07-21-2011, 04:39 AM
Puna has plenty of conspiracy theorists, UFO true believers, and flat out wackos to be sure, but I have generally found that wackos tend to exercise their mouths more effectively than anything, usually want to take credit for their actions, and generally have difficulty maintaining sustained group effort without degenerating into squabbling splinter factions. The whole point of the direct action factions within the environmental movement is to convince people they better change their ways, or else. If there is no public connection of the direct action to the cause, then it is pointless, even from their perspective
This has now occurred twice, a year apart without a whisper on the coconut wireless about who did it, and it is highly unlikely that it was a solo effort due to the volume of trees destroyed and the time frame. If it was anti GMO people I don't think there would have been a year between events, since papaya are grown year round. Also the first set of fields were publicized as non-GMO after the event, and cutting down random papaya trees for no publically known reason does not further the promotion of non-GMO tree stock, or serve to discourage farmers from growing GMO crops. It just discourages these farmers from growing papaya generally.
When this kind of effort is put out to damage farmers livelihood in such a small area, I would look at who stands to profit. I remember looking at land for sale in that area several years ago, and almost all of it was leased to farmers on fairly long leases. Is there someone who wants these farmers off that land badly enough to hire a crew to cut these trees down and pay them enough to keep their mouths shut? Is the competition in papaya farming so cut throat that farmers would do this to each other (unlikely)? Does someone object to the farming practices specific to papaya farming to the point where they would do this, but not publicize their reasons?
Random vandalism is usually just that, random, it is also usually small scale and unplanned. This is a pair of actions that took real effort and planning on the part of multiple people, I don't think the perpetrators of this just happened to all be riding around lower Puna with machetes on a full moon. The cops need to look at what is motivating this, and look for who stands to profit, not just write it off as lower Puna wackos with no proof, or else it looks like this will keep happening.
Carol
This has now occurred twice, a year apart without a whisper on the coconut wireless about who did it, and it is highly unlikely that it was a solo effort due to the volume of trees destroyed and the time frame. If it was anti GMO people I don't think there would have been a year between events, since papaya are grown year round. Also the first set of fields were publicized as non-GMO after the event, and cutting down random papaya trees for no publically known reason does not further the promotion of non-GMO tree stock, or serve to discourage farmers from growing GMO crops. It just discourages these farmers from growing papaya generally.
When this kind of effort is put out to damage farmers livelihood in such a small area, I would look at who stands to profit. I remember looking at land for sale in that area several years ago, and almost all of it was leased to farmers on fairly long leases. Is there someone who wants these farmers off that land badly enough to hire a crew to cut these trees down and pay them enough to keep their mouths shut? Is the competition in papaya farming so cut throat that farmers would do this to each other (unlikely)? Does someone object to the farming practices specific to papaya farming to the point where they would do this, but not publicize their reasons?
Random vandalism is usually just that, random, it is also usually small scale and unplanned. This is a pair of actions that took real effort and planning on the part of multiple people, I don't think the perpetrators of this just happened to all be riding around lower Puna with machetes on a full moon. The cops need to look at what is motivating this, and look for who stands to profit, not just write it off as lower Puna wackos with no proof, or else it looks like this will keep happening.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb