Fantastic Plastic People
Jimmy Cliff has always been one of my favorite reggae artists. He has a positive message, and has for years given it to us in many different ways.
I was reminded of his song, “Fantastic Plastic People” at last night’s reception for the “Robin Bay” project.
(Sigh) Yes, another casino/hotel/golf course/resort/timeshare blah blah blah thing that will, (sigh) once again save all of the people of the Virgin Islands from their continuing abject poverty. (Sigh).
Oh, everybody who is anybody was there. We, of course did not receive an “official” invitation, but one of our friends did, and she included us in her RSVP.
And, of course (sigh), we got the same old same old “jobs for the people” spiel, but with lovely artist’s renditions of this monstrosity which is supposed to go on the south shore between Great Pond Bay and Grassy Point. Ugh!!
Curtis Robinson, one of the major players in this development was there to dazzle us with his “style and class” (oh, and promises of jobs for the people). His female partner sat there with her perfect blond braids and sparkling earrings, looking very Paris Hilton. Cheese an’ bread, me son! They soooo don’t belong here. Even our most spiffed up islanders with their $$$suits are more real than these dolled up robotic creatures. I really had to wonder if there was flesh and blood under all that glitz. Hollywood comes to St. Croix!! Awww lawd!!
“All pomaded and so perfectly braided”, is my official description.
“Fantastic Plastic People” is a song about the superficiality of today’s society. And there it was, hitting us smack in the face at this cocktail reception. Unfortunately, people here continue to buy this rhetoric.
When are we going to get real around here?
March 28th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
They’ll get real when President Obama normalizes relations with Cuba and those new casinos will resemble the concrete bomb shelter beside the Pig bar.
This is the Virgin Island’s biggest risk. There is 50 years of pent up demand and you can’t beat the location of Cuba.
March 28th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Good points, Wreg.
Why, oh why, do some of the people here want to recreate the same crap that too many other islands have bought into?
We need to stop sending mixed messages out there. Are we going to be “your port of solace”, or just another casino-infested smut hole?
March 28th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Terry, not to take your feelings about this latest casino project lightly, but I must say, your descriptions of same, crack me up!! Casino-infested smut hole, terrific!!! It really is the same old story, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” And believe me, the Virgin Islands does not have a monopoly on these kinds of people and projects. We have an extremely “high end” resort in Big Sky, MT, The Yellowstone Club, that just declared bankruptcy. You should hear the moaning and groaning of the owner of how mis-understood she is, and how maligned she is by the media and others… and yet, the poor folks that worked hard for her so she could get her face lift and toenails done will be left in the dust when it comes time to collect whatever money is left after the bigger fat cats get their share of her assets. Bankruptcy should by from the bottom up, not from the top down. I see a revolution coming about regarding the banking system, wall street, and the fat cats that manipulate the system towards their own good first! Amen.
March 29th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Fat cats…. I think people use this term because it rhymes. Let’s start a new trend and start calling them Wall Street Fat Dogs. It started here on Terry’s blog. Wall Street Fat Dogs.
We need a great crusader for the little people to clean up Wall Street like Elliot Spitzer.
Or maybe a Treasury Secretary that sets a good example by paying his back taxes and gets a free pass when he got caught.
March 29th, 2009 at 8:47 am
Is there really money for all this construction?
Prediction: when the money for the convention center at Great Pond either disappears – repeal of 6905 – or is distriputed (to whom? I won’t put my ideas of where I think it is going in writing) – the holes now in existence will be as far as that project gets.
St. Croix is not totally destroyed – YET!
Leave the Cats and Dogs out of it – it’s the greedy huMANs.
March 29th, 2009 at 8:51 am
oh yeah
sometime in the 1970′s Jimmy Cliff was at Island Center
and was shocked that the audience was a couple of dozen white folks
March 29th, 2009 at 8:52 am
I don’t like degrading any animals by giving ridiculous humans their names. Why don’t we just use the person’s name who has become the epitome of some characteristic?
Like greedy Madoffs, or cheating Bill Clintons…..
You were posting comments just as I was, Lisa. I like your huMAN one!
March 29th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Oh, now I get it, Wreg….you want me to say something about using Dogs’ name in vain…..Cute!
And Trudi, I aim to entertain
! Glad you got a good chuckle!
March 29th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
How about scum toads? Toads are not warm and fuzzy like cats and dogs.
March 30th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
I wonder how these new proposed projects are ever going to get past their own uselessness.
Looking at the multiple failed ownerships of a stunning resort like Carambola that already exists and can’t find backers, what makes any developer think that starting from the foundation up, they’re going to make a giant project take off here.
Why can’t we start with what we have before adding more attempted failures to the landscape?
March 30th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Great comment Bonnie. Carembola is wonderful yet they struggle. Would a casino help? Hell no.
I stayed there one week in May and it was a trip to remember. A beautiful place.
I can gamble online at an off shore site…so I am told from my hotel room on my PC.
March 31st, 2009 at 8:17 am
You’re so right, Bonnie!
March 31st, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Haven’t you guys been listening? These projects aren’t about success, or making a profit, they’re all about jobs! They’re altruistic. Works of charity. They’re all about bringing jobs to the desperate hopeful downtrodden people dem.
Oh, wait. The existing resorts aren’t able to keep themselves staffed, despite the overwhelming ranks of ready and willing unemployed. Nevermind.
April 21st, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Try to lighten up a bit on Curtis and his project. It sometimes takes so called plastic people to bring the things that could help in a number of ways. Ways Such as the Legends of basketball may be coming with him also. It is nice to get every perspective. Tim Duncan my former teamate would love this. It is very important to understand why a paper such as yourself wants to throw stones at a project someone is trying to finalize. I don’t see anyone here attemting to bring the world of basketball and it’s fans. I see that it would be helpful and maybe you can get the RSVP if you try understand what is really going on and if there is a problem find out what happen and inform you readers properly be it bad or good. This is the type of news that helps your readers understand.
NBA LEGEND