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+--- Thread: roadside waving (/showthread.php?tid=10575)
roadside waving - csgray - 07-26-2012
This week when I was driving to work in Hilo I passed one of our Puna county council candidates who had a ton of sign wavers near the Mac nut outlet, but on the other side of the road. To my great surprise one of the men was juggling a sign, an umbrella, and the need to take a leak behind a sign plastered blue mini van or smallish pick up truck. He was lucky that none of the hundreds of cars driving by were a cop, because he wasn't succeeding in concealing what he was doing at all, and I think that indecent exposure in Hawaii gets you branded as a sex offender for life.
Maybe the candidates shouldn't give their volunteers so much coffee.
But it really made me think about sign wavers and political signs, I personally know people that are being paid to sign wave this election cycle, and I see these highly visible yards with huge candidate banners for every possible candidate filling their fences. How much of what looks like grass roots support is really bought and paid for here? Does anybody really know?
Carol
RE: roadside waving - oink - 07-26-2012
I think most of the courts have ruled that incidents such as that are not Indecent Exposure. Maybe Disorderly Conduct if there is an offended complainant. Maybe Urinating In Public, if the charge exists there. He would have to be doing more with it than urinating to rate indecent exposure.
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
RE: roadside waving - csgray - 07-26-2012
As a woman I never have had the option of peeing discretely in public, not that I would, but I know 2 guys from my high school who are branded as sex offenders for indecent exposure charges for relieving themselves in alleys behind bars, while in college. This happened in two different states and it has really messed with both of their lives. I guess the legal system has taken a second look at it since the late 80s, which is probably a good thing.
The roadside urination was not really my point, it just made me think about the how and whys of the apparent grassroots support for politics and wondering how grassroots it really is. Are those sign wavers really volunteers, or are they paid workers? Plus, I can't believe that the people with signs on their fences for every single candidates in several races are that split on their opinions, are they paid to post those signs, or just afraid to say no, or is it just a unique to Hawaii tradition? Most places I've lived people just don't post a yard sign or banner for a politician they don't actually support, but here people post signs for ALL the candidates. It just made me wonder what the real story is.
Carol
RE: roadside waving - PauHana - 07-26-2012
I believe that was a Senate candidate not one of our Puna Council candidates. I saw the wavers but not the offending member.
Sign waving is fun as a group and people want to be involved. I doubt anyone is getting paid more than the occasional donut.
RE: roadside waving - csgray - 07-26-2012
Nope, it was a very specific county council candidate, I just am not naming the candidate because whose sign waver it was is not the point of this post. I know exactly which candidate it was.
I know people who are being paid to wave signs, they are caretakers for a friend of mine and had to rearrange their schedule to be able to sign wave. Most of the people they wave with are also paid. I cannot blame anyone who is trying to get by on 19 or less hours a week at minimum wage jobs for taking the work, but it makes me wonder how much "grassroots" politics really are grassroots.
Carol
RE: roadside waving - TomK - 07-26-2012
Within one week I've ended up in two traffic jams (tailbacks, snarl-ups, whatever you want to call them) on highway 11 driving back from Hilo to Puna in the late afternoon. Both were caused by accidents and both were at an intersection where there are sign wavers. The latter seemed to involve a motorbike, the former a bunch of cars. Although I've experienced traffic jams due to accidents there before, they are very rare, maybe once every year if that.
I don't know if the accidents were caused by driver distraction or it's just a statistical anomaly but am quite sure that sign wavers, whose main job is to distract drivers, make driving less safe. With the latter accident I saw some of the sign wavers disappearing back to their cars and appearing somewhat upset.
I realise it's a tradition here. In a most bizarre and ironic fashion even the cops encourage sign waving when they support some drive safer campaign. So perhaps it might benefit a political candidate or two if they made their case without distracting drivers, make driving safer for all and point that fact out to people and make our drive back to Puna safer.
Tom
http://apacificview.blogspot.com/
RE: roadside waving - PauHana - 07-26-2012
Gee wiz am I naieve. I never worked for anyone with that kind of money.
RE: roadside waving - JerryCarr - 07-26-2012
Some of the politicians with whom I've spoken about sign waving have said they would rather not do it, but feel at a competitive disadvantage if they don't. So they do something they really believe is not safe because it is expected, or local tradition, or whatever. What does that say about their values?
RE: roadside waving - PauHana - 07-26-2012
I am curious. Did the sign wavers have: work comp, TDI, Unemployment insurance, FICA, Fed and State withholding? Did they file the approprate employment forms?
RE: roadside waving - TomK - 07-26-2012
Jerry - that's pretty much the opinion I've developed over the years. If one candidate does it then they all have to do it to remain competitive. If one major candidate actually made it part of their campaign not to do sign waving and made it clear to everyone why, then maybe they would be successful, but I'm not optimistic, and I do understand the risk they would be taking.
Tom
http://apacificview.blogspot.com/
Edited to add a few words.