Nick: As a (white) 21 year resident of St. Thomas, I'll stick my neck out here to try and answer your question.

You probably have followed the basic case and know that a black woman on St. John and her family were allegedly assaulted with graffiti sprayed around their house fences and on their car(s) and that of course made the news. Not too long after that, the same woman, apparently went to the local hospital claiming that she had been viciously raped by three white males who came to her house. They allegedly took her out of her house, glued her mouth shut, tied her up with ducktape and after allegedly raping her, threw her into the ocean. Thereafter she apparently miraculously made it to shore where some as yet apparently unidentified "contractors" pulled her out of the water and she made it to the hospital seemingly by herself where she allegedly refused a rape kit and allegedly has further refused to take a lie detector test.

There are enormous inconsistencies in her story and she has personally said nothing to the press although she has been very evident in the "St. John Melee" where Mario Moorhead from St. Croix (well known as a very basic stirrer-upper) spear-headed the Crucian group to come to the "little sister" island and make melee on St. John (as though STX doesn't have it's own major crime problems!)

Esther Frett (the alleged victim) seemed to regale in the melee and, dressed in the traditional African dashiki, heralded her new name of "Queen Esther" in deference and acknowledgement of the slave uprisings on St. John a couple of hundred years ago.

That this group "targeted" white-owned businesses in a silent protest by sitting at their restaurant tables and ordering only water is, to my mind, totally despicable and racist to the extreme.

I don't blame anyone for wanting answers to this alleged "hate crime" but the FBI is apparently in charge of this investigation and their policy has always been to withhold information while an investigation is in progress. I don't agree with their stance where this matter is concerned but they have their policies...

Tawana Brawley had her moment of infamy, Al Sharpton dove right in there and the whole thing became a cause celebre and then a major KERPLUNK when it was established that the whole thing was just one big hoax.

We're waiting for the outcome here and it might take a while. It's NOT - to the best of my knowledge - affecting tourists and visitors to any degree.

Cheers! And I hope I've been of some help!

STT Resident -

Good post and summary of what we (don't) know. I agree that the targeting of the white businesses is blatently racist, and that term will never be publicly used in this context. The demos are still getting local headlines, and clearly send the message to tourists and others that whites are not welcome. More rational locals should be speaking loudly out against this - that they aren't is disappointing.

Max

STT Resident,
Thanks for saying what I'm sure a lot of use are thinking. Unfortunately, some of those who cry racism are the worst offenders.

Bassman