Letters | 8-27-15

Police officers doing a good job

Every time I’m driving down Alii Drive in Kailua-Kona I want to stop and thank our wonderful police officers for all that they do for us living in North Kona.

I’ve noticed a lot less “druggies” loitering at Magic Sands, a lot less homeless hiding or living in the bushes and vans and cars with people living in them along Alii Drive. The crime here has gone down and it’s because of their presence and hard work.

Keep up the good work and thank you for not letting us become another Waikiki.

J. Duncan

Kailua-Kona

Athletes are overvalued

Athletes are way overvalued in today’s society and the media helps cast them as such. The headline “Texas college football player shot by police was unarmed” in West Hawaii Today Aug. 9 is the perfect media illustration.

The loss of this student’s life is not any more significant than the loss of someone else’s simply because the college athlete could bounce, throw, or kick a ball. The skills required to finger an inflated object should not be prized more than the skills required to play the piano or oboe in the college orchestra. Yet no headline would make noteworthy this musical artistry when describing the tragic death of a student.

To make my point, could anyone imagine seeing a media headline, “Texas college French horn player shot by police was unarmed.” This headline would not be written in such fashion because it lacked those magic words — football player.

Richard Dinges

Hilo