Boycott Aruba??

[babyher]

I do not agree with the boycott.

 

I understand the sentiment behind it. It is the outrage over the way the Aruban officials have handled the case. Not that the island of Aruba is a dangerous place or that the people or government of Aruba was in any way responcible for what happened to Natalee.

 

I will be willing to bet that in every city, town, state and country in the world there has been a crime committed where someone feels that the authorities have not handled the case properly. If we boycotted all those places, we probably wouldn't be able to live in our own home towns.

 

Of course my heart goes out to Natalee and her family and I do pray that one day she is found safe, or if God forbid something did happen to her, that the people responcible are caught and punished.

[KAJOKG]

OOOOPS!!! Sorry -- three posts....don't know how that happened and I tried to cancel 2, to no avail. I do feel strongly about the subject, but would never do that!

[Arubalisa]

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.

This is a very valid point. Technically you could go to Aruba and literally only spend a couple of dollars. For a couple of dollars US, take a bus to the beach. I doubt the Aruban government is going to have a surplus in their budget from profits on their bus routes.

 

Please, keep us safe from paradise! By Eric Heyl Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

As he so well said, "Aruba, after all, is chock full of such dangers as tropical, sunny weather.

Travelers there often are accosted by white sand beaches and clear ocean water."

 

Personally, we love Aruba land vacations for what we cannot find on other Caribbean islands: guaranteed weather- less than 20 inches of rain a year, beautiful powder white sand beaches with cystal blue warm waters with no waves, tradewinds (most of the year) to make the heat bearable, and fantastic restaurants in every price range as well as some fantastic resorts. The only other island we have found which compares is Anguilla which is more expensive.

[airlink diva]

I feel there is no need to boycott Aruba. I feel for Natalie's parents, but I'm sorry, the young lady made a grave mistake that any female traveling should know, never leave with someone you don't know!

95% of the time I travel alone. I always use common sense when traveling. Last year I was in Cozumel at one of the more well known bars and sat and chatted with two guys I met in there. When they mentioned a friend was having a party nearby and ask me to join them, I told them no. When they continue, I told them to give me the address and the host name and if I wanted to go later, I would. This back them off. Of course I had no intention of going.

Also, it's sad to say that people becoming missing everyday in the United States. Do that mean that I need to boycott every state? Aruba is a common stop for many of the cruise lines and everyone on the Aruba had no hand on what happen.

Also, I feel that this issue is overexpose on Natalie anyhow. But in the end, I feel no need to boycott. To each his own.

[wishonastar]

I don't like some things that go on in our government on state and federal levels. I think they could be done better. I even think - here we go! - that there may be things covered up by people in high places, protecting friends and co-workers. I am not going to boycott my state or my country because I may not like something that is going on.

 

I'm guessing that somewhere in the world there is a family who has lost a child while visiting the US and feels the US did not do enough to find their child. But I'm just guessing...what do I know?

 

There is no question that Natalee's disappearance is a tragic, tragic event that, unless one has experienced it, one cannot fully comprehend. I am heart broken for the loss of Natalee and the pain her family and friends have experienced...and will continue to bear for the rest of their lives.

 

But this is in no way a reason to boycott a country. The reasoning is flawed. Aruba (yes, I have been there and yes, I am going back) is one of the friendliest and welcoming island of the Carribbean. They want and need the tourism we bring. Their government is not perfect. Not even close.

 

Neither is ours. Let's be careful where we throw stones.

 

I'm stepping off my soap box now...

[HeatherInFlorida]

Katy the reason I responded was that you found fault with what I said. While you didn't address me directly, you did address my post and since I didn't think anyone else had said anything about Natalie being alive, I assumed you meant me when you spoke of "opining about where Natalie is". My mistake and I apologize.

 

You won't get triple posts if you check to be sure your post has made it before reposting.

 

Just so you know, my post about this means no disrespect whatsoever to your opinion. I just react when people insist that their opinion is the only right one. As you can see from this thread, most posters don't see it that way. If I misread your posts, again I apologize.

 

The whole horrible mess is very sad. I'm sure Natalie's mother regrets the day she allowed her daughter to venture to Aruba by herself. That guilt she feels will haunt her forever. My heart breaks for her for a thousand reasons.

 

But again, boycotting Aruba will change nothing. It might make you feel you're doing something about this sad state of affairs and that is your right, but it changes nothing. Natalie is still gone ... alive or dead, she's gone for her mother .... at least at this point in time.

[Cruise or Lose!]

And that would be a matter for the family to handle PRIVATELY with the government of Aruba. All this media attention has been counter-productive, in my view, and has come off as very xenophobic.

[Cruise or Lose!]

Amen, Ruth!

[Cruise or Lose!]

Ignorance abounds. Pardon me if I choose to broaden my horizons and travel to places with whose culture I am not familiar. After all, isn't that what travel is all about?

[Cruise or Lose!]

Time2sail, let's face facts. Natalie Holloway did not deserve to die, that's a given. However, she brought trouble to her doorstep when she went out, got herself properly HAMMERED, and accepted a ride with strangers.

 

Aruba is not at fault here. Poor supervision is.

[KAJOKG]

Time2sail, let's face facts. Natalie Holloway did not deserve to die, that's a given. However, she brought trouble to her doorstep when she went out, got herself properly HAMMERED, and accepted a ride with strangers.

 

Aruba is not at fault here. Poor supervision is.

No, Aruba is not at fault with Natalee's disappearance. But the government is at fault for not wanting to pursue the case against one of their citizens, who signed papers saying he knew the facts of her murder. And blaming the victim for the crime is outrageous. It's like blaming a woman for being raped because she wore something provocative. No one deserves to be harmed by vicious people just for having made a mistake. It's the one who committed the crime at fault, not the victim. I cannot belirve some of what I'm reading here.

Heather -- No need to apologize for expressing your opinion. I may disagree,but I also respect your opinion. I know that you are a good person!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Thanks, Katy! Some of my favorite people are those I disagree with:) . I even tell my husband we can't agree on everything ... and we don't:rolleyes: .

 

As we can see from this thread, this subject is a pot boiler. In the end we're all in agreement on one thing ... terrible things happen to perfectly nice people who maybe make a mistake particularly when they're very young.

 

It's a very hard world to live in right now.

[imsulin2]

I'd like to also state that the "School Board" did not sponsor this senior graduation trip. The arrangements and booking were done privately, and that's where I think many mistakes that could have prevented her disappearance began. When this story first broke here in Alabama, all we heard on the local media was "what a good kid she is, scholarship to U of A"...etc. There was a very short flurry of information about the fact that there was basically no supervision, and the chaperone - to - student ratio was extremely low. That particular subject got dropped in a hurry...as soon as the story got national attention! To my knowledge, none of the "chaperones" have been publicly interviewed, and just a handful of students, who were her "very good friends". My understanding is that there were 4 students to a room. Her "very good friends" didn't bother to report her missing until it was time to leave for the airport the next morning. I think that too much blame has been placed on Aruba in general, rather than the Dutch system under which Aruba is governed. The "main suspect", Joran van der Sloot, is also an affluent student. If you're going to boycott Aruba, you also need to boycott Curacao and Bonaire. Of course, you also need to boycott Dutch St. Maarten, (long a popular cruise ship stop) as it is also governed under the same system! I don't think many of you ever thought of that. You'd also need to boycott the Netherlands. A boycott will do no one any good. I'm certainly not blaming the victim (other than using very bad judgement). I'm blaming the organizers of this trip for doing an extremely poor job. Why do you suppose this group picked Aruba as a destination? (Rather than Cancun, Jamaica, or the D.R?) Because it has always been considered to be very safe! And - it still is! Remember the story of the American girl who was murdered on one of the British Virgin Islands? The three suspects (gasp! Americans!) got off scott-free. So....you might also want to consider boycotting the BVI. (Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke, Norman Island...) And, since this trial was held using the British system of government, you should seriously consider boycotting Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, Barbuda, Nevis, etc. Last but not least, you should also boycott Holland America!

 

Think about it.

[KAJOKG]

I am not advocating a boycott of Aruba. I don't like their system, nor their policies, but choosing not to go to Aruba is a personal thing. And, yes, these islands use the system of the Netherlands....the very, very liberal system of the Netherlands. I would especially advise parents to keep their kids away from any place governed by the Netherlands. Drugs are prevalent, and extremely liberal policies exist. I also agree with another poster that the supervision of these kids was very poor, and perhaps better supervision could have prevented a tragedy. But still, it's the criminals that victimized, not the victim.

[imsulin2]

I am not advocating a boycott of Aruba. I don't like their system, nor their policies, but choosing not to go to Aruba is a personal thing. And, yes, these islands use the system of the Netherlands....the very, very liberal system of the Netherlands. I would especially advise parents to keep their kids away from any place governed by the Netherlands. Drugs are prevalent, and extremely liberal policies exist. I also agree with another poster that the supervision of these kids was very poor, and perhaps better supervision could have prevented a tragedy. But still, it's the criminals that victimized, not the victim.

 

Drugs are prevalent? And you know this...how? Excuse me, but a few years ago I was on a ship that had stopped at Dutch St. Maarten. Two female passengers (with really big hair!) were stopped by port security, where they found small packets of Cocaine stuck all over in their "big hair". The (Dutch) St. Maarten police scooped them off to jail on the spot, while all the time they were squawking about how they wanted to be jailed in St. Thomas instead! (Because Dutch St. Maarten was too harsh, while St. Thomas (U.S., of course) would let them off the hook in a hurry...because they were more liberal!! I will guarantee you that you will find more drugs in St. Thomas than you ever will in Aruba! Guess you are saying that you're advising parents to keep their kids out of St. Maarten, too! Sounds like you have a problem with "liberal" systems! Have you ever read reports of American tourists being robbed in St. Thomas? Have you ever even been to Aruba? TIA for answering these questions.

[spongerob]

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

 

Who said I was joking? The perfect response, which in my own way I was trying to enunciate, is as follows:

 

There is no question that Natalee's disappearance is a tragic, tragic event that, unless one has experienced it, one cannot fully comprehend. I am heart broken for the loss of Natalee and the pain her family and friends have experienced...and will continue to bear for the rest of their lives.

 

But this is in no way a reason to boycott a country. The reasoning is flawed. Aruba (yes, I have been there and yes, I am going back) is one of the friendliest and welcoming island of the Carribbean. They want and need the tourism we bring. Their government is not perfect. Not even close.

 

Neither is ours. Let's be careful where we throw stones.

 

Government officials apparently let the son of an important family get off the hook. In both places. It's just an illustration of how power corrupts, and how the rest of us are victimized as a result. Let's fix the corruption in our own system before demanding others fix theirs.

[imsulin2]

AMEN, spongerob!

 

Interesting to note: Once I mentioned that to boycott Aruba would also involve boycotting Dutch St. Maarten, the potential "boycotters' have virtually disappeared!

[Roadguy]

Boycotts are STUPID!!!

I will be in Aruba in 3 weeks on a cruise.

No shore excursions, I'm gonna spend my day lookin for Natalie.

[JLC@SD]

Afterall we let a killer (OJ) and Pedophile / Child Molester (MJ) go scott free.

 

LOL is overused..... GTM :D (giggle to myself)

[Titan(ic)5.6]

Afterall we let a killer (OJ) and Pedophile / Child Molester (MJ) go scott free.

 

LOL is overused..... GTM :D (giggle to myself)

 

Don't forget we gotta boycott all those huge cruise ports in Florida because that's the state where OJ resides.

[KAJOKG]

Two wrongs don't make a right. I see this thread is about to crash.

[Stevesan]

I see this thread is about to crash.

 

Finally, a sensible statement!

[kryos]

I feel there is no need to boycott Aruba. I feel for Natalie's parents, but I'm sorry, the young lady made a grave mistake that any female traveling should know, never leave with someone you don't know!

Exactly. In this day and age, I wouldn't go off by myself to a "private" function with people I don't know here in the states!

 

Of course, though, the tragedy is that we've all made mistakes in life ... myself included ... and in many cases things turn out okay. The people we meet up with are good, we have a wonderful time with them, and we return safe and sound to our own beds and the end of the evening. But Natalee's luck just ran out ... and she paid for her mistake with her life. It's tragic, but I can't say I would blame the Aruban government for it. I think they did the best they could ... with the resources they had ... and working within their own particular legal system. And, after all ... the U.S. sent down some of their own personnel to help with the investigation and search (I believe FBI) and several volunteer organizations with sophisticated search and rescue capabilities ... and even they came up empty.

 

We here in America often forget how lucky we are. Small islands like Aruba have nothing in the way of what we do to handle a crime such as this. They have very little crime, and thus very little capability for dealing with something as big as this.

 

Seems like Aruba cooperated fully by welcoming all assistance offered to them by the U.S. ... so what more can we ask?

 

May Natalee rest in peace ... wherever she is.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Titan(ic)5.6]

But Natalee's luck just ran out ... and she paid for her mistake with her life.

--rita

 

It hasn't been determined that she isn't still alive. In fact, within the last week, Dr. Phil has publicly stated that he has credible evidence that she is alive.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47209

[HeatherInFlorida]

I mentioned this in an earlier post. My personal belief from the beginning is that she is alive. And I believe that someday ... maybe a very long time from now and maybe not ... she will turn up either on her own or some other way.

 

At this point, with the agony that her family has gone through, there is no happy ending no matter what the outcome.