In reference to the Third World Topic posted by Steve...I have a a couple of comments. First of all please don't cut down the USA...we do have a good life here..maybe not as good as we used to but its still good. However we do have freedom of speech...and on this site we have freedome of speech and for you to be ATTACKED like this is absurd and wrong. You are allowed to voice your opinions. There is something that I would like to say to tourists visiting other countries...Respect the countries you are visiting...just because you are an american does not mean you are better than anyone else on the planet. My one major pet peeve especially with cruise passengers is the bad remarks which are made about food onboard a ship. Do you realize how lucky you are to ever be able to take a cruise? Its food!! Half the world is starving to death and you are complaining....what is wrong with you ...have you no shame? Next time you are on a cruise...instead of taking that excursion....go to the real side of that port and see what the area is really like. Some you need to see the poverty and what a major part of the world lives in. Maybe even eat what they eat...trust me...you will never complain about food again. BTW...take ur kids with you...chances are they are as spoiled and globally illiterate as you are. Don't get me wrong I love to cruise and eat...but it just makes me angry to hear people BITCH! about the food. Lets face it..the USA is full of spoiled rotten brats!!!
In reference to the Third World Topic posted by Steve...I have a a couple of comments. First of all please don't cut down the USA...we do have a good life here..maybe not as good as we used to but its still good. However we do have freedom of speech...and on this site we have freedome of speech and for you to be ATTACKED like this is absurd and wrong. You are allowed to voice your opinions. There is something that I would like to say to tourists visiting other countries...Respect the countries you are visiting...just because you are an american does not mean you are better than anyone else on the planet. My one major pet peeve especially with cruise passengers is the bad remarks which are made about food onboard a ship. Do you realize how lucky you are to ever be able to take a cruise? Its food!! Half the world is starving to death and you are complaining....what is wrong with you ...have you no shame? Next time you are on a cruise...instead of taking that excursion....go to the real side of that port and see what the area is really like. Some you need to see the poverty and what a major part of the world lives in. Maybe even eat what they eat...trust me...you will never complain about food again. BTW...take ur kids with you...chances are they are as spoiled and globally illiterate as you are. Don't get me wrong I love to cruise and eat...but it just makes me angry to hear people BITCH! about the food. Lets face it..the USA is full of spoiled rotten brats!!!
<edited by Dave to remove the ALL CAPS from the title>
I don't agree that luck has anything to do with taking a cruise. People work hard and choose to spend hard earned money or money acquired in some other way on their cruise.
Your comments regarding free speech don't apply to those who complain about food? I understand your frustration with whiners and I am embarrassed by some fellow Americans traveling in other countries. But I don't think social consciousness has anything to do with our view of food. I feel bad knowing that some people in Haiti are eating poorly. However, it doesn't make me accept poorly prepared food. I am living in context with my place in the world.
I agree that Steve is entitled to his free speech but so am I. If I want to disagree with him in this forum, I am going to do it without any sense of guilt. I don't think he was attacked or our moderators would have stepped in.
I agree that "luck" is not the word to describe the scenario that gives many of us in the United States the ability to take a cruise, go on a vacation, have a nicely prepared meal, drive a post 1970s vehicle, etc etc (by choice, I still have my 1969 VW camper van). At the same time, I sometimes ponder, just for example, because of the existence of an imaginery line between our country and Mexico, the standard of living is so vastly different. This imaginery line means many of us north of the line eat well, live well, and prosper, while many south of the imaginery line eat poorly, live in squalor, and don't prosper. Maybe I'm a simpleton, by that concept has bothered me for quite some time. And no, I'm not a bleeding heart liberal, fix the world with a hug and a handout kind of person.
As for free speech, absolutely folks here have the right to complain and gripe about quality of food prepared on a cruise ship, or anywhere else for that matter. Just put it in perspective; my folks (and many others' folks on this site) were raised during the Great Depression, and they went for long periods of time eating beans and other legumes they were able to grow. They instilled in me the appreciation for what we have. Although the cliche from when I was growing up may be a little outdated ("there are millions of starving children in China, how dare you waste that cracker"), there is still truth to the concept.
Perspective is vital; sure, we work our tails off to make a little bit of money to take a nice vacation, and we expect value in return for our expenditures. However, a wise and venerable person once told me when I suggested the piece of meat I was eating was a little tough, that "it is a whole lot tougher when there isn't any."
Just my 2 cents; complain about the food if you will, but keep it in perspective.
Both of my boys (11 and 16) have seen the shanty shacks, cardboard homes and tin condos in a couple of border towns, as well as some of the poverty in our most recent endeavors (St. Maarten and St. Thomas). They have seen enough sobering sights in other countries and have shown an appreciation for what they have (they rarely left anything on their plates during our cruise). They have also seen some of the more sobering locales in this country, as well.
Is that spoiled rotten brats, as in brats and sauerkraut? Why is this topic still open on a cruise chat site anyway. Are we going to allow bashing. Dave or Raoul, can you close this thread, its childish, racist and completely uncalled for. Thanks, and bless all of us here who know better than to nationality/country bash. If the world would quit doing this, think of how much better the entire world would be. Peace to all of you
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