Vietnamese investors in new Marriott hotel near Disney sue
They say refunds cost them shot at US visas
A group of Vietnamese citizens are alleging in federal court that their combined $1.5-million investment toward a recently-opened Marriott hotel near Disney World was improperly refunded by firms involved in the project, costing them a chance for permanent resident cards through a U.S. visa program.
Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh, Bui Thi Kim Chi and Ngo Thi Kim Nung said in a lawsuit filed this week in the Middle District of Florida that they had a contract with Delaware-based firms BC Immigration Fund LLC and Brevet Capital Management, which those firms violated.
The trio each pitched in $500,000 to help finance JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa, a 516-room luxury hotel that opened in July “on the doorsteps of Walt Disney World,” near Epcot Center Drive and Interstate 4, according to the suit.
The suit says the investors are among “many foreigners longing to receive legal immigration status in the United States” and “were attracted by the allure of obtaining an economic visa.”
apparently not.
A mask-triggered woman arrested at a West Boca bagel shop declared: “You are violating my rights! You are violating the Constitution!”
Wrong. You’re free to believe mask mandates are foolish. But you aren’t allowed to voluntarily set foot on private property and then ignore that property owner’s rules. It’s not complicated. And it’d be a swell idea if people who scream about the Constitution took a moment to read it.
There are certainly legitimate debates over COVID policies. For instance, I think evidence suggests lockdowns aren’t a panacea and that you can make a CDC-backed argument that masks aren’t needed in socially distanced, outdoor spaces, whether at theme parks or elsewhere.
But guess what? It doesn’t matter what I think. As soon as I decide to set foot on private property, I either play by that property owner’s rules or suffer the consequences. Everybody knows darn well a business can require shirts, shoes and, yes, masks.
Don’t like the rules? Visit another park. Heck, start your own — maybe Maskless Kingdom where guests can wheeze all over each other in confined spaces. But spare us your errant whines about the Constitution.
The most recent story in the Sentinel involved a Louisiana tourist charged with barging onto Disney property after refusing to get his temperature checked. As he was being handcuffed, he complained about all the money he had spent to come to Disney. “I paid $15,000,” he exclaimed. “You can’t trespass me for paying $15,000.”
Sir, you weren’t arrested for paying $15,000. You were arrested for defying the rules of a business you chose to visit. What an expensive, teachable moment.
The good news for folks who think masks are an insufferable burden is that they have options — places like BeckyJack’s Food Shack near Weeki Wachee, which made headlines for its mask-mocking sign: “FACE DIAPERS NOT REQUIRED! EVERYONE WELCOME.”
See how this works? People who believe in CDC guidelines can go to Disney and Publix. Those who don’t can patronize BeckyJack’s Food Shack. Ain’t America grand?
If you object to mask mandates or temperature checks, write a letter to a store’s CEO. Or boycott the business. Do not cough or spit on people.
That lesson, which most of us learned in preschool, came a bit too late for the woman arrested for intentionally coughing in the face of an immunocompromised cancer patient at a Pier 1 in Jacksonville.
She would later tell People magazine that she was humiliated by her actions and that her children were, too. I have sympathy for the kids.
In fact, I suggest people who view their tantrums as noble acts of civil disobedience think a bit more about how their children and future generations might view their antics.
Yes, some people proudly remember being arrested for peaceful acts of protest — against racial discrimination in the ’60s, discrimination against disabled citizens in the ’80s and even against LGBTQ families still today. Yet now imagine an anti-masker trying to make the same case to a grandchild a years from now while thumbing through a scrapbook:
Grandpa, is that a picture of you getting arrested?
It sure is, kiddo.
What were you protesting?
Wearing a mask during a pandemic.
Oh, did doctors say that wearing a mask was bad idea?
No, they said it was smart.
Oh, well, did someone force you to go into that store?
No, that was my decision. So you intentionally decided to violate a private business’ clearly stated rules — against the advice of the medical experts who were trying to curb the spread of a deadly pandemic — and then claimed you were the victim?
That’s right.
Grandpa, it doesn’t sound like you were very smart back then.