Dear Source:
Ms. Jane Blake Moore has obviously had a field day dissecting my letter at length. Her contributions to her own community are most commendable and I certainly agree with her basic philosophy about effecting change. However, in her effort to disparage my point of view she erroneously assumes that (a) I wrote out of anger that my car was towed and (b) that I have done nothing for my community except sit back and complain, etc. etc. All those assumptions are totally incorrect.
Ms. Blake Moore is entitled to her outside opinion but I beg to strongly disagree with her on all her contrarian points, which seem to be based upon her own small community rather than any knowledge of what goes on in the U.S. Virgin Islands. I also find it interesting that she notes, "There are families in the Virgin Islands…(who) have been in the Virgin Islands since the 1300s." Maybe that was a typographical error? A history lesson is in order! Ms. Blake-Moore would be well advised to speak less hastily about either a community or its inhabitants until she has some first-hand experience, which, in this case, she obviously is severely lacking.
Mr. Torres, has it occurred to you to question why "statesiders" even think to ask you about crime in the U.S. Virgin Islands, such a tiny little dot under the U.S. flag? Crimes against tourists are few and far between I and both I and countless others continually try to assuage such fears. You were born here, have family here, live on the mainland and frequently visit. That doesn't make you someone who goes through day-to-day life here!
Crime here – and the handling of criminal acts – is a most pressing issue to those of us going about our daily lives, and this is borne out particularly in this election year when crime issues are at the top of the agenda in the political forum, closely followed by "education" in second place.
Anna Clarke
St. Thomas
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