08-31-2007, 04:20 AM
Everybody gets to look bad! What a typical situation for Hawaii. The State Government looks bad for by-passing its own environmental regulations. The Superferry guys look bad for trying to jumpstart their operation in the face of an impending injunction, stranding some customers in the process. The citizens look thuggish pounding on the hoods of cars coming off the boat and screaming at fellow "locals" to go back to Oahu. The surfers look childish splashing water on the Coast Guard, and the Coast Guard looks incompetent for not being able to deal with the surfers. The tourist industry looks like it can't even buy any good press, and the mainland news media have already picked up the whole stupid story. First it was bad news about haoles being beaten up in nasty racial incidents, and now this. And believe me, when some of my backwoods relatives back on the mainland have heard these stories (and they have), the news has penetrated pretty deeply.
When people stop wanting to come here on vacation, we are all in trouble. Ask Aaron Stene about hard times in Hawaii. When companies feel they can't trust the state government or expect to do business here without kowtowing to small extremist groups, we are in trouble. This place is an isolated group of rocks. Thumbing our noses at the business world and progress is nothing less than self-destructive. It is a great way to lose what you are trying to save. Just wait and see.
When people stop wanting to come here on vacation, we are all in trouble. Ask Aaron Stene about hard times in Hawaii. When companies feel they can't trust the state government or expect to do business here without kowtowing to small extremist groups, we are in trouble. This place is an isolated group of rocks. Thumbing our noses at the business world and progress is nothing less than self-destructive. It is a great way to lose what you are trying to save. Just wait and see.