Paradise Drive activity

[bystander]

quote:

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"Bystander" reminds me of bumper stickers I've seen in up-country Maui that read; "Welcome to Hawaii- now go home". The real meaning is "please think of me as a local, even though I just got here". Peace!

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I've lived on this island since 1968. When did you get here?

[Greg]

Well bystander, my whole point was the Aloha spirit is not a who's been here longer contest. Yes, you've been here longer than me, but then some people don't get it even after 40 years. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who can respect the aina and help perpetuate the Hawaiian culture is welcome. The "I was here first, go home" mentality shows personal insecurity, and a lack of Aloha.

[Brad W]

So, these recent four violent deaths were all the result of two family disputes. Hardly a cowboy town crime spree. It doesn't make me want to "go home".

[Carey]

Hawaii Cty Crime Stats for 2000:
http://www.fedstats.gov/mapstats/crime/c...15001.html
(latest stats & ONLY I could find) Totals are lower than many areas in the US, but not all.
Looking at the Big Island Report, most days the crime & wanted seem to come fairly equally from around the island (remembering that the population on the East side is greater than the west & that Hilo/Puna is the top population area in the county.
When you look at any statistic, you must look at a number of things, including who generated the numbers, what is the statistical sig. for the numbers & so on... It is very interesting to look at the numbers while also looking at demographic information.
http://fastfacts.census.gov/servlet/CWSFacts?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=05000US15001&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US15%7C50000US1502&_street=&_county=05000US15001&_cd=&_cityTown=&_state=01000US&_zip=96749&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=search_by_address&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=500&_content=&_keyword=&_industry=

[Green]

Weather you live in puna,kona,LA.,New York, it's still America and this country was founded with violence it's part of our makeup, in fact we got so much violence we export it to other countries on a mass scale.

[Kelena]

Having lived in Europe, I have to say I agree that America is a violent country. When I came back after two years, I was shocked at how violent it was. I think there was one murder the entire time I was in Paris, and it was front page news for several days. Murders in the US are in on page 2 of the second section, "Metro".

However, this latest incident does not scare me much and, as everyone knows, I am scared of caterpillars, lava, tsunamis, things moving in the brush at night, fruit dropping on porches and the macaroni salad at Malama Market. This was a instance of domestic violence unlikely to be repeated. I did compare my town, Oceanside, California, to Kea'au and was suprised to see that crime stats were higher for Kea'au, but what are ya gonna do. Puna is, by an large, not a violent place. It is a peaceful, pastoral place.

[loffelkopffl]

i agree there's violence everywhere you go' and some ven cheer it on like a football game(shock and awe)but what gets me is the "local's mentality" of "heyt brah gonna burn down your house" whenever tey get pissed at somebody, what's up with that? aloha

[Carolann R]

This is a sad situation, I'm guessing the people living in HPP feel it for sure. This area is so beautiful and we're glad we get to be a part of it.

When I moved from Los Angeles to Phoenix, I was sure the crime rate would be much less, but it wasn't. There were also so many more problems with drugs it SEEMED. Now I see it was really just where my focus was at the time. I was more tuned-in to the violence and drugs since it was a new place for me.

There are drug problems everywhere and domestic violence too. I love Puna and none of this changes my view of it. I'm hoping that the good forces in the form of people who care will continue to make positive changes in the dark stuff.



Carrie

"All I can say about life is, Oh God, enjoy it." Bob Newhart

[Green]

Violence is gloried on tv,media,news, & our government; ie. "shock & Awe".
When Janet Jackson bared her breast "accidently", wow then we had a big problem. My god! " the media went too far something has to be done" It makes me feel like I live in a country thats upside down where insanity is the norm.

[Kelena]

I have to agree, Green. I first noticed this after 9/11 when we had such a graphic depiction of large scale violence. I started noticing how many movies and television shows depicted people falling, being stabbed, having a gun pointed at them, getting raped, and murdered sometimes in spectacular and graphic ways. I couldn't watch that stuff anymore. If you watch television for a few hours, someone's gonna get a gun pulled on them. And yet we think nothing of this poison and are blind to any long term effect this may have on our society. After Katrina, I hoped that the United States would consider giving Louisiana back to the much maligned French. I mean, if you are not using, give it someone who will. If they had, New Orleans would have a levee, the public schools would be top notch and crime and poverty would be a thing of the past. Louisiana would also have really, really boring television with documentaries about the postal service.....and not so many people committing mayhem and murder for our entertainment.

This guy in HPP didn't commit the crime because he watched too much coarse television,of course, but I am convinced that our appetite for salaciousness and violence have a cumulative effect on our society that together with other factors makes us the most violent developed nation on Earth next to Brazil.

All that being said, just living in HPP is much less dangerous than going in the water at Kehena Beach in the summertime. And that activity is a thousand times less dangerous than an activity I engage in every day after work: Driving Home on Highway 5 in Southern California.