Racial Bias?

Yes. Yes. Not really...and one would think so, wouldn't one.

I agree with Jane - I also think the people of the islands see so many come and go that there is little respect for the fact that may be your permanent home - you may have to prove yourself.

In my opinion? I've said this before - I've seen mainlanders move to the islands and treat the locals as if they are inferior or are simply on island for their personal amusement. That would piss anyone off....and I suspect it wouldn't matter if some of those people were purple - rude is rude, no matter the skin tone. Because you aren't a bahn there, don't show disrespect of any kind - you're going to be the outsider for a long time. Get used to it.

It's hard to feel empowered when the government is just a cluster...........well, whatever.....the politicians aren't meeting their own population's needs any more than the newcomer's needs......and the local populace realizes that as well. Much has been said about the new governor and his constituents - hopefully he will be the beginning of the wave of change for the islands in many, many regards.

absoulty that is why I left the island. It is very hard to be white and live in the USVI. I also found it strange that the "locals" from other islands I have traveled to ( Aruba, Turks, St. Barts, St.Maarten) are so nice to the tourists and in the VI they are not. Does anyone in the VI realize the island relies on tourism and people can go to other islands? For instance take a cab from any other island and then take one on St. Thomas/ St. John you will see the difference. Or go to the grocery store and be ignored or cut in front of. It is sad but living in the VI can be quite a challenge.

I think what newcomers and tourists see as racism may just be a different culture. I too thought people were racist or just incredibly rude when I first came and sure there are racist people (more then a few really) here. But I started to notice how locals treated each other and how they behaved in restaurants, shopping, etc... Where we tend to go out and interact with people most often is in a business setting. You may be shopping but that is a business. The USVI IMHO has little to no concept of customer service. So they are not going to be friendly to you the first second or third time they see you. You REALLY have to make a effort to be friendly and GET TO KNOW THEM. If you plan on going to the same grocery store, get to know a couple of the check out girls in more then just a hi bye relationship. Treat people like real human beings and they usually will respond. In a causal setting it is much easier to talk to people and you will experience less of the standoffishness that I think most newbies refer to as rudeness/racism.

Customer service is essentially alot of fake politeness,warmth, etc and that concept has never really been taught here. Mainlanders expect it and many have a bad reaction when they don't find it here. The longer I live here the more embarrassed I am by tourists' angry outbursts to what they feel is poor service. When I go stateside, while I do love the great service I get there, I am shocked now by how incredibly badly most people behave. There is always someone asking for a supervisor/manager in a effort to get something free for a extremely minor infraction or no infraction at all.

I'm usually thrown off when people say how warm the people are in the islands when they first come, but I guess it is simply because I did not have that experience, nor did any of the other people I know. But they may have simply been more outgoing then I was. But overtime I have become accepted and have made friends.

All that being said I do think there is racism here but I grew up being a minority and it doesn't really bother me all that much. There are stupid people everywhere.

JLee: Precisely how much time have you ever spent in the USVI on an extended basis (and how long was that?) This is my home and of course I don't like it being tarred and feathered by anyone who hasn't spent a considerable amount of time here. You are of course entitled to voice your own perceptions but is there not the possibility that YOUR attitude has contributed to those negative perceptions?

Of course, there are racists in the VI of all colors. There is a significant number of "black" people who blame all there ills, perceived and real, on "white" people in the belief that all "white" people bear a sort of collective guilt or responsibility.
There is a significany number of Hispanics, who despise "black" people as ignorant and coarse and responsible for all crime. There is a significant number of "white" people who fear, loathe and despise "black" people and "hispanics" for various reasons.
There is a very significant number of "black" people who absolutely despise "dominicanos" as lower than them etc etc. "Born here's" despise "Downislander" ad nauseam.
It is real and it just a compressed version of everywhere else in the world. Less hidden than some places.
It is all part of the phenomenom of living on a small island that tends to be rather inward looking. I do think that some "acting out" occurs to redress a perceived powerlessness. The LG's office in C'sted for example. The little cashier there can be a trial on occasion - but that said, others there can be supremely helpful.
Just don't move there expecting a bloody rainbow coalition.

St Croix, especially, does not perceive itself as being "dependent" on tourism yet - therefore very little emphasis is placed on customer service. That irks the snot out of some people - myself included - and does not bother others.

"When I have traveled to the islands, which has been quite often, I get the distinct feeling that many West Indians would be pleased to have all Caucasians go back to the mainland. Do you think this is a fair assumption?"

No.

"Is it based largely on economics, such as increases in property and real estate values because mainlanders and land developers have purchased so much of the land, leaving the West Indians with expensive and less desirable choices? Or do you feel it is more of a social bias?"

Neither. My family and I live here and do not share your perceptions. Perhaps your perceptions are a reflection of your own insecurities.

"I have seen many more West Indians being rude to whites than vice versa. Perhaps because of my whiteness I am unable to accurately perceive their reality, i.e. having to put up with such high living expenses because of tourists and travelers like myself. It seems that because all: police, legislators, politicians are black that they would not feel dispossessed but feel empowered."

What you perceive as rudeneness, most of us who live here perceive as cultural differences. When one adapts to West Indian cultural practices, one tends to find less of what you're calling rudeness. West Indians do feel empowered because they hold the vast majority of the local economic and political power.

It has been my experience that among my acquaintances who have reloacted here, women are generally more comfortable here than men. Women are accustomed to gender discrimination in the states so racial and cultural differences don't phase them. White men who relocate here from the states still enjoy gender privilege but generally have a much more difficult time adjusting to the fact that their whiteness doesn't confer the racial and class privileges to which they are acustomed.

To clarify my point against dnt'ies - it is just like everywhere else in the world - there are nice people and there are nasty people. There are evolved thinkers and there are less evolved thinkers of all races. One can give them the weight and meaning in your personal life that you choose to. I do stand by my point that it is a little more "hot housed " due to the more isolated island culture - both local and transplant.
One important thing to keep sight of is...X may not be racist, they may just not like you. They may not be racist, you might just be an arsehole....etc, etc.

One thing my husband is really good at and I strive to be more like him is that he tries to give everyone he meets the benefit of the doubt. Don't go looking for racism and you may never find it.

JLee, I think that Jane made some good points concerning this issue. The issue of racism is certainly everywhere including the VI. However, it is not isolated to West Indians vs Caucasians. I am sure that in some instances your experiences have been real and in others cases it may have been perceived racism based on your perception. I think for the most part, whether real or perceived, it is important how you choose to deal with the situation.

Best,
Johnnycake

Interesting post,

I thought ethnic relations on the island were fairly interesting myself, especially since my specialization is Race and Ethnicity... actually I find the "realness" of how people act QUITE refreshing in an odd way. Not everyone liked me the couple of times I visited and they let me know in sometimes not so subtle ways. But frankly, thats much easier to deal with than thinking everyone is my friend and they actually can't stand me.

*"Perhaps because of my whiteness I am unable to accurately perceive their reality"**

The concept (and reality) of white privilege is interesting - you may find it an interesting thing to look up and think about. That's all I will say on that because I could bore you with a lecture, but I have enough papers to write lol.

Short story though---

I first went to STJ with my study abroad class from MSU. I was HORRIFIED with the way the majority of the white people in my group acted. Seriously, treating (nonwhite) people from the island with complete disrespect and acting like people were A) stupid and B) rapists, murderers & thiefs. Maybe I'm hyper sensitive to the subject because it's my academic passion- maybe I'm sensitive because I'm a minority... either way it was interesting. To make a random analogy it's like not thinking you have dandruff until you scratch your head over a piece of dark paper... likewise you don't know your own feelings towards other ethnicities until you experience them in a completly diff setting than what your used to.

I went through a weird reverse culture shock when I found myself immersed in the Latin culture it was like "oh this is how it feels when no one understands you because you speak a diff. language." i felt frustrated, humiliated, stupid you name it I prob felt it. But I got a new understanding of how it feels to be... different -in a whole new way. Esp. as Americans we expect the whole world to cater to our language needs... cultural expectations... etc...

whew sorry went off on a tangent- I guess what I'm saying to you JLee is, dude- shed your skin, feel some pain, at some moment hopefully you'll get that epiphany and go woa I'm new, I'm in a different culture, and I may have to re-evaluate the "norms" I was accustomed to... Look at it like this - when you're in a diff culture they're not backwards - you are.

For many months after I moved here I encountered quite a bit of rude/negative/hostile treatment from strangers whose skin color was different from mine. I started avoiding certain places and situations.

After many months, those issues seemed to go away. Perhaps it was my attitude that changed, perhaps it was a change in my perceptions/misperceptions, or perhaps it was because I stopped driving a car that had prominent rental car stickers plastered all over the back windshield, LOL...

Probably some combination of all of these things.

Big deal!!

Nobody likes me anyway. Black, white and otherwise. But I'll still be coming on vacation.

One of the reasons we like STX so much is that we have found the people, all of the people to be very friendly. So far with only 18 weeks on island in 7 trips. we have not encountered one rude person. Yes some of the customer service has lacked in what we were used to.
Twice in line at the store, we have encountered West Indian ladies that insisted that we go ahead of them because we only had a couple of items. We have also done the same as well.

I met a West indian guy at the battery shop last month, and we started talking cars. he invited me to come over to his house to look at the two project cars he was working on. Same-o same-o as here in the states.

The drivers are much more polite thenin AZ or especially CA. It take me a few days being back home to get back in the aggressive mode of driving.

I find myself being a little more polite than here in AZ. i always try to remember to say Good Morning - Good Afternoon - Good Night, and everyone seems to take that as I want to fit in.

Maybe we have just been lucky. We go to the bank, store, movies, restruants, fast foods, auto parts, K-Mart , and other shopping. The taxi drivers have always been friendly as well.

I think that the people there are much more friendly than the people in Hawaii. probably the only friendlier people we have ever encoundered were the native Fijian's.

I think that as whites we hardly ever encounter racisim, and in most cases we are the majority. On the island we are not the majority, and that in it's self may make people feel out of place or uncomfortable.

i think of you treat people the way you would like to be treated, they will do the same.

Terry, we have both said so much on this issue before that I wont go into a long spiel, except to say that i completely agree with you. We have had nothing but fair, courteous treatment from just about everyone we have encountered, and the only truly *rude* person I have met is a white, snooty woman who always sticks her nose up at me because she was a guest when I was a front desk clerk back at the Cormorant.

Good post MSU grad ! My background is in cross-cultural psychology. The concept of white privilege is interesting. Anyway, I had a similar experience of culture shock when I lived in Japan. It really opened my eyes to how we filter most of our experiences through cultural lens.

My experience is much the same as Terry and Beth. We are polite and respectful and that's pretty much what we get back.

I will say there is a certain amount of "testing", especially at work. People want to know if you are really here or just passing through. I think this happens to continentals of all races, and not so much with down-islanders.

I agree with Betty it is not racial bias just a different culture and mind set. In the West Indian culture there is no understanding of "customer service" OR "public servants/civil servants" The mind set is one of: I am offering this service/product for which I am going to receive a monetary amount - however it is the understanding that I am doing the public/customer a favor and you should be respectful and grateful.