• Preventable accident • Embrace this goal • Your call Preventable accident Good article on Sunday about the Toys for Tots motorcycle ride. It’s a great charity and one that I have donated to over the years. Mahalo to all
• Preventable accident
• Embrace this goal
• Your call
Preventable accident
Good article on Sunday about the Toys for Tots motorcycle ride. It’s a great charity and one that I have donated to over the years. Mahalo to all the participants.
I do have a serious concern to mention. On Sunday morning I was driving on Opu Road at the signal light in Kalaheo, waiting for the green light to turn left onto the highway towards Lawa‘i, as the huge group of bikers passed by on the highway heading the same direction. When I got the green, I proceeded slowly (luckily as it turns out) into the intersection and watched in disbelief as dozens and dozens of bikes drove by in front of me against the red light, none of them slowing down or acknowledging my presence.
It was a frustrating and potentially dangerous situation to be stuck in. Fortunately, the guy behind me saw my plight and, as my light turned red, backed up enough to allow me to reverse out of the intersection, as the westbound traffic on the highway to my left also waited for me to get out of the intersection.
Afterwards, a chilling thought ocurred: Had I been coming down Papalina Road to turn left (westbound) onto the highway as I do nearly every morning, and had I had the green light, I would have driven straight out into the intersection (as I am not in the habit of stopping at green lights to check for traffic, as this is a surefire way to get “rear-ended”), which could have caused a horrendous accident involving myself and any number of bikers and others in the area. Not a pretty picture!
My sincere suggestion: Please, while on your rides, obey all traffic laws. If you feel the need to run through red lights en masse, then you should notify KPD in advance so they can manually direct traffic as they would do for a parade or highway construction work. You guys and girls are volunteering your time and riding for a really great cause, and we all appreciate that, but please do it safely and courteously. It would be a shame if any of your efforts are ever marred by a potentially tragic and preventable accident.
Andy Johnston, Kalaheo
Embrace this goal
The descendants of Hawaiians have come to be called the host culture. Although benign at first blush, Hawaiians who follow the Hawaiian way may feel a biting irony.
A host is a person, or people, who open their homes, their lands, and say “Share the bounty!” We know that that’s the way it was, and as a consequence aloha is a household word in almost anyplace on earth. In fact, most citizens of Hawai‘i owe their livelihood to the incomparable, universal attraction of aloha. Think of the tourist, construction, airline and services industries.
So given the subsequent history it should be no surprise that another definition for “host” may come to mind. A host is an organism that is fed upon by another organism, a parasite, that debilitates the host organism, or by analogy host culture, sometimes resulting in the death of the host.
This disturbing definition illuminates the greater context of the controversy at Wailua Beach. When and by what actions will citizens through their elected officials and agencies act to preserve a vibrant, living Hawaiian culture that has contributed so much to everyone’s well being? When has our mayor, or any mayor, put forward a proactive, definitive plan for indigenous cultural preservation?
Other countries don’t have an adversarial relationship with their indigenous people. They foster mutually, economically beneficial partnerships to attract high value culture tourists. The indigenous people are empowered to carry on their traditional ways and the countries earn foreign capital.
It goes without saying those “host cultures” command actionable respect from the “host countries.”
On Dec. 7 a cultural practitioner stood before 200 and recited her lineage back six centuries. Then she shared that the ancient name for the beach at Wailua is Mahunapu‘uone, “the sand dunes that conceal the bones.” Archaeological assessments confirm this.
The Hawaiian people simply don’t want structures, either houses or boardwalks, built over their ancestors’ bones. Who would? Saying the boardwalk on the beach would be “just a little” desecration is like an abusive husband punching his wife “just a little bit.”
Some editorialize that we cannot all “be one traveler.” But most people when they are informed will embrace this goal, with the mutual concordant respect that it requires.
Kip Goodwin, Kapa‘a
Your call
Do we want to live in a world where a few fanatic leaders in Iran control nuclear weapons?
It’s a scary thought.
Myles Osterneck, Kula, Hawai‘i
