STT Is Getting An IHOP!

There would be delays but the bottom line is KMart sucks for a reason even in the states.

I don't know about STT, but here on STX, the franchises (McDonalds, Wendys etc) are not the same as in the states. Papa Johns came here last year and is having problems because itsbusiness model just doesn't work here.

On STX we have so many really great restaurants in all price ranges that any franchise is going to have problems. Even getting supplies from an off-island commissary would be tricky.

And remember, each island only has about 50,000 people. That is not a big base.

But yes, I would like to see KMart have some competition, even if their shelves are "fully stocked" either.

Walmart on St. Croix? Well, I am interested in maintaining St. Croix as a CARIBBEAN island. American territory or not, this is not America, and no small business on St. Croix will be able to compete with a monstrosity like Walmart. Why is it that it's a lot of statesiders who are the ones who badly want these chains to set up shop on St. Croix? Like someone said before, if you want all the conveniences of America, why not stay up there? Or at least live in Florida, you'll get the nice weather with all the chain stores you want!

Dear DL,
I think that your belief that it is only statesiders that wish to see large chain stores etc - the "Americanization" of the Islands is erroneous.
Actually, I believe that the majority of the people that wish to conserve the "Caribbean" nature of the islands are those same statesiders.
Many of the indiginous population throng to Kmart after church, consume vast quantities of McDonalds, listen to Stateside music, furnish their homes a la American style and in fact have contributed greatly to the ugly strip mall appearance of much of the island.
Sunny Isle, Barren Spot, Sunshine Mall etc etc look like urban Atlanta, while the resorts that cater to the "Stateside" tourists work hard to retain the Island flavor.
look at SEA and many of the ecological organizations - full of statesiders and very few "locals".
The desire to conserve a dwindling resource and shrinking culture is not evidenced by ear splitting Gangsta Rap and used diapers thrown from passing cars!

The issue of "chain" vs. "mom and pop" is not unique to the VI. It is an on-going theme in small town, rural America as well. When does economy of scale trump locally owned business? For years I was involved with the Kentucky League of Cities and saw this debate during the 80's and 90's. Often, the first step is the HIGHWAY at the edge of town that by-passes the downtown area. Then the franchise restaurants and finally the big box stores. And downtown, as we knew it, is gone.

But nothing can stop this. You might not think it's progress, but it is supply and demand. And often it's the less-well-off who both benefit and suffer.

While living in Louisville, I once complained to a friend that my inner-city neighborhood lacked a hardware store. My friend wisely told me that, when someone thought the area could support such a store, we'd have one. And we did.

All of us are responsible. I have island neighbors who speak of a time when there was no KMart and no large chain grocery stores. But they do not speak of that time with nostalgia or longing. They talk about what was not available, the high price of food and the hardship that ensued. They now shop at KMart and Plaza Extra just as I do. Small business owners look forward to the Office Max opening. Merely the rumor of a Home Depot sets Cruzian hearts aflutter, continentals and bahn here alike.

So, I think it's a balancing act. Encourage investment while preserving your cultural integrity. And it's the same on St. Croix as it is in Vine Grove, Kentucky.

Today is going to be a beautiful day on STX. Outlaws in Paradise are playing this afternoon at Cane Bay and my plan is to sit on the beach, read a book and enjoy the day, the water and the music. But I miss one aspect of Fall in Kentucky, the changing color of the leaves. Oh well.

Just like to say that those of you who say VI is not America.....perhaps you would like America to stop the flow of federal dollars to these islands.....I can't believe just how ignorant some people can be.....I guess that explains why these islands are the way they are.......mayby we should stop the welfare checks from coming too.....
Food stamps??? Nah.....who needs em..........we are not not Americans!!!!!!

Linda I agree with you to an extend. We just took a trip to Ohio. The town we visited was ones in the 50th thriving. Now it is almost like a ghost town. But there is also a revival of small towns happening all over the US. Around here little towns which had only empty store fronts came back with some hart work. The towns and the local banks made it possible for small businesses to move back in and revitalize the towns. It took only 5 years for one small town around here which is about the size of Christianstead. The stores and restaurants are doing well because the people in town make a point to support them. They have all the big chain stores around them, but in town are none. All the businesses are private owned non chain. The small restaurants are always well visited. In Germany in resort towns they have regulations in place so that a building and place of business fits within that architectural design the town desires. It is very pleasing to the eye to visit such towns. Even the MC D looks like a gingerbread house.

I think if done right with foresight chains can fit into the picture of island living. However, as tourism always will be the main economy on island it is important not to loose sight of that and work to save that island charm. That is what will make visitors come back year after year. I bed there are some talented architects on island who could even come up with a redesign for small strip malls. I did see the need for a great breakfast place on STX but I sure hope that it will not be IHOP.

The leaves are not quite changing yet. I am don't know about Kentucky but we had a very wet summer if one likes to call it that. Either it was so hot that you could not go out before 5 Pm or pouring rain. My garden rotted from all the water and we are the garden-state lol.

Iris

Ok....so some of you don't like it.....To %&* bad......

That's lovely. It give such credibility to your opinion. As they say in the Southeast, just before stabbing you in the back, 'bless your heart'.

Marcus, we are politically Americans but not culturally Americans, so yes we are entitled to the federal dollars. Every colonizer is responsible for spending money on its own colonies, it would be immoral if America did not spend money on the U.S. Virgin Islands. I was just expressing my fear that increasing Americanization could one day put the culture in jeopardy.

Jane, there is nothing wrong with commercialization .... to a point. There are strip malls and fast food all over the Caribbean (Kingston, Jamaica has larger "strip malls" than in St. Croix), and people listen to gangsta rap and litter all over the Caribbean as well. I just thought the idea of a WalMart would take it a bit too far.

"...we are politically Americans but not culturally Americans, so yes we are entitled to the federal dollars. Every colonizer is responsible for spending money on its own colonies, it would be immoral if America did not spend money on the U.S. Virgin Islands."

Hi DL.

Your sentiment is problematic for me on a number of levels but in order to consider your remark as fairly as possible, I would very much like to know what you think constitutes "American culture" that is absent in the culture here.

I think it is obvious that the USVI is not culturally American. The accent, food, customs, traditions, history and mindset are predominantly derived from West Indian culture, not American! I am not saying there aren't American cultural influences, because every Caribbean island has such influences from their current and/or former colonizer. We are only "American" by what it says on our passports - in other words we are politically American. But because of this political affiliation, we grow up hearing all kinds of rhetoric about how we're Americans and whatnot, which is all based on modern-day colonialism where the colonizer tries to impose their ideals on the colonized and transform the colonized into thinking like the colonizer. Often times, when young people like myself actually step foot in America to either migrate or attend universities, we realize that we truly aren't really Americans, and the whole American thing is just something that's "on paper." This doesn't necessarily always happen when we migrate, as some people are intelligent enough to realize that we aren't really Americans before they even leave the island.

Also, most Americans, including those who are aware we're a US territory, don't even consider us Americans!

I've traveled throughout the Caribbean, and it is countries like Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua, etc.. who we share the most cultural similarities with. We are not culturally Americans, the Black population in the USVI are not "African Americans" and these are obvious facts.

Well said DL! What you stated about young virgin islanders experience of going to the mainland is true on so many levels. My niece recently graduated and went away to college; she speaks to me often about the cultural differences of American culture and West Indian culture . I also do not identify as an African American. West Indian culture is not African American culture. The fact is that political borders makes us American citizens but does not define our culture as American culture.

DL,

It has been my experience that naturalized U.S. citizens are passionately American. They may have been reared as citizens of other countries but once they become American they identify culturally with America. They may retain favorite celebrations, foods, traditions, an accent and knowledge of the history of the land of their birth but they also embrace the celebrations, foods, and traditions of the U.S. I don't think USVI young adults feel unwelcome in the states when they embrace their citizenship as a privilege they are honored to have.

The fact that the mainland may not feel like home to young adults from the USVI is not surprising as every young adult who leaves home inevitably finds that no place else seems like home. Most folks who move from the states to the USVI don't feel any more welcome than folks who move from the USVI to the states. The discomfort, however, is not a matter of skin color or culture but of change; it can be equally disconcerting to move from Key West to New York City.

To suggest a distinction between "African Americans" and "West Indians" negates their shared history as descendants of individuals sold by black Africans to white slave traders. The U.S. did not colonize the USVI; you'd have to look much farther back in USVI history to successfully promulgate a colonization argument. I don't deny that there are uniquely Caribbean traditions but I don't think those traditions are so weak as to be threatened or diminished by embracing other traditions as well. Ultimately, everyone chooses how they present themselves and how they perceive their world and if an individual who enjoys the privileges of U.S. citizenship feels disenfranchised, the problem is likely with their attitude.

My God --I have been working for the last 4 hours researching the USVI. You people on this IHOP thread need to get a life. Is living on the islands really this boring??

kjb,

Living in a small, multi-cultural community in a U.S. territory over a thousand miles from the mainland is so interesting that we regularly discuss issue of race, health, wealth and the like with each other, just as we have done on this thread. I'm sorry our concerns bore you but we aren't discussing these issues for entertainment purposes.

Dntw8up,

We are not naturalized U.S. citizens, so your explanation does not apply to the people of the USVI. We were given citizenship by the U.S. government. The reason USVIers wanted U.S. citizenship after the 1917 purchase was to enhance the economic and social development of the islands in the 1920s.

The U.S. did colonize the USVI. The United Nations considers us, along with Puerto Rico and the British owned islands, to be colonies. They are not the original successful colonizers (the Danish) but yes, the U.S. did colonize the USVI. What do you think it means to buy a group of islands from another colonial power and impose a naval repressive regime for 14 years before we could gain any semblance of self-government? What do you think it means when the U.S. government only considers the USVI as a playground for wealthy American tourists and snowbirds while the local population suffers from a high rate of poverty, unemployment, and high prices due to importation and a lack of agricultural growth. Yes, I know the USVI local government has contributed to this, but the gears were set in motion by the U.S. and the USVI government leaders themselves are brainwashed and under the influence of the feds. The U.S. wouldn't care if we just became a permanent welfare state and it is up to the future generations to reverse this.

Being a U.S. colony is tricky for us, we get all these benefits, so people may be under the impression that we are okay. But when you look at it, the U.S. is giving us these benefits so that they can maintain the colonial status quo without us complaining. This system of simultaneously robbing us of our sovereignty while giving us financial benefits to keep us at bay is blinding us and we cannot move forward as a people in control of our destiny if we are a welfare state living off of Big Daddy America!

Well well. A thread about IHOP coming here segues into "culture" and all else.

But, to address something which has been brought up in this thread, I think I may have related this story quite a while back which references the term "Afro-American" but which continues to be relevant and continues to crop up.

I am white and I was born and raised in England. I left England when I was 22 years old, lived in Connecticut for 17 years and have lived on STT for 22 years now so am getting to the point where the Virgin Islands has been my home for the longest period of my life thus far.

But to get to the point, I accepted the "Afro-American" designation as a sort of "given" for many years without it in any way either bothering me or questioning it. I knew over time that "Negro" had become a dirty word in the U.S. and was superceded by "black" which segued into "Afro-American." None of it really hit home and wasn't an issue with me but then my nephew came back to visit me about five years ago.

He had visited me here as a 15 year old and returned as a 25 year old. We were sitting one night discussing the world in general and I said to him, "Jez, I've been away from England for so long now and have forgotten a few things. What do we call black people in England?"

His response took only a few seconds. "Well, they're English, aren't they?" he said.

The United States government has perpetuated and continues to perpetuate chasms based on race and gender which has filtered down to the Virgin Islands which has always been a melting pot of cultures and nationalities which until fairly recently (in historical terms) was never a problem.

It's all too sad and too bad.

I recently read two books, back to back and totally serenditipously at that. For some reason I happened to pick up both of them at the same time and put them aside. I can only assume that some outside force guided me as the two books just "fit together" so incredibly.

"Having Our Say" by the Delany Sisters was written after their first 100 years on this earth and is a gem to say the least. It was published by Dell, a division of Bantam Press in NYC.

James McBride's book, "The Color of Water" is a black man's tribute to his white mother. Copyrighted in 1996, it was published by Riverhead Books, a division of Penguin Putman Inc. of NYC.

So, that's it for now! Cheers to all,

PS: Note that the STT get-together has been parlayed for a month which I hope will better suit!

DL,

I know Virgin Islanders were not naturalized U.S. citizens. I was making the point that lots of people from other cultures become American and manage to embrace American culture without sacrificing the culture from their place of birth. You suggest that folks in the USVI must be one or the other, American or West Indian, and that most fall squarely on the side of West Indian and I am saying that two different cultures can be embraced, can exist side by side without either being diminished.

A naval repressive regime for 14 years? You and I see things very differently. European whites came here, decided the area would be suitable for cane and procured slaves to do the work. Since only tribal populations like Carib and Arawak were here before white Europeans, whites were here before those West Indians who are descendants of slaves. In fact, unless one is wholly Carib or Arawak, we are all products of ancestors who were not indigenous to this area.

The USVI as a playground for wealthy American tourists and snowbirds? The USVI is a vacation spot for middle class Americans. The wealthy have more exclusive places to vacation. Plenty of vacation spots exist in the states as well and while tourism has its frustrating aspects, it is an asset for most communities most of the time. Tourism is an industry like any other, with harmful and beneficial effects. I know of no industry that is only beneficial and there is nothing demeaning or dehumanizing about tourism.

Poverty, unemployment, and high prices due to importation and a lack of agricultural growth? Agriculture, or the lack thereof, is not the reason for our social ills. The vast majority of the U.S. populace lives in non-agricultural seaboard locations to which they import what they need. Our problems with poverty and crime are due to local government corruption. Everyone has a friend or family member that in some way benefits from corruption and nobody is willing to turn in friends or family in an effort to stop corruption.

Corruption of the sort that exists in the USVI government was not brought here by the U.S. Most governments in the U.S. that govern an equivalent number of people are solvent and fair. The feds have not "brainwashed" USVI government leaders and I hope local leaders aren't brainwashing young islanders by spouting failed sociological ideologies as a remedy for what ails the islands. You accuse the U.S. government of robbing us of our sovereignty but these islands haven't been sovereign since indigenous Indians controlled them and they are too small for self-sufficiency to be a realistic goal today.

Doesn't this all revert to education, education, education?

We can all pontificate ad nausea where the past is concerned but none of this pontification really registers a damn.

As long as the children of the Virgin Islands are denied a proper education via the public school system, we look forward to yet another generation of children barely graduating.

We have 16 year olds scraping into 10th grade with no clue about what they might want to do when they eventually graduate, If they're in non-accredited schools (has anyone on this forum been following this issue?) their chances are zero unless they do the GED sideline. And how does THAT segue?

As the woird turns.

Please go and live on the Islands and then tell us that this thread is irrelevant and boring. You obviously need to do a lot more research before you are ready, Grasshopper.

If its so boring.......WHY ARE YOU READING IT!!!!!???????????
Jane, you are so right......he does need to do a bot more research.....