Operation:"Stop the fish worm"

flip-flop · Post by **flip-flop** » Thu May 24, 2007 8:38 pm

For me the nekkid/not nekkid debate is more of one about respect for the local culture and customs. Some cultures are VERY open about nudity and you'll see that reflected at the beach (the french influence in St. Martin for example). Other cultures are way more reserved (the brittish influce in Bermuda).

I truly think STJ is more in the middle. Live and let live is why we love it so. Still, against the law is against the law and you risk a fine and riling people up by parading around (like the guy in the back of LSU tigers pictures ... I mean COME ON sit down). There is a definite difference between "I am comfortable with my body nudity", i.e. the more discreet variety and the "I am desperate for attention" variety. I think for the most part most people aren't bothered by the former.

Solomon is known as the unofficial nude beach and that's fine by me. I assume not too many locals frequent it but I could be wrong. Still, I would always err on the side of discretion and not making anyone (especially the people who make STJ home) uncomfortable. That's just me.

Again, if someone strolls by it makes it INCREDIBLY difficult for me to be polite because it always makes me giggle. Maybe I am seriously repressed. I like an all over tan as much as the next gal, but if it is a top priority I would be sure to rent a villa with a private pool area. That way no unsuspecting strangers will be startled by the glare!

cypressgirl · Post by **cypressgirl** » Thu May 24, 2007 8:47 pm

Augie.....that's the best line I've read on this forum in months!!! LOL

But I have to confess, I was basically raised by nuns in my small, conservitive, Texas town. So I can just stay away from Soloman and let those without my bag of guilt go have fun.

brenda · Post by **brenda** » Thu May 24, 2007 8:50 pm

augie, I have to agree with everyone. LOL at that comment. I am not trying to be hard on parafins either but agree that if nekkidness is a problem, just avoid Solomon. We have encountered nude sunbathers on White Bay(not in the main area of activity) Jost Van Dyke and Negril Beach on Jamaica also. I was even more surprised that we saw that on Negril Beach because it was relatively crowded. It was always the same couple.

cptnkirk · Post by **cptnkirk** » Fri May 25, 2007 9:18 am

Brenda was it by Fire Fly thats were the nudys usually hang. We always get some topless at White Sands.Flip Flop Thats probably the best way to put it when in Rome do as The Romans do. Have fun at the beach this weekend.

parafins · Post by **parafins** » Fri May 25, 2007 11:50 am

O.k. everybody,I really don't mind the nudity.I thought it might be fun to add a little humor to it and ask the question,Could you stop nudity at this beach?I myself have not visited Soloman in my past 4 visits but plan to this time.I will bring my family with me.My daughter is 11 yrs. old and I doubt that she would be shocked.Why do you ask?Because she has a 4 year old brother that likes to chase her around the house after his bath!She doesn't like it and we try not to let it happen,but the little bugger is quick!

Best wishes Parafins

cat · Post by **cat** » Fri May 25, 2007 2:25 pm

I am definitly one of the live and let live people here!

Augie, I almost died laughing when I read your post! That is so funny!!!!!

chicagoans · Post by **chicagoans** » Fri May 25, 2007 3:44 pm

OK, I read Augie's post right after seeing a post by "hardonyou"... the juxtaposition is highly entertaining! (There, I've used my one college word for the day.)

Parafins, I figured you were kidding with the "stop the fish worm" crusade! I would think the presence of baracuda might make the fish worms go into hiding anyway!

I now have visions of that Seinfeld episode in my head (cold water and shrinkage). Oh my, Friday of a long weekend... how much work am I going to get done after this?! It's 5:00 somewhere...

Teresa_Rae · Post by **Teresa_Rae** » Fri May 25, 2007 4:22 pm

I'm very uncomfortable being around nude people in public and it was disappointing to my husband and me when we made the trek to Solomon a few years ago and were enjoying ourselves until a bunch of naked Europeans showed up (I'm not generalizing, they were actually European) to prance around and show off.

They were putting on quite a show so we left. We LOVE Solomon...it is one of our favorite beaches in the entire world...we save up our money all year so we can take an annual vacation...it isn't right that we should have to leave because other people are breaking the law...if being naked is something people feel they must do, then they should do it somewhere where it is legal or at the very least when nobody else is around.

My 2 cents

brenda · Post by **brenda** » Fri May 25, 2007 8:15 pm

cptnkirk wrote:Brenda was it by Fire Fly thats were the nudys usually hang. We always get some topless at White Sands.Flip Flop Thats probably the best way to put it when in Rome do as The Romans do. Have fun at the beach this weekend.

I'm not sure where Fire Fly is. Negril?? We stayed at Coco LaPalm and it was a short distance to the right of CLP if you were to face the beach where the nudies were. We had seen topless there before, but never the worm on the main beach area. I have gotten some hilarious e-mails of nude people on the beach that shouldn't be nude though

hardonyou · Post by **hardonyou** » Sat May 26, 2007 8:35 am

Teresa_Rae wrote:I'm very uncomfortable being around nude people in public and it was disappointing to my husband and me when we made the trek to Solomon a few years ago and were enjoying ourselves until a bunch of naked Europeans showed up (I'm not generalizing, they were actually European) to prance around and show off.

They were putting on quite a show so we left. We LOVE Solomon...it is one of our favorite beaches in the entire world...we save up our money all year so we can take an annual vacation...it isn't right that we should have to leave because other people are breaking the law...if being naked is something people feel they must do, then they should do it somewhere where it is legal or at the very least when nobody else is around.

My 2 cents

Teresa, I find it sad that you let nudity of others ruin a beach for you. Was it really impossible to ignore their "prancing" and "putting on a show"? Or was it you who was focused on their nudity? Furthermore, the size of most bathing suits leaves very little to the imagination; a small swatch of cloth over nipples somehow makes them acceptable, but remove that kleenex sized cloth and now they are not? Legality aside, what real harm were they doing to you? I am very uncomfortable around screaming and ill behaved children and many times I have had to move down beach to avoid them, this is my aversion and although I wish there was a law preventing them, I understand that I am sensitive to their noise and lack of respect for others, so I remove myself but I try not to blame them. My point here is we all have behaviors of other people that bother us, how we react to it is up to us. If someone isn't actually harming someone or something then it is very difficult to argue that one's adversion should be placed above another's desire.

I know my forum name seems odd in this topic, but it's just coincodence, I grew up on Punk Rock, it's a song title that I use for electronic correspondence nothing more.

Pete (Mr. Marcia) · Post by **Pete (Mr. Marcia)** » Sat May 26, 2007 9:15 am

Hardonyou,

I think Teresa makes a good point. (Disclaimer time: I could care less about people being naked on the beach.) But, it is illegal in the USVI. So, Teresa and others have the right to expect that it is not going to be tolerated. Some have suggested that Teresa and those who are offended by public nudity simply avoid Solomon beach. Well, that's not really fair. Why should they not be able to go to a beach they like? They shouldn't be punished because someone else is breaking the law.

Suppose, for a moment, that it was illegal to bring children to Maho (a great idea, by the way). Let's also assume that Maho is your favorite beach. Sure there are 50 other beaches on island, but we all know that we have our favorites. But, if scoflaw parents ignore that law and bring the brats to Maho, you surely would be within your rights to be upset about it. You could go elsewhere, but why should you have to just because they are breaking the law?

Similarly, Teresa knows public nudity is illegal at Solomon. She has a right to expect that it will not occur and she has right to be upset about it when it does.

Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to go walk around the block naked. If my neighbors don't like it, they can move.

hardonyou · Post by **hardonyou** » Sat May 26, 2007 2:24 pm

Pete,
I did say legality aside in my post. I think you can agree that there are many many laws that are not enforced that people break constantly. In fact I'm sure everyone on this forum has broken a law (e.g. spitting on the sidewalk in Singapore, smoking less than 30 feet from a building entrance, my neighbor is currently watering his lawn during water restriction). A lot of laws are broken that are tolerated. I understand your argument. The fact of the matter is, if you go to the beach anywhere in the world, there is a possibility that someone there would like to enjoy it naked, legal or not. Just as if you go to an arena concert there is likely someone there under age drinking, or consuming otherwise illegal substances. If either of these things bother you SO much, then maybe you should avoid these situations.

As far as your neighbors relocation desires concerned; I wasn't suggesting at all that if someone doesn't like something its their problem and they should just leave/move. Rather, I think that we can all make concessions and have understanding. I wont drag that child out of the water by his hair for standing on a large elkhorn coral and if you don't want to see a nice European pair bouncing around on the beach, you could just look the other way.

"Can't we all just get along?"

cypressgirl · Post by **cypressgirl** » Sat May 26, 2007 6:52 pm

Teresa, I'm kinda with you on the nudity thing. There are plenty of places to be nude on STJ (the Villla... hello???) I would never insinuate my private parts on someone else, and how do you NOT look?

Pete (Mr. Marcia) · Post by **Pete (Mr. Marcia)** » Sat May 26, 2007 11:11 pm

Hardonyou,

Please trust me when I say that I care about this very little. The thing that I took exception to in your post was the following:

" If someone isn't actually harming someone or something then it is very difficult to argue that one's adversion should be placed above another's desire. "

The naked person's "desire" should not be given the same weight as, in this case, Teresa's "adversion" because the naked person is breaking the law and Teresa is not. I'm sorry, but I think that Teresa is correct about this.

On the other hand, I think you are correct, too...in a way. The particular law that we are talking about is pretty dumb. But, there are a lot of dumb laws. Please don't disadvantage those who abide by the laws. Instead, make an effort to change the laws.

Peace. Out.

Bandit · Post by **Bandit** » Sun May 27, 2007 10:19 am

Geez Pete....you sound like an Attorney.

Now we need to decide the date/time/place of the Naked Friends From the Forum Tour and plan accordingly. Non-participants may choose an adjacent beach to congregate and watch us from.

Just kidding

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