06-08-2008, 12:33 PM
Sorry in advance: I'm recovering from a nasty sinus infection from inhaling (dog poop likely) spearfishing and a bit boozy as well. As I often say, if your knickers are prone to twisting, beware.
It is hardly a day that goes by that I don't get some notice from some group I'm fringe involved with(read alienated from) about some or another new regulation, or correction in some or another body of law. Often this has something to do with building codes, or run-off restrictions, or limit on how many crappy vehicles you can store on yours, your brothers, or your brothers off island neighbors property. Or that you can't plant this or cut down this, or some such or whatever. Great. I'll assume for the moment that the people behind this sort of thing are well meaning, and they don't intend, and least consciously, to use the law as a sneak attack to prohibit a certain way of living. What, you might ask? A certain way of living? Yes, exactly that, one that values family time and leisure time more than cashflow and material possessions, big trucks exempted. I must say, I feel a certain snot nosed resentment from some in a lot of this: ie, I put in my 40 years by god, punching a clock, and what is up with those people there sitting on their porch! Jeez! It's the central pacific people! Sitting on the porch is the indigenous traditional sport! And there is nothing wrong with that!
I see more than anything a process here making certain that the cost of living becomes so high that no one except the idle rich can afford to live here. You may not appreciate small shaky houses in your neighbor hood, or crappy cars, or people with time on their hands, but that sort of "getting by" of thing is as traditional to the pacific ocean as poi and there's nothing wrong with it. As gas prices come up, as restrictions in every way of how to live, the size of the house you must own, ect ect ect come along, the notion of living "small" becomes trampled underfoot--which is criminal especially at a point in history in which we must ALL learn to live much much more small.
I think more than anything this can be the great source of Haole hatred, because, for sure, if we take a racial crosssection, the Haole tribe has got "on the make" written on it hard. We don't own a monopoly on that, and there's a fair number of locals who have in essence the same values and fly under radar with a 'brah' thrown in and all that--but really, why would you come to this place if you didn't expect to have the time to enjoy it?
So often, if you love a thing, the best thing to do to show it, is nothing at all.
It is hardly a day that goes by that I don't get some notice from some group I'm fringe involved with(read alienated from) about some or another new regulation, or correction in some or another body of law. Often this has something to do with building codes, or run-off restrictions, or limit on how many crappy vehicles you can store on yours, your brothers, or your brothers off island neighbors property. Or that you can't plant this or cut down this, or some such or whatever. Great. I'll assume for the moment that the people behind this sort of thing are well meaning, and they don't intend, and least consciously, to use the law as a sneak attack to prohibit a certain way of living. What, you might ask? A certain way of living? Yes, exactly that, one that values family time and leisure time more than cashflow and material possessions, big trucks exempted. I must say, I feel a certain snot nosed resentment from some in a lot of this: ie, I put in my 40 years by god, punching a clock, and what is up with those people there sitting on their porch! Jeez! It's the central pacific people! Sitting on the porch is the indigenous traditional sport! And there is nothing wrong with that!
I see more than anything a process here making certain that the cost of living becomes so high that no one except the idle rich can afford to live here. You may not appreciate small shaky houses in your neighbor hood, or crappy cars, or people with time on their hands, but that sort of "getting by" of thing is as traditional to the pacific ocean as poi and there's nothing wrong with it. As gas prices come up, as restrictions in every way of how to live, the size of the house you must own, ect ect ect come along, the notion of living "small" becomes trampled underfoot--which is criminal especially at a point in history in which we must ALL learn to live much much more small.
I think more than anything this can be the great source of Haole hatred, because, for sure, if we take a racial crosssection, the Haole tribe has got "on the make" written on it hard. We don't own a monopoly on that, and there's a fair number of locals who have in essence the same values and fly under radar with a 'brah' thrown in and all that--but really, why would you come to this place if you didn't expect to have the time to enjoy it?
So often, if you love a thing, the best thing to do to show it, is nothing at all.