Goddess Pele

[bluesboy]

Are you not familiar with the other reasons they are not considering diversion which is a) it doesn't work and b) it would likely send the flows towards other houses (possibly yours).

Accept the facts.

[Guest]

I am familiar, but no one has made that to be true, other than some stories of a attempt with 30-40 year old technology a long time ago.

Ive said many times, IF IF IF it is possible.

[Guest]

And IF IF IF IF its not possible, then make that argument, with proof. DO not say,

"Oh, we cant divert because Pele needs to do what Pele needs to do"

That type of unwillingness to act has cause some of the most sufferation in history.

Say we can not divert because..blank. And don't say because we tried 30 years ago. We tried to make cars that get 50 miles a gallon back then too.

[islandlvng]

Culture? Traditions? Pele? What and who are you guys talking about? I have lived in Puna for 26 years. The culture here is drugs, fighting and disrespect, Period. You have extremely small pockets of "locals" who have a true understanding of the Polynesian culture. Almost everyone is familiar with "Pele" and the name Pele but very few know what Pele is.

The local kids are more lost now than ever, 99% because of their parents who could not care less about their culture or tradition. If you disagree, I strongly encourage you to go out and have a life. Mingle, drive around and look at Puna. On a culture or tradition level, it is nothing short of disgusting. Engage in conversation with the youth in Pahoa, HPP, Nanawale, and ask them about culture and tradition and see what kind of look you get.

BJ Penn is more respected here than Pele is and does not have a drop of Hawaiian blood in him, maybe just on him at times. Doing dabs and getting high is more respected than Pele. Fighting and stealing is more respected here than Pele is. If that doesnt tell you something about "culture" here than nothing will.

So when some outsider or haole is confused and doesnt buy into the Pele culture, don't insult them, instead be ashamed that most of the locals here in Puna don't give a **** about their own culture to the point that they themselves are confused. This is very clear to outsiders who look in. People who are lost with zero since of responsibility or respect for true culture.

When a people who cares about their culture, live their life according to their cultures history, it is felt and respected by most all. I have had so many guests from the mainland come here and comment on how little they know about Hawaiians when they leave. Why? It is very simple. Just look around you.

[Guest]

I'm grabbing my popcorn for this one.

[fishenjim]

Do we really need religion to show us it's not nice to watch people suffer? There will be no attempt by the government to divert the lava. IMO. Unless ofcoarse it threatens the police station. Then maybe some sort of hopeless effort would be made. I believe the government would do what they could to save anyone in peril from the lava. Let's just hope we don't find out. The antiquated technologies in Puna are superior to my abilities to use them so I'm fine with things the way they are. I don't care what kind of God Any of you believe in and what makes a volcano goddess any less feesable than Jesus Christ. It's religion it's mysticism period

[Guest]

They sure as heck let New Orleans drown.

[snorkle]

It's interesting that you bring up New Orleans; A classic example of modern development and technology gone wrong. They "diverted" the Mississippi river all right. Another arrogant attempt to control nature. Without the Levee's and pumps running 24/7 New Orleans would be flooded, right? How'd that work out?

The city wouldn't have even have been built to the extent it was without the mighty levees surrounding it..... Flooding would have been minimal. The surrounding marshlands would have absorbed most of the Katrina's storm surge. There wouldn't have been a large population displaced.

Putting massive development in the way of natural forces and stupidly thinking you are smart enough to control them is a recipe for disaster. Don't you wonder why there are no huge resorts in Puna? Why the land is so reasonable? Are you smarter than people that have survived here for thousands of years without major problems?

Katrina didn't destroy New Orleans; It was folly.

The Lava won't destroy someone's McMansion; It's the lolo that put it where it doesn't belong, and is unable to move it out of the way.

edit;typo

[csgray]

Islandlvng,
I work with the youth of Hawaii every day, mostly local kids with at least a little Hawaiian in their heritage, and virtually all low income. I have to say that while all the things you said may be true about SOME kids here it is completely false for the majority of them. My students are proud of their Hawaiian heritage, many of them speak at least a little Hawaiian and most of the have at least some of the old ways as part of their lives, even if they only grow a little taro and make their own leis for special occasions. Many of them dedicate countless hours to learning hula, and when we do our morning chant to open the school day their voices ring out loud and proud. My students parents often work 2 or 3 jobs to take care of their families, and they still make it to parent teacher conferences and open house.

I have a student whose family is from Molokai, who speaks Hawaiian as a first language and English as a second, who was just admitted to UH-Manoa with a full free ride scholarship at the BEGINNING of his junior year in HS. His family does care about culture and tradition and none of their kids worship BJ Penn. I have a life, in fact I spend most of it with the kids of Hawaii, and you have it all wrong about the youth of Hawaii. Maybe you are just hanging out with lowlifes and scum, who attract kids who are lost, but your description does not apply to the vast majority of students I've had since I started teaching in Hawaii schools.

Carol

Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb

[DaVinci]

Wow. I leave the room for a couple days... you guys are really being vicious to each other. Except for TomK. Well done, Tom. So it's rounding out to be Oneself and somebody called "protoss" against the rest of y'all, eh? Okay, but it also seems to me as though everybody who got offended by the SIMPLE remark felt perfectly comfortable calling Oneself a "little bitch" and all sorts of other names. Act like you deserve respect and it may be more easily forthcoming.

Now I know I'm gonna get blasted for even stepping into this thread, but what the hell. Here's my 2 cents. I love a myth as much as the next guy. Really. I find myth and legend enriching in many ways. And I allow for others who may even believe that Pele is more than allegory. I do not, but hey, host culture, etc. What I'd also like to say however, is that those who advocate the positive aspects of Science are not "western" ... they are simply people for whom belief is less valuable than verifiable experiment. And that is the difference between your belief system and what I and perhaps others call scientific fact. Beliefs are lovely. You have yours. I have mine, but I can't give you a set of instructions which, if you followed them, would lead you to the wisdom of my belief system. Science can, however, provide a set of instructions that can be carried out by skeptical non-believers, who, if they perform the experiment correctly, will arrive at the same conclusion, no matter what their beliefs. That is Science, and that is different from Myth, Legend, Belief.