Re: When
Posted by:
pat
(---.dsl.wlfrct.sbcglobal.net)
Date: March 09, 2010 05:53PM
With all due respect, Recent Return, since this post, much like the original one you're referencing, seems to be purely in the interest of being contentions and slamming the island, that probably has a lot to do with why your original post was removed by the moderators.
As others have already noted, there is crime everywhere and if you compare SXM to many of the other Caribbean islands, it's no worse than some and much better than most, and at best it's at least on par with the Caribbean as a whole.
It's not the island of 35 years ago for sure, but given it's location and the problems it has to deal with regarding illegal alien entries and drug trafficing, not to mention two cultures of two countries trying to coexist in dire economic times when they're all fighting for the same tourist dollars, it's surprising things aren't even worse than they are, IMO. I don't know about where you live but I'm in a state that does see an awful lot of tourism and I know for a fact crime is up all over our state, and probably for many of the same reasons I've already mentioned with regard to SXM.
The US and BVI's are all experiencing problems; we read of the murders of honeymooning tourists in Antigua a while back and we're probably all well aware of the stories of things that happen on Jamaica, whether these stories are deserved or not. Puerto Rico is rampant with crimes of all sorts, or so the State Department has noted, and I think we've all heard the name Natalie in this context in the not too distant past.
So yes, SXM has been having it's problems but no more and no less than these other destinations. And truth be known, not much more or less than areas right here at home.
I don't know when you last went or how long you've been going or even how long it's been between your trips, but I do know I've been visiting St. Maarten/St. Martin since 1973 at least once every year and I've never been a victim of any crime that surpasses the level of my rental car being broken into.
As far as being dirty, yes, the island could certainly try a little harder in taking care of the trash issues, and unlike many, I'm more inclined to believe that most of the trash that gathers on many of the beaches has more to do with islanders than it does with visitors, not that we're totally blameless either.
We watch every April and see the campers on Mullet Bay come and party down and then leave, having left so much of their trash and debris behind them that it about breaks my heart, and they're not even willing to walk it across the parking lot to place it in the trash dumpster there, so while I'm sure we visitors have to do our own mea culpas regarding this, I'm not ready to concede we're the worse offenders on this matter.
As far as the moderating goes, I'm all for it. This is a civil board where civil and reasonable people can have their questions asked and answered. But when they're posted in a manner such as your original post was, I won't be at all surprised to see the moderators do their job, eliminating all of our posts as they feel necessary, in the name of trying to keep this a reasonable forum.
Respectfully,
pat
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/2010 05:54PM by pat.
