Boycott Aruba??

[bepsf]

...I'm boycotting Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana because of their poor reaction to the hurricanes.

:rolleyes:

 

 

 

[Time2sail]

The loss and murder of one's child is not to be compared with natural disasters--she was drugged and assaulted before her death by the admission of those involved. I have been in the hurricanes and can accept those; I cannot accept man's depravity.

[bepsf]

The loss and murder of one's child is not to be compared with natural disasters--she was drugged and assaulted before her death by the admission of those involved. I have been in the hurricanes and can accept those; I cannot accept man's depravity.

 

T2S--

My comment was hardly meant to belittle the death of one girl, and I'm sorry if you saw it as such.

It was meant to belittle certain folks who seem more interested in providing tasty "soundbites" than in helping solve the serious problems of thousands...

[arzz]

The majority of people in Aruba have nothing at all to do with the sad disappearance of one unfortunate young woman. Boycotting the island will not bring this individual back and it would create hardship for many others who live there.

 

There has been more than one disappearance of folks from cruise ships, one line in particular recently. Should we boycott cruise ships?

 

I see no point to this concept. If it could do something to return this young woman it would be different. Such a boycott, however, would only harm others.

[arzz]

The majority of people in Aruba have nothing at all to do with the sad disappearance of one unfortunate young woman. Boycotting the island will not bring this individual back and it would create hardship for many others who live there.

 

There has been more than one disappearance of folks from cruise ships, one line in particular recently. Should we boycott cruise ships?

 

I see no point to this concept. If it could do something to return this young woman it would be different. Such a boycott, however, would only harm others.

[jimbug]

I agree with what many have said. If we boycott Aruba, we are not harming the wealthy people in charge of the government. They are not the ones selling tours and trinkets to American (and others) tourists on cruise ships. The warm Aruban people who do interact with tourists had nothing to do with Natalee Holloway's disappearance, and there is no reason why we should attempt to take away some of their income for a mistake their government made. Are any of you involved in tourism in your hometown? (i.e., operate a restaurant, seasonal business, tours, or store?) What if your state governor screwed up, and suddenly no one came to visit your business anymore. It certainly wasn't your fault, and now you are suffering.

 

While the incident was surely tragic, no question about it, it would be silly to boycott Aruba because of it. If you want to show your support for Natalee's family and the ongoing search efforts, then write letters to the Aruban government, write editorial letters in your hometown, notify your Congressman...take it to the people who can do something about it, rather than those who cannot.

[blackbird71]

...I'm boycotting Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana because of their poor reaction to the hurricanes.

:rolleyes:

 

Please add Florida to that list. People in the West Palm area are just now getting electric....

[blackbird71]

I've been to Aruba but won't go back.

 

I LOVE the ABC islands and would go back in a heartbeat..... Different strokes for different folks.

[annebill]

The three young men involved obstructed justice by giving false info to the police and implicating two innocent black men who were imprisoned for a time as a result. That would certainly be a crime in the U.S.A., not to mention the demonstrations, boycots, riots and numerous investigations that would follow. They were not even charged in Aruba. So much for Aruban "justice". Do the ordinary people there not care ? Many of you would happily boycot a city or state in the U.S. that allowed such "justice" in this day and age.

[MrPete]

I agree. Boycott ALABAMA. Why politicize this tragic event?

 

Lessons learned? Everyone has a take away.

 

Fight the real enemy. :eek:

[KAJOKG]

...I'm boycotting Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana because of their poor reaction to the hurricanes.

:rolleyes:

QUOTE]

 

Not funny!

 

We were in Aruba a couple of weeks ago on a cruise. I have to say that I did feel uncomfortable. And the reason for some calling for a boycott is not because of the girl's disappearance, but because of the official's handling of the case. What I really disliked was as soon as Katrina took over the media, the Aruban officials immediately let one guy out of jail,,,he promptly went back to the Netherlands...and they let the other two off the hook. I won't go back there.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I wouldn't allow a "child" of mine under the age of 18 to travel without us anywhere without proper supervision. These were still "kids" in high school. They had no supervision worth mentioning. There's plenty of blame to assign all around. The whole thing from inception until now is a debacle.

 

The people of Aruba depend on tourism for their livelihood ... boycotting Aruba achieves nothing. It's not going to change the investigation or the situation.

 

I'm not sure why everyone has concluded Natalie is dead. Many believe that she is alive and hiding. I wouldn't rule it out. My understanding is many in Aruba believe this. If she ran away she'll stay away. People can hide their entire lives and never be found.

 

The trouble is that everyone wants to find someone to blame for everything that happens. Bad things happen ... they can't always be fixed the way we would hope. We should all focus on taking a little responsibility and stop trying to always find a "bad guy".

[Oceanwench]

My cruise in March on the Volendam will call on Aruba.

I decided long ago, before this call to boycott, that I was not getting off the ship.

Just my own personal feeling about the whole Natalee Holloway debacle.

 

People boycott all sorts of things -- TV shows and movies, Dixie Chicks concerts, Disney World, France -- because they disagree with a certain philosophy. It's their right to do that.

 

It wasn't too long ago that people in here in Palm Beach County were pouring Champagne in the gutter and urging a change from French fries to Freedom fries!

[johnlcruise]

I live in Alabama, and of course, all the local stations showed Gov. Bob Riley and the Twittys asking all "Alabamians" to boycott Aruba. Please allow me to present my argument, which may sound to some like I'm a non-caring, arrogant, unsympathetic individual. Personally, I think the idea is absolutely ridiculous. Many of the people I live near, and work with, have never even been out of the county - let alone the state - and have no idea where Aruba even is - or that it's an island - or that it's a Dutch protectorate - or that it has one of the highest literacy rates of any island in the Caribbean. I've been there and have always enjoyed it. I feel safer in Aruba than I do in St. Thomas! I think that the media here has conveniently overlooked the fact that 140 17-18 year high school graduates went to a foreign country with exactly 7 adult chaperones...high school coaches and their spouses. Most of them had never been out of the U.S. I don't know who booked this trip for them, but I will say up-front: really bad job! The area in Birmingham (Mountain Brook) where Natalee lived is quite affluent (by Alabama standards). "Gee - we can afford to send our kid to an expensive island as a graduation present, so let's do it!" To blame an entire country for the mistakes made by the booker, the parents, the students, poor information, lack of chaperones, lack of scheduled check-in times, lack of supervision, and the expectation that these kids would "behave" themselves is ludicrous. I've booked high school graduation trips before. and have always said up-front that I will not book unless there is one chaperone per five students. I required each student and chaperone to purchase trip insurance. I required a written 2X day check-in schedule before I would give out trip documents. Never had a problem. I'm pretty sure that Gov. Bob Riley has never been to Aruba, and yet he is asking our entire state to boycott it? Baloney! I was so incensed by this report, that I will deliberately - and in defiance - go back to Aruba. Do I feel sorry that Natalee Holloway disappeared? Yes. Do I feel badly for her parents? Yes. However - it's hard for me to feel sorry for the irresponsible behavior portrayed by her "friends" and "chaperones" who didn't bother to notice that she was missing until the morning of the flight back to the U.S. This is my opinion, and I'm sticking to it! I also don't think I need to apologize in advance to anyone who might feel offended by what I've said. Thank you.

 

 

VERY WELL SAID.

What about all the people that go missing here in the Sates everyday.

Do you see the new meida covering that..

I guess Natalee mom has lots of connections back at home to keep this in the news.

[KAJOKG]

My cruise in March on the Volendam will call on Aruba.

I decided long ago, before this call to boycott, that I was not getting off the ship.

Just my own personal feeling about the whole Natalee Holloway debacle.

 

QUOTE]

I knew I liked you, Oceanwench!!!

As for opining about why, when or where Natalee is -- well that's just pure speculation based on absolutely nothing!! Let's not forget that VanderSloot cofessed, in writing, to knowing about the death of the girl, which the officials chose to ignore. And, no, I would not let my HS grad go on an island vacation, but please, let's not imply that's the reason all this happened. There seems to be proof that something was slipped into her drink, which was also ignored. Aruba is not for me.

[KAJOKG]

VERY WELL SAID.

What about all the people that go missing here in the Sates everyday.

Do you see the new meida covering that..

QUOTE]

Yes, absolutely yes!!! Just watch tonight's news. I think there are about 3 being extensively covered by the media right now. As I have said before, it's not just the fact that she went missing, it's the poor way the Aruban officials handled the case by wanting to sweep it under the rug and ignoring it that is so bad.

[Oceanwench]

VERY WELL SAID.

What about all the people that go missing here in the Sates everyday.

Do you see the new meida covering that..

I guess Natalee mom has lots of connections back at home to keep this in the news.

 

First of all, when you talk about the media [i am assuming you meant news media, not new media], are you talking about mainstream media? Print media? Or the more news-as-entertainment media?

 

The news-as-entertainment media seems infatuated with any case of missing or murdered beautiful women. When did this start? I remember back when Jon Benet Ramsey was killed, and it seemed some news shows tackled the story every night. You know the shows I mean: cable news shows with hosts who are no journalists. There is no feeble attempt at impartiality there.

Things went into high gear with hours devoted to Chandra Levy, Laci Peterson, etc. etc.

If there is beauty, money and/or politics, these shows run with the story night after night.

And yes, they do tend to avoid other stories of missing people, stories they deem as not as "sexy" to the viewers.

 

The Natalee Holloway case had the right elements. A beautiful young girl missing. A club where people dance and drink. Three young male suspects.

Ample video of Natalee in dance team outfits ...

 

I don't think Natalee's mother needed any connections to get this story in front of the American people.

 

On the other hand, as a mother of two girls in their 20s, I admire Natalee's mother's tenacity and her search for an answer. If I were in her shoes, I would fight just as hard for justice. I can't imagine the horror of not knowing, of having no closure.

 

I see a lot of people trying to blame the victim here.

Or the victim's mother.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I knew this would turn into an argument. Why can't everyone respect that other people just may disagree and it doesn't make anyone wrong.

 

I think we should do whatever makes us comfortable, but I just hope everyone remembers, if they choose to boycott Aruba, that they are hurting a people with very little money who rely heavily upon tourism in order to live.

 

I completely understand everyone's upset with the Aruban government, but boycotting Aruba is not going to change what happened. It's just going to hurt a lot of people who have done absolutely nothing wrong.

 

Not to get off the ship in Aruba is to (at the very least) miss some magnificent beaches. If you don't want to spend money ... fine. But the fact is we've all spent our money already in port charges. So if you really want to boycott Aruba, don't get on any ship with Aruba as a port.

 

Bill O'Reilly, who I usually admire and respect, has called for the cruiselines to boycott Aruba. If that happens, Aruba will die. I don't want to be responsible for that.

 

Katy, I'm not sure why you're so upset, but the fact is that Natalie may just be alive and wouldn't that be good news? I'm not sure why you're reacting as if I've delivered bad news. There is so much that is not known ... so much that has not been reported. We always have to remember we only know what we are told.

[kryos]

The area in Birmingham (Mountain Brook) where Natalee lived is quite affluent (by Alabama standards). "Gee - we can afford to send our kid to an expensive island as a graduation present, so let's do it!" To blame an entire country for the mistakes made by the booker, the parents, the students, poor information, lack of chaperones, lack of scheduled check-in times, lack of supervision, and the expectation that these kids would "behave" themselves is ludicrous.

Very well said!

 

Of course, I'm a long way beyond Natalee's age ... and I certainly didn't grow up in affluence ... but it would have been a cold day you know where when my parents would have allowed me to go on such a trip ... even if I was the one who saved up the money for it ... without carefully checking out the chaperones, the procedures in place for safety, etc. You don't send what was probably a pretty well sheltered 18 year old on a trip to a foreign country without a reasonable assurance that she will be safe. Frankly, if money is no concern in her family, then Natalee's parents (or at least mother) should have booked on the trip to act as one of the chaperones.

 

This is one of the most tragic situations I have ever heard of ... and the only good that I think will come of it is that more parents will be careful before they allow their teenagers to go on these graduation trips to the islands. What I think a lot of people fail to realize is that while these islands are beautiful, they are in many cases somewhat primitive ... especially in terms of their legal and criminal investigation systems. After all, they are small, and don't have an awful lot of crime. Thus, these systems never evolved and attained the level of sophistication that ours here in the U.S. enjoy. Therefore, when something like this tragedy occurs, they simply do not have the ability to properly deal with it and things do get bungled.

 

I don't see what a boycott of Aruba would accomplish. It would merely punish the people who depend on tourism for their life bread. These are not the same people who hurt Natalee. In fact, they seem to be the same people who did everything to help ... volunteering for search parties, opening their hearts and homes to the media and to Natalee's family, and just basically doing everything they could to help find this poor woman.

 

No, I think a better way to honor Natalee's memory would be to raise awareness about the dangers of sending teenagers off on a class trip without proper supervision, especially when that trip is to a foreign country whose laws and police presence are far different from our own.

 

Blue skies and may Natalee and her parents find peace ...

 

--rita

[spongerob]

I'm boycotting Massachussetts until a thorough investigation of Mary Jo Kopeckni's death while riding with Ted Kennedy is investigated fully and serious questions are answered.

[MrPete]

I think a better way to honor Natalee's memory would be to raise awareness about the dangers of sending teenagers off on a class trip without proper supervision, especially when that trip is to a foreign country whose laws and police presence are far different from our own.

 

I wish this statement would be scrawled continuously of the bottom of the TV news screens when they are talking about this situation.

 

As for Rob's lack of sense of humor, I wonder if he would be making jokes if it was his child that was dead or missing....:confused:

[Arubalisa]

...I'm boycotting Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana because of their poor reaction to the hurricanes.

:rolleyes:

 

 

 

 

Wouldn't it be easier to just boycott FEMA? :rolleyes: Better, yet, why not just send Michael Brown to Aruba and call it a draw? :D

[KAJOKG]

Katy, I'm not sure why you're so upset, but the fact is that Natalie may just be alive and wouldn't that be good news? I'm not sure why you're reacting as if I've delivered bad news. There is so much that is not known ... so much that has not been reported. We always have to remember we only know what we are told.

HEATHER -- I don't recall that I was responding directly to you. I do get annoyed when I see some blaming the victim. And I am squarely behind Natalee's mother. She was close to finding the truth through her spunk and love for her daughter, but was royally foiled by the government of Aruba. Let that government take care of their "primitive" natives! I'll spend my money elsewhere.

[KAJOKG]

Katy, I'm not sure why you're so upset, but the fact is that Natalie may just be alive and wouldn't that be good news? I'm not sure why you're reacting as if I've delivered bad news. There is so much that is not known ... so much that has not been reported. We always have to remember we only know what we are told.

HEATHER -- I don't recall that I was responding directly to you. I do get annoyed when I see some blaming the victim. And I am squarely behind Natalee's mother. She was close to finding the truth through her spunk and love for her daughter, but was royally foiled by the government of Aruba. Let that government take care of their "primitive" natives! I'll spend my money elsewhere.

[KAJOKG]

Katy, I'm not sure why you're so upset, but the fact is that Natalie may just be alive and wouldn't that be good news? I'm not sure why you're reacting as if I've delivered bad news. There is so much that is not known ... so much that has not been reported. We always have to remember we only know what we are told.

HEATHER -- I don't recall that I was responding directly to you. I do get annoyed when I see some blaming the victim. And I am squarely behind Natalee's mother. She was close to finding the truth through her spunk and love for her daughter, but was royally foiled by the government of Aruba. Let that government take care of their "primitive" natives! I'll spend my money elsewhere.