fp Turks and Caicos

“If not before, for whatever reasons, now Mrs. McCoy-Misick must also show a regard for her role and continuing attachment to the name of Turks and Caicos. It will not do in this respect to say she was not advised of the responsibility[ies of being First Lady]. Many have accused her of not being worthy of the title, and failing to comport herself, as would a first lady. Others still have argued that she shows herself mis-educated on the significance of the role; and that she assumes that her celebrity is superior to that role. The fp cannot say what Mrs. McCoy-Misick thinks; save that if that were her position, she would be mistaken.”

The article continues saying “celebrities come and go, but nations are eternal”. This brings us to the reason for this editorial concerning Ms. McCoy’s exploits, which would have no regular interest to the fp.

Rumor had it that during her time with us, she filmed many hours of her life as the wife of our erstwhile Premier, Dr. The Hon. Michael E. Misick, as he then was. The fp does not concern itself with rumor. However, we were provided the script of an interview by Ms. McCoy herself speaking to the question. And what she herself offered concerning “her” show is…well…concerning.

Here are her own words, on the occasion of Designer Sue Wong’s Fashion Party at her Cedars Estate in Hollywood recently: “…I have a new reality show. It is so controversial, we don’t even have a name for it…[its subject matter] is my First Lady journey for [sic} Turks and Caicos”.

Readers can compare the fp’s cautious earlier comments above, about Ms. McCoy, in the context of her own robust commentary. Suffice to say, it is not appropriate for a First Lady (former or otherwise) to invite controversy into or onto the domain over which she presided, in grace, by emptying out the intimacies of her role for the sake of her own expression of a personal “journey”. Being first lady is not like being married to Ike Turner. One cannot reveal, elaborate or exploit experiences derived from it; particularly where the honorific title “First Lady” is a gift granted by the people of a country to the wife of its leader (which in pure Constitutional terms maybe shared with the wife of Her Majesty’s Queen Elizabeth II’s appointed Governor). That lady should not use, commercialize or exploit that experience, particularly where she was not a long-standing citizen of the country in question, and so has no deep social roots in the culture that allows ordinary people to speak for her. Grace Kelly was an “immigrant Princess” to Monaco. It is hard to imagine her writing a book detailing her experience as Princess since the very word, term and title “Princess” (as does First Lady), implies that the experiences do not belong to her alone. They are not hers in such a way, as to exploit or aggrandise for commercialisation.

Clearly, Ms. McCoy’s transition into Turks and Caicos was not always easy. And whilst there are many who charge her with being the poster-girl for Mr. Kanye West’s and Mr. Jamie Fox’s famous song, we have argued differently.

We have said Ms. McCoy did not seek out Turks and Caicos and had no prior experience in politics of which we are aware. One is not born in the role of First Lady, particularly of a 500 year old country, whose story is unfamiliar to most Americans. Secondly, that she was First Lady, and will have that title for the rest of her life, she should be accorded respect, since anything untoward which happens to her, invokes the name of this country of our forefathers, who were people of rugged refinement in manners and morals.

The very notion of a “reality show” calls for the ridiculous, the undignified and in Ms. McCoy’s own words: “controversy” is reason enough for concern. It would be different if Ms. McCoy was opting to do a documentary on the spectacular difficulties of development, its impacts on women and children, which would tie into the messages of “empowerment”, “growth” and “positivity” she so often expresses.

Would it not be consistent, even prudent to sit with the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board and develop a concept that is both interesting to viewers, potential visitors and investors that could prove mutually beneficial to all parties concerned?

No one is saying that she needs hide or even downplay what personal struggles she endured, displayed in a dignified manner, where it teaches us all something about the anomalies of life. Would that not prove more compelling to her constituency and even gain for her a new audience, impatient with the forced spectacle-making of most reality shows?

There are those who say do nothing about Ms. McCoy’s show. They say the people interested her, are not our clientele and cannot generally afford the price of the ticket, much less the room rates in a place where the average rate is US$432.00 per night. But that is rather foolish. What keeps Bentley’s brand going is not the man who can afford to buy it, but the boy who motivates himself by saying “someday I shall be able to buy it”.

There are pitfalls to running a show that’s little more than a scandal-ridden celliolistic screed, infused with gaudy conspicuous consumption, misappropriated as refinement, (not unlike the astoundingly loud, tactless and gauche “Real Housewives of Atlanta”); which, in the end, Turks and Caicos will survive more readily than Ms. McCoy. There are pitfalls in producing a show in the manner Ms. McCoy seems to have conceived it. For Turks and Caicos it will be a season long assault upon our brand and it will certainly bring shame to those who fed obsequiously at the trough of Ms. McCoy’s celebrity.

For Ms. McCoy there are legal questions as to whether she actually can own such a show. Or whether she is liable for US taxes for gifts, cash or any other “income” she obtained during her time here. It also raises the question that if Ms. McCoy had or has a significant Hollywood career, why should she need to use this experience in so commercial a manner?

It can all be so different, and so very beneficial to everyone, if that nebulous, over-repeated notion of positivity was, in the situation, a true guiding light.