This is to the sanctimonious island idiot know-it-all who says he "flies there regularly" to St. Croix & St. Thomas. Well, I LIVED THERE (both islands) for 3 years in the early 80s & the place was an overcrowded, polluted, over-run by tourists, bastion of local punks & Rastas looking to give whitey a hard time.
First of all Bill, as tempting as it might be to stoop to your level with the insults I will resist that urge because you aren't worth the effort. I guess you figured why come up with a coherent argument when an insult will work just as well. You say you lived on both islands 20+ years ago yet you consider yourself a current authority on life in the Virgin Islands. The world has changed quite a bit since you were there but I suspect with all your pent-up rage you wouldn't notice that.
I guess you're feeling pretty brave to give the forum your real name and email address...well good for you. I hope you don't mind but I will pass on your invitation to write you personally...maybe others on the forum may want to hear what you have to say.
I have served in the Armed Forces for over two decades and currently serve in the National Guard where my pilot duties have me flying military aircraft in and around the U.S. Virgin Islands EVERY MONTH so my observations about the people and life over there are fairly current and, I believe, accurate. Over the years I have served in combat and several major military operations around the world and would hold my resume up against yours any day of the week. I take nothing away from what you are doing in Africa...those type of flying services are needed over there and I commend anyone who does work in that part of the world. However, you don't have a monopoly on flying experience into Africa..as a member of the U.S. armed forces I have flown humanitarian missions over there as well as five of the seven continents in the world so get off your high horse because you are preaching to the choir.
If there was anything about my previous post that got you so angry then why don't you address that and stop your childish tirade. I took someone to task for making derogatory comments and broad generalizations about the people who live in the USVI and provided a little insight about the islands and their place in the world. I never claimed to be a "know-it-all" and was strictly expressing my opinion..which others on the forum obviously agreed with. So if that makes me "sanctimonious" then I am guilty as charged!
I had to rescue a pilot friend of mine from being beaten by two local punks one night at 2am. When they saw the fight was going to be even they ran their coward punk asses off.
If you had a bad experience over there does that now mean every Virgin Islander is bad? Do you mean that for the 3 years you lived there no single person made a positive impression on you? You had no friends who were Virgin Islanders and were you completely miserable for the entire time there because everyone around you didn't conform to how you wanted them to exist. If you answered "yes" to any of those questions then you might want to hold a mirror up to your face and take a good look at yourself. You might actually be the problem..because if the USVI is as bad as you claim it is then tourism would have died on that island a long time ago. But with the number of cruise ships docking there daily, and flights from the U.S. and other countries packed with tourists, someone (besides you) obviously thinks making a trip to USVI equals having a nice vacation and a good time. If life was so bad for you then you should have pulled chocks and moved after the first few months living there...we all make choices in life so you obviously made the decision to stay.
YOU PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE SPEWING OUT YOUR CAKE HOLES. Just because people state what they REALLY MEAN & REALLY EXPERIENCED is no reason to say they are arrogant or racist or bigots.
You need to GROW UP & realize the world is no Cheery place anymore. That blacks are just as racist as whites. That there are RATHOLES WHERE RATS LIVE AND TWO OF THOSE PLACES ARE ST. THOMAS AND ST. CROIX!
Go back and read your words again and see how ridiculous you sound. The USVI population are now reduced to rats and people are supposed to take your post seriously. I don't know you but you seem really judgemental and quite full of yourself. I don't know if you are looking for some kind of medal or award because you fly airplanes in a developing country. But I sense a lot of contempt in your words for people of color and anyone reading your post, Black or White, might have a suspicion or draw the conclusion that you do what you do in that region of the world because you have to, and not because you want to. Whether you realize it or not, there is a lot of contempt in your words when talking about Black people so I question your desire to be in that part of the world because you are trying to make a difference for someone less fortunate than yourself. This forum started as a fact-finding mission about Seabourne Airlines and I still stand by my claim that its a good company to work for and flying in and around the USVI and Caribbean can be a career or a fun and exciting stepping-stone to move on to other flying jobs in the future.
Anyway my man, fly safe and keep doing what you are doing...
