When mom punishes all brats because one of them took her car for a ride without permission and smashed a headlight, who knows which kid, it’s easier to impose a collective punishment, instead of taking the time to investigate the crime and punish the real culprit.
No electronics for all of you.
You are grounded. Forever.
But then poor mom has to deal with a bunch of miserable, disgruntled and ungrateful conspirators who would go to any length to violate her imposed, what they perceive, unfair judgement.
A collective punishment is difficult to enforce, because it’s too general and unrealistic, and doesn’t correspond to the true nature of the infraction. It leaves the issue unresolved.
On Monday, yesterday, in the Isla On Line January 2020, a GOA digital newsletter, the MinJust was featured talking at a press conference regarding beach-walking-dogs.
In view of the disproportional and unnecessary disturbance of our tourism, he stated, he was talking about the viral video of pups being stuffed in a trunk – by one person or more, he continued, who walk the beach with dogs for sale, it was decided following a thorough investigation to prohibit that dog-beach-walking activity.
The MinJust reported searching the island’s existing laws and its penal code for an alternative legal instrument, and when he found nothing appropriate – our laws are antiquated, he remarked, and he is working on their modernization, and will share with the press when done — he decided to issue a decree whereby certain areas of the island shall remain dog-free.
He decreed that the beachfront between Divi Phoenix and the Ritz Carlton should from now on be off limit to dog-walkers, with a number of exception:
Tourists travelling with their pets staying at the resorts.
Service dogs.
Dog shows, in honor of Animal Day in October.
And…. neighbors who traditionally walk their dogs on the beach, are invited to ask for dispensation.
His goal, he reiterated, is to spare our tourists the aggravation, since tourism is our bread and butter.
I think I don’t have to comment any further on this. You understand that this really solves nothing, and that those stuffing pups in trunks don’t read governmental decrees. And they can easily move their activities to Arashi or Surfside, and continue to outrage visitors there.
Why don’t you just knock on his door, and explain in clear terms that certain behaviors are not acceptable in Aruba, a country of law and order. If we pitch it that way, and hold people personally responsible, it will remain the land of law and order and we may continue, to occasionally take our dogs to the beach, providing we clean after them.
