Politics and racism
Politics and racism
Barack Obama, our favorite son and our president, despite some flaws and shortcomings, is a good, honest person!
Some folks on the mainland, especially one who hails from Edmond, Oklahoma (Tribune-Herald, Your Views), need to be reminded that we here in Hawaii are not as skin-colored conscious and intolerant as he might be.
And, we don’t consider our commander-in-chief to be a disaster and disgrace, as proclaimed by that writer.
Sometimes, what one accuses another of, in a derogatory sense, could come flying right back in his face!
T. Ono
Hilo
Sad loss of tradition
In 1972, I first visited Big Island. Our bus tour guide announced we would see something found nowhere else in the world. We drove by the coral graffiti beds along the Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway. The tour guide explained it was a local tradition to share expressions of love and aloha without permanently harming the ‘aina. There was much awe and discussion on the bus of tourists because, truly, no one had seen anything like it. The positive sentiments of aloha and respect for the land were unheard of. Photos were taken.
In 1989, I again visited Big Island with my mother, a geography teacher and world traveler. Again the bus tour guide pointed out this locally created wonder. Again, positive discussions on the bus and photos taken.
Personally, I grew up in a small mainland city and visited several world cities. I’ve been sickened by spray-painted vulgarity and ever-growing gang markings on public buildings, in parks where children play, even defacing historic buildings, antiquities, statues. I’ve volunteered in more restorations and cleanups than I can count. In contrast, I tell people about the Queen Ka‘ahumanu graffiti on the Big Island, and how positive it is. It doesn’t kill trees or mar school yards.
In 2001, against all likelyhood, I was fortunate to marry a retired Big Island man. Again I returned to find the welcoming graffiti tradition, a garland trail of expressions of romance, faith, sorrow at loss, remembrances and “welcome home” signs to missed loved ones, a tradition created by locals over decades of time, perhaps lifetimes, unique in all the world.
Since 2001, my husband and I had many friends and family visit the Big Island. We always take them to see the graffiti fields that adorn the highway. All seem as amazed as myself.
As most of my family live on the mainland, I spend half the year there. When my husband and I returned last autumn and drove north on the highway, something seemed changed. I said, “Where is the aloha graffiti?” He said, “Don’t worry, it’s coming.”
Eventually we came to it, and I was comforted. I said, “When are you going to show your love by welcoming me home to you?” He laughed and said, “Someday.” As we drove by, I read out the messages, as I usually do upon returning, and was inspired that some messages had been there for decades. I prayed that love had lasted as long as its expression.
A century ago and a world away in the city of Paris, crews began putting together an unsightly heap of criss-crossed metal beams to build a radio communications tower. Massive opposition to the monstrosity dominated the city and nearly ended the endeavor. Nowadays, no one would think of removing the Eiffel Tower, unique and iconic in all the world.
I read in the paper that after generations and decades, this unique local tradition of coral graffiti is being removed. My tears are still falling.
Joan Oviatt
Hawaiian Paradise Park