretend for political purposes. Marlon tries to show a different face publicly but behind closed doors he feels the same way. He was up and down saying that Myron is forming an island party.
None of them are fit to lead the BVi.
Wish I could love your comments 1000 percent. He needs to organize a family reunion. Sowande was in on it. Check how many times he spoke about the family relationship between himself and the Sowande.
They are treating Myron just like how Trump treat Obama concerning his rights to run for president in 2008. So all those young people who were born here to expat parents needs know their place because they don’t belong here. WTH is this in 2025. May God help us.
After that display of xenophobia yesterday. Long road for NDP under the current leadership
You call Ronnie’s ramble yesterday good? Has our standards become this low? I wouldn’t even send Ronnie to Anegada to represent me.
So not been able to file the motion of no confidence properly by Rannie and the trip Marlon took to Australia to see the damn kangaroos were deliberate acts. Because they eat out of the same plate and drink out of the same cup, they are family And all of the government offices are over in Fish Bay. So RS he is totally compromise so he can’t speak out against all the nonsense that the premier is doing in the territory.
It is a burning shame that leaders of the house should snicker at such an insensitive remark .
The leaders of a country set the tone of a society. Do you wonder why there is such divisiveness in the BVI
This was a serious issue. So how do you expect everyone to lobby behind you if you are born you are no
This is the most disturbing part for me. Then Natalio gets up and calls Ronnie a patriot while condemning Myron for saying that people will not march behind people who make them feel like they don’t belong. I swear the in breeding got us stupidy. We ain’t normal
While we her buzzing of about Myron and Ronnie, when we should be more concerned with who are the faces behind the comments.
Only who knows language well can discern between the syntax of the comments and the normal Caribbean prose..
Ideed, the are sneakley dividing us on all levels,, and like blind sheep, all we can do, due our ignorance, is continue ti fight and hate each other. Powe!
Myron and all his blogging friends trying to eat Ronnie for fish. Oh politics have become a dirty, ugly game in the BVI. He knows that people are gullible enough and silly enough to believe the piss that he writes on here. But he won’t fool all and he must remember that God is in the midst of his deceptive nonsense.
What was said by Honourable Skelton was in no way xenophic or unkind to persons from the Eastern Caribbean or anything of the sort. It seems to me like those who have come to live among us, with Walwyn as their lead is going to try and make this election about where Walwyn is from. It is sad, sad, sad indeed. Persons come to live among us and hate us so? Jesus you fix it. Fix it Jesus. Don’t let the devil win this one. There are no BVIslanders making things difficult for other persons in the Caribbean in their home land. If you are living comfortably and well in another man’s country you should at least have the manners to be nice and gracious. Only in the BVI can these things happen. From now to election time, I will live on my knees because this is not right. BVISlanders, joine me. Father God bind this kind of evil and ugly behaviour from this Country in the name of Jesus and loose love, kindness and humble hearts. Ronnie would never go anywhere and be unkind to their natives. It is time to fix this Jesus. You are our deliverer. We rebuke this mess in the name of Jesus. Stike it down. Let it all fall to the Crown in Jesus’ name.
Just like how you must be Ronnie friend or family to write this piddle. We all know Ronnie Skelton’s does not like island people. He broke up NDP because the child of expats beat him for the leadership. That should tell him how people feel about him.
Fast forward, that same son of expats replaced him as opposition leader. He is in his feelings and what he had inside him bubbling up.
Myron is a better rep of the people and the country than Skelton. Face that fact. It’s the truth. Ronnie just feeling the man that’s all. He is a big child.
Wow
SKELIE , IS SAYING )> AH KNO HE FEEL DAH LOW BLOW TO YO SEEDS , LEH ME HEAR YO ” HOLLER NOW ” GARROT SK*NT .
And you find that amusing? You’re just as sick as Ronnie
Where in the Caribbean can a man who is not from a country or where BOTH parents are not from a country run in that country? BVI Islanders better wake up.
We sit and grin with them and listen to them and hear them. They think that we BVI Islanders are stupid, idiots, small island. They have nothing good to say about us but want to STAY here. WHY??!??!??! And we allow them.
Politicians in the BVI are too thin-skinned. What Ronnie said is facts. He’s saying aloud what we say quietly. Myron may be a friend, a colleague a politician no less, BUT we ain’t voting for him. It’s called protectionism. Go down the islands and tell me WHERE foreign can run in politics,. Only in the BVI SAH!!!!!!!
Firstly, Myron was born and he grew up in the BVI. Do you know that the current Premier was not born in the BVI?
Secondly, take a look at St. Thomas. The current Lieutenant Governor was born in St. Kitts. What’s your points?
Myron is one of the best representatives this country has had. If he was not there many of the bills being passed would have been disastrous. But xenophobic people like you don’t have the courage to look past your weakness and see how his presence has been helpful to the country.
You should be ashamed whoever you are.
Are you hearing what you are saying?
Something is wrong with you whoever you are.
But Myron is not a foreigner.
Insightful post! I found the debate around the exchange in the House both intriguing and thought-provoking. It’s interesting how remarks, even meant in jest, can escalate so quickly in a political setting. Do you think this incident might impact the broader discussions on the UK-commissioned report? Curious to hear more perspectives on how gestures like these affect the political climate.
This has nothing to do with a simple gesture. It is just what some bvislsndets have been doing to other Caribbean nationals. It just slip by Ronnie because he getting old. Many people have been suppressed in schools, work and everyday life because they don’t born here or they family not from here. It is a big problem in the bvi. They hate on and suppress other Caribbean nationals.
I have lost respect for Ronnie Skelton. I voted for against my better judgement the last time. I wouldn’t be doing that again. And to the people who support this level of bigotry and low key hatred for people from different islands I will pray for you.
Skeleton’s xenophobia towards Myron was one to every person who was born here but to expat parents. It was an insult to those who have mixed parents and to those who became belongers. It means you are not a blue blood – a term crafted by Skelton himself to mean people with both parents born here.
He meant to say to Myron to know your place. You ain’t from here.
This was a clear message to those people except Ayana. I do not know what is wrong with the young woman. Somebody spit in her mouth!
Skelton’s behaviour towards Myron tells me that he has no genuine interest in reconciling those two parties. That is what I take from this. You do not escalate a situation when you want reconciliation. Marlon and Ronnie are two dish**est ba**arss. All you have to do sometimes is wait and you will figure out a lot of things. Here it is. His insult along with his childish uterrances after tells you that he means no good. My spirit never took that man and now I know why. His comments made me cringe.
Even after Ronnie was called you to apologize he did not issue an apology. That was not apology. That showed me how small of a man he is and that he had intent behind what he said. Money doesn’t make you a man. Your character does. Ronnie’s character is poor. He destroyed a party because they didn’t vote for him. Then rejoined then without even telling his PVIM colleagues what he was doing. Poor character.
What was a slap in the face about saying that the UK was sending us all to Antigua and keeping the BVI as a playground for the rich and that Honourable Walwyn would not be here? His parents would not have relocated? Listen, Hon. Walwyn and cronies, you all trying to bastardize Hon. Skelton before the next election? You give yourselves 2 years using this medium, and Hon. Penn too? Well, we didn’t eat our school fees and common sense ain’t so common but a blind man can see through this. That is low to have to try and destroy men on social media to beat them out for top spots in their parties? Wow. Beat them fair and square, nah. Oh this is priceless. Well people who don’t like this will blog too. You all aren’t the only ones with multiple devices because a lot of these blogs you do yourselves.
AJA ( JUDAS ) IS REALLY FLEXING OFF HIMSELF ON WALWYN IN HIS BLOGGINGS BY DEFENDING SKELIE AKA ( MR ALOOF ) ALMOST ALL OF THE NEGATIVE COMMENTS AGAINST WALWYN IS FROM HIM / AND ALL THE DEFENDING COMMENTS OF SKELIE AND HOW HE SPOKE THE FACTS AND DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG WHEN HE EXPOSED HIS HIDDEN XENOPHOBIC SARCASTIC MENTALITY IS FR JUDGE WIGGIE , JUST CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF HE ONLY USED DIFFERENT NAMES ASUSUAL , BUT CAN CLEARLY SEE THEY WERE WRITTEN BY THE SAME JUDGE JUDAS
At Reply. You know you are talking Bull $hit dont you?
Walwyn and Turnbull need to put down their devices and rest their fingers because Hon. Skelton is not giving them the attention they want.
Walwyn put me in mind of Musk and Trump. He will destroy a whole country to get what he wants. He better go take care of his businesses. All of them failing. The Asians serve you pancakez and honey instead of our favourite pancake syrup. I laugh.
I think you crazy or something
So let’s process this;
Ronnie broke up NDP and form PVIM because he lost NDP elections to Myron
Ronnie said he was not running next election which he says every election and only when Turnbull and Mather forbes an alliance with Myron all of a sudden he running again.
Ronnie and Marlon failed for 7 years to bring the two parties back together. They didn’t even have the ability to do so in 2023 and caused VIP to get 6 seats.
Ronnie, all by himself and without the knowledge of the members of PVIM dissolved the party and returned to NDP without his members because he lost the leader of the opposition post to Myron.
Ronnie attempted to insult myron about his heritage to make him feel like he doesn’t belong to the BVI
And it’s Myron and Turnbull causing confusion and acting like Trump and Musk?
Whoever you are you is a moo-moo. Pure moo moo.
It took me a while to process what I saw in the House of Assembly recently and the subsequent discussions flowing from it. Here is what I see:
Ronnie and others like him have not accepted other persons who are born here to expatriate parents as Virgin Islanders. Who gave them the authority to determine who belongs to this country and who do not? That type of discrimination shows the class system that these group of people promote. Ronnie’s comments are not to be taken lightly and certainly was no joke. He went out of his way to say what he did to make Myron feel that he did not belong to the BVI. He additionally wanted to dog whistle the situation so that others with the same discriminatory ways as him would start up with the same chant like they did two election cycles ago.
Ronnie is a troubled man. He is troubled by that loss in 2018 to Myron from NDP’s leadership. He is troubled by Myron replacing him as leader of the opposition. In his mind no “island man” should be in those positions ahead of him who calls him a “blue blood”. The latter term was coined by him when he started PVIM as a discriminatory tool.
How could someone like this want to lead what is now a multi-cultural society? Ronnie’s time has passed both in performance and now in mindset. The majority of the people now in BVI have either both parents from overseas or at least one parent from overseas. Are you going to discriminate against the majority because they are not “blue blood” as you call it?
His conduct was deplorable. The burst of laughter by the government side was a show of support by them for his xenophobia. And what was worse was his childish and ignorant rant that followed which suggested that what was done was done out of malice. I didn’t vote for him last election and I certainly will not be doing it in the future. The NDP have to decide if this is the type of image they want for their party which is largely supported by the same people like Myron that Ronnie went out of his way to say they don’t belong. Make no mistake, what he said to Myron he said to all of us who are like him. Well except for AH. Somebody needs to take that lady to counseling. She desperately needs it.
A xenophobic person like Ronnie called the UK report racist! The irony of it all. Mr. Skelton in case you didn’t know xenophobia and racism are both forms of discrimination. They both seek to degrade another human being.
What you feel and have expressed towards Myron is no different from what you believe the UK is doing to the BVI and its people.
I swear we are special in this place.
The d*m Speaker kept pushing this simple issue. That talk was done and she brought it up after allegedly receiving a text message from Walwyn himself. I would have never apologize for non offensive statement. I find Skelton language non-Offensive. Thin skin need not be in the house of Assembly.
Ronnie , I have lost respect for you .
I do agree that the BVI was called a “Bird Sanctuary.”
Blood, Sweat, and Tears of the forefathers brought us where we are.
However, to tell Myron the only one in the house who was born here but his parents would not have here and the entire house snickered was insensitive of you and those who encouraged him by their snickers.
That was not the appropriate place and time to make those remarks .
It speaks volumes about what is in your heart . Marlon, Mather and others spoke about their ancestors but they also acknowledge those who lovingly contributed when they made this island their home .
I do not care how you want to twist it now, not a sinlgle belonger who can VOTE should support you.
Why this is the Elephent in the BVI and you just magnify it .
SHAME ON YOU
No. No. This Myron brigade are the moo-moos. You trying to bury Hon. Skelton’s name in stupid blogs? That is being a moo-moo. Most of the damn blogs are by you. Sensible people know that. Hon. Skelton said they were trying to send us all to Antigua, the UK was. Hon. Walwyn hails from Antigua, so what was the problem? I think he should have stayed as something happened in High School that made him not like us. We like you boo. We just can’t stand this desperatation sh**tte that is permeating every cell of your body. This divide and conquer is not of God.
Unfortunately it is now catching, but like our ancestral parents used to say, “God is in the midst. He will deal with this in due time.”
Myron hails from Antigua? A person born and raised in Tortola hails from Antigua? This is why he was right to object because of what Ronnie and you through this blog are trying to do. It’s is pathetic and both of you should be ashamed but I guess you are both just bigots.
Ronnie has done nothing since he was re-elected but cause confusion between those two political parties.
Stop using God to justify bigotry
The white people did it in the days of slavery
Where was the outrage when Myron called Ronnie Bob the Builder on the campaign trail? Did he apologize? How is it different? Wasn’t that a disrespectful insult then? I’m not condoning anyone’s position but we should be fair
Sara go pray this Sunday from posting piss. If you can’t see the difference between those two situations in every respect then you should not be in adult conversations.
This is the highest law of the land and respect should begin there
Two different settings political campaigns are a different setting learn the difference moron
If it wasn’t for island man Myron in the Parliament to help with those bills that the government bring we would have been in deeper problems. Start to look at people’s contributions and stop this discrimination. It will get us nowhere.
PART 1 OF 3:
I too, allowed myself additional time to step back, reflect and contemplate deeply what I saw & heard of the HOA sitting on Thursday.
Given the high stakes involved AND the supra urgent need & necessity to address fully the report which was up for debate & compromised 375 RECOMMENDATIONS put forward by the UK/ His Majesty’s Chief Inspector :
ALL Virgin Islanders and Residents deserved a more elevated handling of this report from the elected members in the HOA, to help them understand from their varying perspectives the nature of these recommendations, the way in which they are to be implemented with greater control & authority centralized in favor of the Governor. It is clear that while many of the recommendations are helpful on their own, many are misguided in substance OR as it relates to HOW they are to be implemented.
As a result the ROADMAP detailed in the report for the 375 recommendations in the report are collectively adverse to the development of the Virgin Islands which requires more mature governance flowing from greater involvement of its Government & representatives so that it can continue along a path towards greater self determination and independence.
UNFORTUNATELY, INSTED OF THE ABOVE I.E. A REASONED CRITIQUE OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT REVIEW/ REPORT the highlight was the subject of this article the Hon. Skelton’s public statement that offended the Hon. Walwyn.
To be clear Hon. Skelton’s statement should not be described or referenced in any way as a joke since this feeds a dangerously dismissive approach to an issue that deserves serious, honest, mature and uncomfortable discussion
KEY TAKEAWAYS :
1. Virgin Islands society struggles with issues of inclusion and equity AMONG Virgin Islanders rooted to this nation by heritage/ lineage in varying degrees; AND ALSO BETWEEN such Virgin Islanders and those who have become Virgin Islanders without parental lineage yet legally attained ties that connect them deeply with the Virgin Islands.
(To be continued…see part 2)
PART 2:
KEY TAKEAWAYS ON THE HON. SKELTON INCIDENT (CONTINUED)
2. At first glance, Hon. Skelton appears to be making a factual connection. BUT on deeper analysis, this statement is laced with microaggressions, for the following reasons:
A. REINFORCEMENT OF ‘OTHERNESS’: Despite the FACT that Hon. Walwyn is born in the Virgin Islands, the highlight on his Antiguan heritage/ parentage AND reasoning that in different circumstances he would not have been born in the Virgin Islands, calls into question whether he is “fully” of the country. Also implies that his Virgin Islands’ identity is essentially accidental & as a result of happenstance- again, not “fully” or “really” Virgin Islander.
B. DOG WHISTLE POLITICS: The callback to the unpleasant “bird sanctuary” colonial statement is not just historical; it is coded language. It triggers a shared resentment toward a past injustice and weaponizes that sentiment toward those with perceived ties to the offending party—even if tangentially.
C. ASSOCIATION THROUGH IMPLICATION: The juxtaposition/ connection of forced relocation to Antigua flowing from the “dog whistle” bird sanctuary colonial statement AND the Antiguan heritage of Hon Walwyn implies complicity or alignment with an unpopular colonial policy, even if indirectly. This is a microinsult, masked as a harmless anecdote.
3. Was Hon. Walwyn right to Be Offended OR was the offence taken by him reasonable?
YES, and here’s why:
• Identity is complex, and when someone publicly links your heritage to something derogatory OR controversial, it creates a feeling of alienation ESPECIALLY in the context a charged political debate as the one that took place in the HOA on Thursday
• This remark subtly questions loyalty and belonging, even if that was not the stated intention.
• In a society where xenophobia is a known underlying issue, such statements exacerbate division and exclusion based on heritage.
In diverse societies such as the Virgin Islands, words carry great weight and influence. Especially when spoken by leaders. MICROAGREESIONS —however subtle or not—have the power to inflame old wounds and reinforce systemic exclusion.
It is disappointing and disturbing that this issue has not yet been fully acknowledged and addressed head on by the Premier, the Hon members directly involved and other members of the HOA; particularly in a manner that recognizes the feelings caused whether offence, anger, annoyance etc on all sides.
KUDOS TO THE SPEAKER, for having the courage to invite Hon. Skelton to apologize given the offense caused to Hon. Walwyn…In my view she was the only one that mustered the courage in the moment to protect & preserve the integrity of the HOA in the face of the confrontation on full display.
Unfortunately Hon Skelton responded with the classic conditional apology “if you were offended then I apologize”….most people who have been on the receiving end of one of these would admit to feeling that it was disingenuous, insensitive and insincere. Classic case of impact being more important than intention
There is a great opportunity here and it’s not too late for this incident to lead to more conscious leadership and stronger national cohesion. God knows we need this more than ever in our Virgin Islands.
(To be continued….Part 3)