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Charlotte Amalie
Monday, March 18, 2024
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Politics and Common Sense

People need to use common sense when it comes to politics and media. The hoopla over the Avis article has gone overboard.
1. Will some politicians stoop to nasty cut-throat tactics in order to win? Yes they will. Those that do it are the ones that make me worry and turn me off by their behavior. I feel if they can conduct themselves in that type of manner during campaigning, they will in office, too, and that's not what I want in office.
2. Will media jump on hype reporting? Many do. It's the money game, it sells. We must use common sense to sort out hyped media and distorted media.
3.Did the deJonghs behave in an unacceptable manner, commit illegal acts, etc? No, the problem is Mr. Epstein's lewd behavior, not the deJonghs'.
Mr. Epstein is the one that took part in an unacceptable, illegal, and lewd behavior.
4. Was Mrs. deJongh working for a foundation that takes part in positive things in the community. The Epstein Foundation has done many positive things in this community. In addition to bringing in the world physicists (including 3 Nobel Prize
winners) to the V.I., they have donated to the library, United Way, among other things.
Did she believe she was working for a Foundation that do good things for the
V.I.? Yes she believed that.
Did she have knowledge or control over Mr. Epstein's personal behavior in his private life? I would say the answer is no to that. How many of us have any knowledge or control about our boss' private life and actions?
5. Most Foundations are operating with directors and board members. The actual person(s) who foundations are named or formed after, hardly take an active everyday role in the foundations. They leave the daily tasks to the directors and board members.
When you have a foundation that is doing good in a community but the founder of that foundation acts in an unacceptable manner, it creates a tough dilemma for the directors, board members, and the community.
Should the foundation stop all the good things it does in the community when the founder gets in trouble with the law, even though what the founder did was a personal act that the foundation itself had no control over? How does anyone handle something like that?
Because of the type of behavior conducted by Mr. Epstein and the fact that
The Foundation is in Mr. Epstein's name, it's going to take some time to work that problem out. The quickest solution would be to shut down the Foundation, but would that be the most viable solution for the community?
Many things have to be taken into consideration, especially anything involving the safety and welfare of the children in our community.
6. What should we be looking for in a candidate? We should be looking for a candidate that runs a clean campaign, that tells us in detail what they think they can do for our islands, that shows conviction, that shows they have a "let's get it done" attitude, that can deal with tough things in a decent and reasonable manner, that relays to the public that they are "in touch" with what many of us feel the problems are.
I have watched closely how the candidates conducted themselves, the tactics they used in their campaigns, the issues they presented to the public, the manners in which they presented them, the answers they gave to the questions they were asked, the levels of conviction they showed, and in the end, asked myself "which one appears most serious about really buckling down to get the problems dealt with?" My decision will not be based on who I know or don't know. It will be based on who I feel will most seriously address the issues in this community.
From all I have seen and heard, the deJonghs are in the forefront of presenting themselves as the most serious and most "in-touch." They have presented the best put-together campaign I have ever seen. If they win, I hope to see the same "high level" put into the office of Governor and Lt. Governor.
At the end of the day, whoever wins and does not get serious about really addressing our problems will lose my vote in the next years. I have no intention to put anyone back in any level of office that does not appear to really be taking their job seriously and really does not seem to be understanding …their job is to serve all this community. I expect all candidates to be seriously committed to resolving problems.
The times of getting into office and taking these jobs too lightly has to end. It is up to us as voters, to make that change by showing we will not support people who are not dedicated in "getting the job done".
We must use common sense in politics.
Carol Berry
St. Thomas

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