tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089785680144928412.post4284080189595648315..comments2023-09-26T20:17:48.872+10:00Comments on Saipan Saipanuvian Speaks: Sour Grapes for Tuesday, August 14thBruce A. Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03804747424525560858noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089785680144928412.post-55109341742464880312007-08-15T13:13:00.000+10:002007-08-15T13:13:00.000+10:00Me too, Jeff. I love it here, all the negative hy...Me too, Jeff. I love it here, all the negative hype to the contrary notwithstanding.<BR/><BR/>I, and a few others, would like to see this place go all the way and declare it's Independence. Chances? Zero. But it's fun to hypothecate.<BR/><BR/>Either way, I have moved here for good. I'll stay until they scatter my ashes.Bruce A. Batemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03804747424525560858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089785680144928412.post-64634581531239227802007-08-15T09:15:00.000+10:002007-08-15T09:15:00.000+10:00I thought you were talking about us liberals. If t...I thought you were talking about us liberals. If the good doesn't outweigh the bad, I don't know why they would stay. It still does for me, despite my critical nature.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16129588857193564261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089785680144928412.post-65231424850198625942007-08-15T09:00:00.000+10:002007-08-15T09:00:00.000+10:00You're right Boni. "Developing" the north half of...You're right Boni. "Developing" the north half of Saipan, paving it over and inducing urban sprawl there will only detract from our tourist revenue. Parks, cultural activities and like projects will enhance tourist traffic....and make Saipan a better place to live as well.<BR/><BR/>Jeff: For the group I was talking about, the comment is not 'off'. These particular folks I was having a discussion with the other evening could care less about the human rights issues you bring up in your post, or in our conversations. I know that you are not opposed to cultural diversity or self governance nor is the group of bloggers, divers etc, but I assure you the folks I was talking with over at Bobby Cadillacs the other evening are.<BR/><BR/>As my column indicated I had been puzzled over some period of time as to why they were so vehement in their hatred of things local, and I finally was able to recognize the real basis of their arguments and it sure looks to me like they want good old comfy America right here in Pacific Asia. The sneers on their faces as we discussed local people and their right to self governance gave away the underlying hatred as did their words.<BR/><BR/>As to trusting local government or Federal government...I 'trust' neither, but I think local has a better chance of being receptive to local needs and can be counted on to be more flexible. As to believing that the US will keep our power on, or be effective in what they accomplish, I need only point out the pathetic track record they have in immigration/labor relations/foreign exploitation etc right in their own back yard. <BR/><BR/>You err when you think the US cares about this rock...they will use it as self interest (or revenge, or greed) dictates and will cast us off like an used kleenex when it does not.<BR/><BR/>I'm not claiming that all mainlanders share this anti-diversity, 'fear of others' belief, far from it, but there are some, no quite a few, of them who do. They feel threatened and they feel jealous that some locals have succeeded in improving their lot.<BR/><BR/>This post is getting too long, so I'll close, but I ask you to try to identify this strange mixture in those you talk with. You won't find it often, but it is abhorant when you do. It was for me the other evening when I ran accross it. Hate glared out of their eyes.Bruce A. Batemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03804747424525560858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089785680144928412.post-23383724526187038032007-08-14T22:25:00.000+10:002007-08-14T22:25:00.000+10:00Bruce, my man, this comment is especially off:In a...Bruce, my man, this comment is especially off:<BR/><BR/>In a lengthy conversation the other night with a group of these individuals it came to me that some of them don’t really like the CNMI. Their arguments weren’t for federal takeover as much as they were against local governance. They don’t like the cultural diversity here; they want the ‘stability’ that a one-size-fits-all set of laws imposes on them. It makes them comfortable. In short, they don’t want to see the CNMI continue, they want this to be America.<BR/><BR/>Bruce, they think the wages are exploitative, and that's about it. They feel bad for people with American children trapped here on $3.05 and now $3.55. They've read the garment factory horror stories, and others, and they don't trust this government, which can't keep the power on, to do much of anything right. I don't particularly trust this government to be effective on anything. That is their track record, sorry. <BR/><BR/>I loathe with every fiber in my being the Bush Administration and everything it has done. That doesn't mean I dislike America.<BR/><BR/>Anyone who doesn't like it here tends to leave. I've seen lots of them. <BR/><BR/>I also don't have a clue where you get the, they hate cultural diversity thing from. I really don't.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16129588857193564261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089785680144928412.post-11252553424107500792007-08-14T21:36:00.000+10:002007-08-14T21:36:00.000+10:00I appreciate your comments about heritage tourism....I appreciate your comments about heritage tourism. Like many others I wish we could just accentuate what's good and beautiful about the CNMI, these things draw tourists. Why turn an island into some urban boonies?Bonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15228259965485925558noreply@blogger.com