Put yourself in our shoes
Put yourself in our shoes
What is it about sacred that TMT advocates do not understand?
They seem to understand “I want” really well. But when protesters say “No, it is sacred,” they go deaf. Would we allow bulldozers to do a “little digging and grubbing” in preparation for construction if the site were a church, mosque, temple or other holy place?
No.
They are sacred.
But when Hawaiians protect their holy place from desecration, well, they are criminals. I am not particularly religious. But I am very much in favor of religious freedoms and protection of those freedoms. I do not think that people of one religion should be allowed to desecrate or otherwise damage places of sacred value of people of another religion. I do not believe that destruction of sacred places should be allowed because some bureaucrats accept an EIS that says it is OK to do so.
Stepping on the necks of those who believe that Manua Kea is sacred is not a way to preserve domestic tranquility and harmony. Those who protested the desecration of Mauna Kea did so at great personal effort and physical discomfort. They did not do this as some frivolous exercise. The TMT people seem to think they can just come into another’s church and take over and do whatever they want. They seem to think that if they warp the laws to favor their aims and then get people with guns they will enforce those laws.
What is it about sacred that TMT folks can not understand?
Tom Beach
Kamuela
Build the community, not on the community.
Take a look around. We see the road widening south of the airport; million-dollar homes in Keauhou; and the possibility of more commercial development in Kona. The question is, besides building on the community, how can we build the community?
Hawaii Island needs to build in such a way that local people are getting out of poverty, local businesses are thriving, and our kids are able to start a future here at home.
According to the United States Census, 11.3 percent of individuals in Hawaii are below the poverty level; and the Huffington Post ranked Hawaii as second in the states where poverty is worse than you think. How can our local people live a successful life here when a $10 an hour job is considered a good job and the median housing value is just over $500,000?
We need to support our local people by supporting our local businesses.
Yesterday, I stopped by a local business just to find out that they will be shutting their doors in the months to come. This is after 15 years of serving our community. The reason being a franchise company has opened in Kona. This has caused not only this business to close, but also a similar local business as well. We need to support these local businesses so our children are able to grow up and become owners of their own companies not just supervisors of these franchises.
Our children need to have a future here on Hawaii Island; a future of mastering their skills to support their community or become owners of their own businesses. This can be done; but not by building on our community. By building what makes our community; our local people, our local businesses, all for the future of our children.
Ian Hirakawa-Shortridge
Kealakekua