• For shame • The destruction of culture • Utah, you say? For shame After driving to different beaches on the Eastside in search of a cool shaded area near the ocean, we settled in on a spot at Fujii
• For shame
• The destruction of culture
• Utah, you say?
For shame
After driving to different beaches on the Eastside in search of a cool shaded area near the ocean, we settled in on a spot at Fujii Beach. Also known as “Baby Beach” at Waipoli, the shoreline was filled with many families enjoying Father’s Day activities. We pulled up next to three adults — a relatively young couple and a friend. The couple’s kids were having a great time playing in the sand and shallow water. The guys were tending to the grill duties, cooking up mussels, sausage and other grinds and enjoying Steinlager beers and poke. When I moved over to sit at the vacated table whICH they had vacated just minutes ago, I was blown away to find that they had left a few things behind.
So this letter is to the two local haole guys and the Filipino wife or girlfriend with a nice black SUV and a nice pickup truck.
I was apalled to find that you conveniently “forgot” a big open bag of Ranch Doritos, along with all of the kids’ plastic beach toys littered about on the sand. Just inches from the large empty garbage can was your Steinlager beer bottles and mussel shells that you must’ve enjoyed with your poke and other grilled grinds. Most of all, I cannot believe what idiots you are, to have so lazily dumped your piping, burning-hot charcoals from your grill right there on the sand near the roots of the ironwood tree. The ocean water was just inches away, yet you didn’t have the brains to use your kids’ pail to draw water to make sure the coals were put out and cooled off completely. With many children running and playing about on the beach, you were foolish and irresponsible for not taking care of this. An older gentleman almost stepped right on the pile of hot, bright-orange coals when he went to hang his towel on the tree. He was very grateful that we were there to warn him about the hot coals and shook his head in disbelief that someone could be so careless.
I didn’t get your license plate NUMBER, nor could I recollect what name was tattooed across your back that went from your left shoulder all the way across to the right. Otherwise, I would’ve personalized this letter directly to you in The Garden Island.
Hello? Please completely clean up after yourselves when you access places for recreation such as the mountains or the beach. Whatever you bring, take home with you or make sure to discard them appropriately. And most of all, take care of your hot coals from your grill. I remember exactly how you look and will have no problem telling you all of this straight to your face if I ever encounter you at the beach or elsewhere again.
Shame on you.
Keanuheaokauanoe Hamilton
Wailua Homesteads
The destruction of culture
To the state of Hawai‘i and the planning commission and the federal government concerning the following: The destruction of a culture and its people’s way of life.
The planning commission, since I have grown from a child to a man, I have observed the desecration of the countless burial grounds of native Hawaiians, disrespected, bulldozed, moved, smashed, put in cases, stuffed into boxes, for so-called landowner rights or development.
But no other race of people in Hawai‘i have their burial grounds disturbed, bulldozed, stuffed into boxes or desecrated. Sounds like racism, against one race of people. As a son of Hawai‘i, I wonder how the state of Hawai‘i and the federal government would want to change the lifestyle of its citizens. For countless generations my people have fished the seas. We have never destroyed our oceans. Yet the news on June 12, 2008, stated the federal government wants a saltwater fishing license for Hawai‘i’s peoples.
To help with so-called environmental concerns I believe our government should not make any more laws concerning the ocean. The more laws you have, the more government you have, which is the road to a socialist state. Less government is always best.
I see my homeland Hawai‘i, my country, becoming more and more like the Mainland due to our governments’ lack of leadership. It’s a shame that our people’s life, culture and history are being destroyed on a daily basis. It’s a shame our leaders would follow the examples of the Mainland.
The answers to Hawai‘i are found in Hawai‘i, not California or New York.
I, for one, and my ‘ohana are against burial desecration. It’s wrong. We are against any new fishing laws or licenses to fish. We support a government that takes care of the home first, not other countries. We support controlled growth, the rebuilding of fish ponds, the restocking of fish ponds, an open turtle season by tag system.
The licensing of all non-Hawai‘i citizens to use our water at $25 a head. A user fee of $25 for all visitors. These monies could be used to help DLNR enforce existing laws.
Kawika Cutcher
Anahola
Utah, you say?
I think it’s pretty funny that Ingrid Middleton chose to compare what is most likely the most laid-back state, Hawai‘i, with what is arguably the most uptight state, Utah (“It happens with dogs,” Letters, June 17).
I have yet to run into anyone else longing for Kaua‘i to become more like Utah. Then, in her effort to punish people with dogs for what they might be capable of doing (rather than for what they do), she gives us the perspective of seeing dog-related injuries while working at a hospital. This perspective is a bit skewed, I think, because those thousands upon thousands having perfectly safe encounters with dogs don’t drop by the hospital to register their accounts.
There is plenty to fear about the outdoors. Accepting the dangers nearly always pays big dividends. If people have fears, real or imagined, they have the choice of letting that fear control their actions. Those people can stay out of the mountains or away from coastal paths as a consequence of their fear. The rest of us would rather you didn’t legislate those consequences.
Pete Antonson
Kapa‘a
