Posted by A BRILAND LOVER on August 15, 2001 at 17:05:28:
In Reply to: Re: Briland's future posted by Colin on August 15, 2001 at 16:19:09:
Briland Girl,
: Excellent comments! This is exactly why I posted what I did. Good point about the Royal Family. I guess our new version are the VERY rich commoners who visit from all over the world now.
: I must protest your remark about my views patriachal. Having lived in East Africa for seven years and visited Briland for 15, I can assure you I view no one as sweet natives. Having watched thousands die during the great famine of 1984-5 and seen the ravages locals and foreigners are capable of everywhere I harbor view illusions about any portion of mankind.
: My concern is that the Bahamas, a unique culture, is being swamped by the U.S. because of the greater ease of access to the Bahamas both by plane and by airwaves. The Bahamas must change, as every place does. I want to hear if people think things are heading in the right direction. If so, great! If not, I hope folks come up with some ideas. Preserving, if possible, some of the things that make Briland fabulous is the goal.
: : 1-The very rich have ALWAYS vacationed on H.I.(hello, the British Royals?) Don't confuse the wealthy with L.A. and Eurotrash $$$. Hollywood has already moved on to the Ts and Cs.
: : 2-People on H.I. have had satellite t.v. for awhile-That isn't so new-It's justAmerican pop culture is getting more and more unappealing daily.Unfortunatly we are infecting everywhere with fast food and big gold jewelry and cel phones. Just wait til you see what we do to what's left of the beautiful island of Cuba. 3-Your comments smack of that patriarchal concept of the sweet kind innocent natives being ruined by us callous, i.e.rich folks! Sure, we want to vacation there on our big fancy disgustingly ostentatious yachts and swim in their beautiful water and give them all our money but HEY! we don't want them to be anything like US! I'm afraid ther is no solution! 4-We have visited H.I. almost every year since 1985 and while there have been changes so far they have remained subtle as far as the attitudes of the Bahamians who we consider our dear friends.The thing that is the most appaling is the boatload of tourists that arrive every day on the fast ferry from Nassau-(who is to blame for that???)Hair-braided,sunburned,neon-colored wearing tourists who walk around or run into each other in golf-carts- They will move on too because fortunatly H.I.seems to have nothing to offer the average day-tripping cruise-boater-Of course, I've never been there at Spring Break-I could be wrong! I fear the hoards of youth that have ruined Mardi Gras and the Jazz festival in New Orleans but at least H.I. is probably o too $$$ for that to be a threat.
: : 5-My suggestion is to keep enjoying Harbour Island until you no longer do! We go back every year and as long as Wayne is still smiling from the dock and Angela is still dispensing wisdom there's no place we'd rather be. Sure the Gangsta' with the gold jewelry and the fancy car and the cel phone zipping around the island took us aback, but he does LIVE there! One day he'll be a grown up too!And to blame rap music is so funny because umm have you ever heard Jamaican music?
ANOTHER LOVER OF BRILAND .......
Colin brings up some very good observations. Many of which I have thought and worried over. In
25 years of visiting Briland many...if not most..of what is best about Briland still exists.
That's the good news...for example, Angelaīs big smile and booming laughter...Alkie Johnsonīs wide
open smile...the impressive Christian character and high sense of values exhibited by many Brilanders (I could list many names starting with
Stanley Johnson and the long list would go on and
on and I would fault many by leaving their names off that list). The people of Briland and their
kindness and friendliness is what makes each and
every visit a wonderful experience.
It would be a shame should these positive qualities begin to be diluted by the qualities of
the American society that are not a source of pride within the American culture. As long as the qualities that make Briland the best place to
be on the planet Earth continue to be taught and
passed on to each new generation, then we are confident that Briland will be a Very Special Place.
The recent emphasis on teaching computer skills to
any interested citizen...child or adult...is a move in the right direction! The emphasis on improved reading skills for the young especially
are excellent examples of progress in the right
direction.
Some things will change. But with good leaders
coming forth like Duke Davis, Robert Arthur and
so on (yes, I am leaving out some important names,
and I apologize)...Briland will continue to be a
special piece of Godīs gift to us!