A terrible plan
After reading the column in the Tribune-Herald (“A plan to help those displaced by lava,” Their View, June 5), I could not stop laughing.
It seems now that thousands of lives have been ruined and tens of millions of dollars in property lost to the East Rift Zone disaster, we, the taxpayers of Hawaii County, must pay for their stupidity.
I cannot believe the hardworking taxpayers would approve of higher taxes and more FREE giveaways by the county at their expense. It is unimaginable that we subsidize people who, of their own free will, bought property in an active lava zone.
My god, when will it end? We are now supposed to accept the fact that government wants to be not only our nanny but our benefactor as well.
How much more do we have to take from this bloated, graft-ridden bureaucracy? It was members of the Hawaii elite and political class that sold these lots and land to people without disclosing the basic fact that “you can lose everything” when the volcano erupts and your house and property are overrun by 2,000-degree lava.
Now we are to subsidize the political grifters and crooked land developers who sold these properties in the first place.
After reading professor (David) Hammes’ diatribe on how we should all pay since they are wonderful people and might leave paradise, I almost puked.
I think he clearly has his head firmly up his ass and cannot see anything but his “social justice warrior” agenda. Free goods for all, and stick the hardworking stiffs who did not get snookered by the slick land developers and crooked politicians with the bill.
I am sure he is an open borders, anti-Trumper who never saw a government program that was rife with corruption and graft for those politicians and land developers who love to give away the money of hardworking taxpayers.
David Ocheltree
North Kohala
Social media pitfalls
Roseanne Barr got into huge trouble by tweeting what is considered a racist comparison. She said it was only a joke, though later admitted it was in poor taste.
In society, one of the important ironic paradoxes is that we largely behave like we are defined by what we say and do, but instead, often we are historically defined by what others say we mean.
Social media has made that more true than ever before because with a simple click, millions instantly know what we said, and with another click, millions know what others say we said, whether true or not.
So tweet sweet. Face in good taste. Text no sex. “E” elegantly. No mad dog blog. No slam Instagram.
When we use social media (which is often actually antisocial hate media), we should be thinking that our mom or God will be seeing it.
Leighton Loo
Mililani, Oahu
