02-11-2008, 02:09 PM
Wow. It's so funny how different people see the same thing differently. I guess I have been lucky because no one has ever told me (in person) that I am the cause of the very few remaining native Hawaiian's stress. Although having been to Molokai (my first visit to Hawaii was to Molokai) I think I was inoculated against this because I could clearly see what an island was like before McDonalds (but not before Subway -- they have one of those!), and Wal-Mart. In other words, before those places that make an island look very much like the rest of America (that's bad, by the way --one of the great things about America used to be that every state was different. No more.). I only spent a week on Molokai, but it felt like a month, and I left changed. I can understand where locals are coming from. I mean, after you visit a distant and enormous waterfall, and you don't see another living human soul, well....
And it is true that there was a time when they could basically live off the land. It is also true that super-efficient Japanese marus are plundering the Pacific. They slaughter whales in the guise of "studying them". They pursue the ahi to the ends of the earth, to the point where one can foresee the end of the ahi.
Can you imagine what the fishing must have been like off of Hawaii 50 years ago? No, me neither. Something every important and "Edenic" was lost here and we can't get it back.....unless we scrape every house off of all the islands, create a reservation and make a National Park out of the place. The islands will continue their slow degradation. It is human nature, with the exception of certain humans, like Teddy Roosevelt.
The trash is disturbing. We can address it with better government, and better enforcement. No mercy!
But if you focus on the positive, oh what wonders remain. I am pretty well-traveled, but after going to Hawaii, I don't want to go anywhere else. Do I want to go freeze in Paris, or sniff exhaust from cars in London? Not anymore. These islands are magnificent, even in their decripitude, and even with the odd eyesore.
I respect your viewpoint, but I take a different view of Hilo. I absolutely love the "naturalistic" look of Hilo. It's the look of a forgotten outpost, a harbor town, populated by real people. Although I love the beaches near Kailua, the town of Kailua is much less charming to me than Hilo. Hilo has so much character.....it's all on parade at Cafe 100!
Yes, health care is not what it should be on the islands. Health care is not what it should be in America, and that affects the islands, especially the poorest on the islands. A comparable person in Canada, France, or Britain would have access to health care just by showing up at the clinic. While on the mainland, whenever I see a doctor (thankfully not that many), I say "Wouldn't you rather live in Hawaii? They really need doctors there." We can fix it if we try.
There are intense, and frustrating negatives about Hawaii, and the things that you note are different from mine (mine: larceny, lava). And yet you were pulled there. Me, too. So once we arrive for good, we can start working on solutions together. These islands deserve nothing less.
And it is true that there was a time when they could basically live off the land. It is also true that super-efficient Japanese marus are plundering the Pacific. They slaughter whales in the guise of "studying them". They pursue the ahi to the ends of the earth, to the point where one can foresee the end of the ahi.
Can you imagine what the fishing must have been like off of Hawaii 50 years ago? No, me neither. Something every important and "Edenic" was lost here and we can't get it back.....unless we scrape every house off of all the islands, create a reservation and make a National Park out of the place. The islands will continue their slow degradation. It is human nature, with the exception of certain humans, like Teddy Roosevelt.
The trash is disturbing. We can address it with better government, and better enforcement. No mercy!
But if you focus on the positive, oh what wonders remain. I am pretty well-traveled, but after going to Hawaii, I don't want to go anywhere else. Do I want to go freeze in Paris, or sniff exhaust from cars in London? Not anymore. These islands are magnificent, even in their decripitude, and even with the odd eyesore.
I respect your viewpoint, but I take a different view of Hilo. I absolutely love the "naturalistic" look of Hilo. It's the look of a forgotten outpost, a harbor town, populated by real people. Although I love the beaches near Kailua, the town of Kailua is much less charming to me than Hilo. Hilo has so much character.....it's all on parade at Cafe 100!
Yes, health care is not what it should be on the islands. Health care is not what it should be in America, and that affects the islands, especially the poorest on the islands. A comparable person in Canada, France, or Britain would have access to health care just by showing up at the clinic. While on the mainland, whenever I see a doctor (thankfully not that many), I say "Wouldn't you rather live in Hawaii? They really need doctors there." We can fix it if we try.
There are intense, and frustrating negatives about Hawaii, and the things that you note are different from mine (mine: larceny, lava). And yet you were pulled there. Me, too. So once we arrive for good, we can start working on solutions together. These islands deserve nothing less.