Give Aruba a Break

Some may feel that the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway in Aruba serves as a wake up call for Americans looking to blow off steam abroad. Holloway, who was vacationing with 100 other Alabama teens in Aruba to celebrate their high school graduation, was last seen leaving a night club with two local men at around 2 am on May 30. However, as the dramatic search for any clues to her whereabouts continues, why aren't people asking how this girl's classmates could exhibit such poor judgment? When a responsible person is at a nightclub and a female friend is taking off with a group of male townies to an undisclosed location, they use their head and bust out a fierce cockblock. Part of the the blame should rest on her friends for not talking her out of such a poor decision, and Holloway herself for putting herself in such an awful predicament. It is convenient to make the location of the abduction the the focal point of the Holloway abduction story. But, before the Aruban tourism industry is decimated and Americans start boycotting goods made in Aruba like delicious balashi beer, they need to realize that this horrific event could have easily occurred anywhere in the United States.