californiazation of puna

[punafish]

Glenn,
I can understand why you'd be offended. Hopefully you'll consider the source and keep on smiling. I can't control what others think and say. What I can do is offer you aloha and friendship should our paths ever cross.
Hope to meet you in Puna someday!

Tim

[punagirl]

I hope everyone else has the same attitude as Glenn an realizes it was just one person making the post like that. I was really afraid those post would scare everyone away.

Atlanta/Pahoa

[aprild]

Aloha, Tim.
Thank you for your kind words and offer of friendship. I am truly touched. I would be honored to meet you, your wife and boys.



april

[Hazen]

While i disagree with Frank on homosexuality I will passionately defend his right to his opinion. It takes all types, undoubtably many people agree with him. Hell, Bush is in office, he probably feels similiarly. I think he got elected fairly this last time. IT TAKES ALL TYPES.

But, I would whole-heartedly agree that positive is the current we need to be riding here. As many great people have demonstrated throughout history, good can overcome. So lets all aloha-up a little.

Together.

I have many great friends who i get along with royally that I respectfully disagree with. Our differences make us stronger through diversity, lets not allow them to seperate us. As a california resident for the last five years, i can tell you that I really don't want the baseline homogenization that runs so rampant there to invade here.

Mahalo,
hazen

[aprild]

Aloha All.

I must say that, although everyone has a right to their own viewpoint, they do not, similarly, have the right to call names, use offensive language, attack others who challenge their behavior and language and otherwise behave in ways that are highly offensive to others. More importantly, a person who behaves this way trammels on the rights of others. Hate crimes against gays begin with nasty language. Let's put this in another context: what if it was African Americans who were attacked on this page? What would you say then? Would you also defend the 'right' of the racist to use the N word and trumpet his/her hatred of blacks? While free speech is a right, I do not believe that it was ever meant to protect hate and bigotry--it's use is for political dissent, freedom of artistic expression, religious expression, and so on. When those who defend their right to attack others also turn on and attack those who disagree with them--thereby attempting to stifle open discussion and the opinions of others--then I know that they are not proponents of free speech, but of control and aggression. This is also known as being a bully. I have seen this behavior too often to approve of it under any guise. Let's be very clear here: it is unacceptable to use hateful language, to attack others-- especially on the basis of race, gender or sexual orientation and that's the law of our land. An even higher law is that of God: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This free speech argument is a slippery slope, do not even stand near the edge.

The only appropriate response from someone who has misspoken in such an excessive way is, "I'm sorry" not a rant about 'rights' and how horrible it is to be p.c. That's like saying, "I am burdened by having to show respect to other humans."

Don't condone hate or pretend that it has the right to hide behind the Constitution. It is just wrong.

april

[mella l]

AprilD, Thank you for this post. It is so clear and succinct how could anyone not understand it. I copied it I hope you don't mind. Perhaps I'll need to refer to it in the future, although I hope not. We will be building in Eden Roc and when we are settled I would like to invite you to our house blessing ceremony, along with Hazen, PLamont, Punafish, GlennP, Punagirl, emorata/Tim, our new forum member BradW, and Louie, my close neighbor, and others I'm sure by then will be included. The east side is our neighborhood. Let's keep it nice spiritually, and materially for us and those who will follow. I wish I were there already, to run into each of you at the farmers market, or in the used book store, or the nursery. Looking forward and forward. With Much Aloha, Mahalo Mella L

mella l