Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Letters for Sunday, June 24, 2007
• Mixed messages
• The ‘idiots’ were here long before UFC or MMA
• How can fighting be entertaining?
• Spay and dump does not work
Mixed messages
Richard Hanki (“Enjoy the ‘Enjoy the good ole days’,” Letters, June 22) sends out some mixed messages in his recent letter. His last sentence, “Stop complaining and enjoy paradise,” pretty much nullifies everything he said before. This is the same “stick your head in the sand or keep your head in the clouds and just enjoy what you’ve got” attitude that others have employed in this forum.
He rightfully identifies the problems, and rightfully states that they need to be solved, but I fail to understand how he expects them to get solved if people don’t get fired up about them. He and others seem to think that the complaining is simply a mindless activity with no purpose and no use, but they are all quite wrong. The complaints are rallying cries for others who feel the same way — it lets them know that they are not alone in their frustration. It is a way for people to gauge the level of support for change. Given that the prevailing attitude for many years here has been “don’t you dare change anything,” telling people to stop complaining is tantamount to telling people to stop caring. That is the last thing we need.
Perhaps, Mr. Hanki, if you were here for more than two weeks every other year, you would understand the level of frustration some of us feel, and you would have a different view of the complaints. When you have daily reminders of the slow but steady destruction of one of the most beautiful places on the planet, when you are stuck in traffic with vehicles carrying bumper stickers that say “Save the ‘Aina” as the occupants casually throw their cigarette butts out onto the road to be swept into the ocean, or you see a flatbed truck barreling down the highway with trash blowing out the back, maybe then you will understand what the complaining is about.
When my experience with Kaua‘i consisted of two weeks per year, I was just as clueless. As a permanent resident, I see things quite differently. Stop sending mixed messages. Either you want the problems fixed, or you don’t. You can’t want the problems fixed and demand everyone just accept what we have.
Michael Mann
‘Ele‘ele
The ‘idiots’ were here long before UFC or MMA
Aloha. As a martial-arts/mma instructor for over 35 years and also one of the promoters for the MMA shows on Kaua‘i, I ask you, how can you say that ultimate fighting is to blame for the violence in the islands? ...Idiots, as you say, starting fights?
Well, just a bit of history for you. These idiots (as you call them) have been here long before UFC came into the limelight of TV. I personally dealt with them as a bouncer at Kuhio’s at Po‘ipu, Kuhio’s at Wailua, on the beach, restaurants, gas stations, driving home from work, at the store, airports, planes, surfing, on and on ... idiots, as you call them, have been here since mankind has been on earth!
My family has been on Kaua‘i for generations (Hanapepe valley). I deal with “idiots” every day at work and they still will be here long after you and I are gone.
Randy Ortiz
Hanapepe
How can fighting be entertaining?
Regarding the recent views addressing the “sport” of Mixed Martial Arts and the effect it has on our Garden Isle society, can someone please explain to me how bludgeoning someone to near death is in any way a form of art?
It’s common knowledge that most ancient Oriental and Asian martial arts originated as forms of self defense and involves physical and mental skill as well as calculated moves and steps generally of an organized pattern or form.
Two grown men thrown in a cage to fight it out is nothing more than a cockfight. The “sport” itself does not focus on the spiritual and mental discipline as other traditional martial arts do, ie: karate, judo, tae kwon do, tai chi chuan. Don’t fool yourself, when that bell rings those men are filled with nothing but pure negativity, they’re FIGHTING. How is this entertaining?
I Google-ed MMA and found a Web site promoting the “sport,” also known as Ultimate Fighting. As a new sport, I wonder how steroids are regulated. Even for the bigger events, do drugs or weapons begin to have a role just as in cockfighting?
More importantly, how does promoting this activity send a positive message to our youths? What kind of role models are professional fighters? Unfortunately, we are exposed to this sport through media because there’s money to be made, resulting in people accepting this kind of violence as normal.
I’m not sure what is worse, teaching our youths that violence can be glorifying and really pay off big, or someone having so little personal resources to evolve into one who gets paid big time to just beat people up as a profession.
There are obvious differences between traditional and mixed martial arts and along with cockfighting I feel they both should be outlawed. Imagine what we could accomplish with the time and energy wasted on fighting.
Simon Beatty
Kilauea
Spay and dump does not work
I would like to respond to the letters about the cat problem on your island.
I think if the person from Virginia had actually traveled through Pakala and Kaumakani she would see how bad the cat situation is on the island. I agree with the gentleman from Kekaha. Those cats live in disgusting conditions and are constantly being run over and mauled by larger cats. When I was staying with my friend there in Kaumakani a few years back, the cats were everywhere, eating from the garbage, some had nasty goop and eye infections to the point that they couldn’t even open their eye, and some had obvious battle wounds from other obviously larger cats.
Is this humane? This is no way for a cat to live. Apparently the Humane Society there has been trying this “spay and dump” idea for many years now and the problem is only getting worse.
Putting a cat to sleep is not “killing” it as if you were going on some gopher hunt with a shotgun. It is peaceful and very humane. Much, much more humane than the current system. What kind of life is that for a cat to be spayed and dumped by the Humane Society with no shelter or protection from the weather or other animals? Furthermore, what kind of diseases are they spreading to pets and people by allowing these conditions to exist?
Just hoping that people will stop dumping their pets, and just hoping that the spay and dump strategy is suddenly going to start working after many years of failure is not the answer.
Wasn’t it just a few years ago you all paid for a multi-million dollar facility for the Humane Society? Despite this, Kauaians obviously still have the exact same problem as you’ve always had.
Spaying and dumping, lecturing the public and crossing your fingers obviously is not the answer.
Randy Schenkmann
Lake Havasu City
• The ‘idiots’ were here long before UFC or MMA
• How can fighting be entertaining?
• Spay and dump does not work
Mixed messages
Richard Hanki (“Enjoy the ‘Enjoy the good ole days’,” Letters, June 22) sends out some mixed messages in his recent letter. His last sentence, “Stop complaining and enjoy paradise,” pretty much nullifies everything he said before. This is the same “stick your head in the sand or keep your head in the clouds and just enjoy what you’ve got” attitude that others have employed in this forum.
He rightfully identifies the problems, and rightfully states that they need to be solved, but I fail to understand how he expects them to get solved if people don’t get fired up about them. He and others seem to think that the complaining is simply a mindless activity with no purpose and no use, but they are all quite wrong. The complaints are rallying cries for others who feel the same way — it lets them know that they are not alone in their frustration. It is a way for people to gauge the level of support for change. Given that the prevailing attitude for many years here has been “don’t you dare change anything,” telling people to stop complaining is tantamount to telling people to stop caring. That is the last thing we need.
Perhaps, Mr. Hanki, if you were here for more than two weeks every other year, you would understand the level of frustration some of us feel, and you would have a different view of the complaints. When you have daily reminders of the slow but steady destruction of one of the most beautiful places on the planet, when you are stuck in traffic with vehicles carrying bumper stickers that say “Save the ‘Aina” as the occupants casually throw their cigarette butts out onto the road to be swept into the ocean, or you see a flatbed truck barreling down the highway with trash blowing out the back, maybe then you will understand what the complaining is about.
When my experience with Kaua‘i consisted of two weeks per year, I was just as clueless. As a permanent resident, I see things quite differently. Stop sending mixed messages. Either you want the problems fixed, or you don’t. You can’t want the problems fixed and demand everyone just accept what we have.
Michael Mann
‘Ele‘ele
The ‘idiots’ were here long before UFC or MMA
Aloha. As a martial-arts/mma instructor for over 35 years and also one of the promoters for the MMA shows on Kaua‘i, I ask you, how can you say that ultimate fighting is to blame for the violence in the islands? ...Idiots, as you say, starting fights?
Well, just a bit of history for you. These idiots (as you call them) have been here long before UFC came into the limelight of TV. I personally dealt with them as a bouncer at Kuhio’s at Po‘ipu, Kuhio’s at Wailua, on the beach, restaurants, gas stations, driving home from work, at the store, airports, planes, surfing, on and on ... idiots, as you call them, have been here since mankind has been on earth!
My family has been on Kaua‘i for generations (Hanapepe valley). I deal with “idiots” every day at work and they still will be here long after you and I are gone.
Randy Ortiz
Hanapepe
How can fighting be entertaining?
Regarding the recent views addressing the “sport” of Mixed Martial Arts and the effect it has on our Garden Isle society, can someone please explain to me how bludgeoning someone to near death is in any way a form of art?
It’s common knowledge that most ancient Oriental and Asian martial arts originated as forms of self defense and involves physical and mental skill as well as calculated moves and steps generally of an organized pattern or form.
Two grown men thrown in a cage to fight it out is nothing more than a cockfight. The “sport” itself does not focus on the spiritual and mental discipline as other traditional martial arts do, ie: karate, judo, tae kwon do, tai chi chuan. Don’t fool yourself, when that bell rings those men are filled with nothing but pure negativity, they’re FIGHTING. How is this entertaining?
I Google-ed MMA and found a Web site promoting the “sport,” also known as Ultimate Fighting. As a new sport, I wonder how steroids are regulated. Even for the bigger events, do drugs or weapons begin to have a role just as in cockfighting?
More importantly, how does promoting this activity send a positive message to our youths? What kind of role models are professional fighters? Unfortunately, we are exposed to this sport through media because there’s money to be made, resulting in people accepting this kind of violence as normal.
I’m not sure what is worse, teaching our youths that violence can be glorifying and really pay off big, or someone having so little personal resources to evolve into one who gets paid big time to just beat people up as a profession.
There are obvious differences between traditional and mixed martial arts and along with cockfighting I feel they both should be outlawed. Imagine what we could accomplish with the time and energy wasted on fighting.
Simon Beatty
Kilauea
Spay and dump does not work
I would like to respond to the letters about the cat problem on your island.
I think if the person from Virginia had actually traveled through Pakala and Kaumakani she would see how bad the cat situation is on the island. I agree with the gentleman from Kekaha. Those cats live in disgusting conditions and are constantly being run over and mauled by larger cats. When I was staying with my friend there in Kaumakani a few years back, the cats were everywhere, eating from the garbage, some had nasty goop and eye infections to the point that they couldn’t even open their eye, and some had obvious battle wounds from other obviously larger cats.
Is this humane? This is no way for a cat to live. Apparently the Humane Society there has been trying this “spay and dump” idea for many years now and the problem is only getting worse.
Putting a cat to sleep is not “killing” it as if you were going on some gopher hunt with a shotgun. It is peaceful and very humane. Much, much more humane than the current system. What kind of life is that for a cat to be spayed and dumped by the Humane Society with no shelter or protection from the weather or other animals? Furthermore, what kind of diseases are they spreading to pets and people by allowing these conditions to exist?
Just hoping that people will stop dumping their pets, and just hoping that the spay and dump strategy is suddenly going to start working after many years of failure is not the answer.
Wasn’t it just a few years ago you all paid for a multi-million dollar facility for the Humane Society? Despite this, Kauaians obviously still have the exact same problem as you’ve always had.
Spaying and dumping, lecturing the public and crossing your fingers obviously is not the answer.
Randy Schenkmann
Lake Havasu City
 |
||
| Single-family vacation rentals: Searching for the balance |
Related headlines
- Letters for Monday, June 22, 2009
- Letters for Wednesday, September 9, 2009
- Letters for Sunday, June 21, 2009
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of kauaiworld.com.
HiKauai wrote on Feb 11, 2009 9:19 AM:
" Hello again TGI,
Please do not expect anyone to buy your theory of promotion or advertising and success program Waimea High School. We the former students there at one time in our lives actually do not care of local propaganda and success story with you or anyone there and their cars to show for as a success story.
Basically, I wrote to Waimea High School, and I suspect as always that this town is a ghost town. No offense but there is nothing to do there, just unemployed educators and former students.
I am not with their idea of success story, and I am not placing religion or anything like that on anyone, because as you know, this is still a free country and you can do anything you want. The whole idea of success just doesn't work well in a farm club setting and wanting to make it out or make it happen after you graduate in high school there to say the least.
Basically, some people I may know here, think some of you people still stuck there are still losers because you haven't made it happen for yourself or others, if you get my point staying home doing nothing.
Sincerely,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
Please do not expect anyone to buy your theory of promotion or advertising and success program Waimea High School. We the former students there at one time in our lives actually do not care of local propaganda and success story with you or anyone there and their cars to show for as a success story.
Basically, I wrote to Waimea High School, and I suspect as always that this town is a ghost town. No offense but there is nothing to do there, just unemployed educators and former students.
I am not with their idea of success story, and I am not placing religion or anything like that on anyone, because as you know, this is still a free country and you can do anything you want. The whole idea of success just doesn't work well in a farm club setting and wanting to make it out or make it happen after you graduate in high school there to say the least.
Basically, some people I may know here, think some of you people still stuck there are still losers because you haven't made it happen for yourself or others, if you get my point staying home doing nothing.
Sincerely,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
HiKauai wrote on Feb 11, 2009 1:45 PM:
" First of all, let this be known, that these comments here are worthless and useless considering the topic being discussed. We found this topic a useless waist of time and money. This is from any intellectual interested reader. And yes, I am not associated with any former classmates there on Kauai also, for this matter alone.
Sincerely,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
Sincerely,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
HiKauai wrote on Feb 11, 2009 1:50 PM:
" I have seen alot of losers being mentioned in association to Waimea High School sports at UH Manoa. Might I add they are the one's who are delerious and a debachery to any level minded reader. These names are wide and long. And they run from 1979-1990 graduates trying grace the pages of Kauai and represent that school, outrageous. I for one, right now am putting all of them down for ever contemplating fame and popularity. We actually do not understand your fame and glory at Waimea High School.
This is in regards to your articles on the Waimea High School athletics and any department there.
Sincerely,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
This is in regards to your articles on the Waimea High School athletics and any department there.
Sincerely,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
HiKauai wrote on Feb 11, 2009 1:55 PM:
" Losers I have mentioned that graced those pages are as follows:
Ross Kagawa 1984' UH baseball 1987' classmate of Percival Butay(cousin)
Edmond Acoba 1981'
Liko Pereira 1989 and someother school baseball?
Kui Souza 1988 Sacramento state baseball
Craig Ibara 1983' HPC of honolulu baseball
Keith Pigao - student information desk for all information here for class reunion
Lyman Lacro 1986, UH Volleyball 1987
Barry Magoay 1985, UH Volleyball 1989
These are just some of the names trying to gain popular votes via their own high School Waimea High School
even now. Unreal!
Best regards,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
Ross Kagawa 1984' UH baseball 1987' classmate of Percival Butay(cousin)
Edmond Acoba 1981'
Liko Pereira 1989 and someother school baseball?
Kui Souza 1988 Sacramento state baseball
Craig Ibara 1983' HPC of honolulu baseball
Keith Pigao - student information desk for all information here for class reunion
Lyman Lacro 1986, UH Volleyball 1987
Barry Magoay 1985, UH Volleyball 1989
These are just some of the names trying to gain popular votes via their own high School Waimea High School
even now. Unreal!
Best regards,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
HiKauai wrote on Feb 12, 2009 1:08 PM:
" Hello again TGI,
This is me, Dean Kelly Sabado. Thank you for letting me comment on your articles there on the island. I just want to thank everyone agreeing with myself on who actually I meant, calling them losers in that town. Ha! Ha! Ha! I am a personal graduate of that high school but will proudly say if they keep up the good work in academics and life, will not be too ashamed of being associated with Waimea High School as an alumni.
Sorry, but there are others who felt this way! Here on the island of Honolulu and even the mainland. These names may have one time in their lives even mine represent the epitome of failure and laughs, and not success.
best regards,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
This is me, Dean Kelly Sabado. Thank you for letting me comment on your articles there on the island. I just want to thank everyone agreeing with myself on who actually I meant, calling them losers in that town. Ha! Ha! Ha! I am a personal graduate of that high school but will proudly say if they keep up the good work in academics and life, will not be too ashamed of being associated with Waimea High School as an alumni.
Sorry, but there are others who felt this way! Here on the island of Honolulu and even the mainland. These names may have one time in their lives even mine represent the epitome of failure and laughs, and not success.
best regards,
Dean Kelly Sabado "
fvr wrote on Sep 1, 2009 9:32 AM:
" fvr wrote on Aug 31, 2009 2:12 AM:
" My heart goes out to the family for their loss. Kauai grieves with you,and your family.
Kauai still grieves for the unsolved murder of, Sandra Mendoca.
Sandy was my sons classmate, and a very sweet, honest, and genuine young lady, even as a child.
Sandy would be 31 this year.
When my son heard she was murdered, at first he could not believe it.
Then he wept. He kept saying, no she can't be dead, not like that.
He went to St.Catherines School with her, from age 5, from Kindergarten.
He said, Sandy was the best, a model student, and liked by the entire class.
Sometimes she ignored him, when he got in an impish-rascal-prankster mode. He use to say, Sandy does'nt like me mom, cause I naughty. Yet even as a small child, he respected her sincere, moral character, exemplary behavior, and demeanor.
Till this day he is in disbelief, and schocked, that anyone would hurt, this beautiful young lady.
We both still pray for Sandra.
I pray for all who suffer from, violent acts against women, and children.
I offer my deepest sympathy, to the family, and will include you in my prayers.
God bless you, in your time of grief. I pray you find some peace. " "
" My heart goes out to the family for their loss. Kauai grieves with you,and your family.
Kauai still grieves for the unsolved murder of, Sandra Mendoca.
Sandy was my sons classmate, and a very sweet, honest, and genuine young lady, even as a child.
Sandy would be 31 this year.
When my son heard she was murdered, at first he could not believe it.
Then he wept. He kept saying, no she can't be dead, not like that.
He went to St.Catherines School with her, from age 5, from Kindergarten.
He said, Sandy was the best, a model student, and liked by the entire class.
Sometimes she ignored him, when he got in an impish-rascal-prankster mode. He use to say, Sandy does'nt like me mom, cause I naughty. Yet even as a small child, he respected her sincere, moral character, exemplary behavior, and demeanor.
Till this day he is in disbelief, and schocked, that anyone would hurt, this beautiful young lady.
We both still pray for Sandra.
I pray for all who suffer from, violent acts against women, and children.
I offer my deepest sympathy, to the family, and will include you in my prayers.
God bless you, in your time of grief. I pray you find some peace. " "
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
RSS
HiKauai wrote on Feb 11, 2009 9:08 AM:
RE: 2/11/2009 and the above topic
Can we cut out the "EXPLETIVE" here. Everyone knows if you are or were affiliated with high school at one time in your life in Waimea, Kauai, you would know that you do not place one of the three stooges willing to work at Kentucky fried chicken and place him at the vice principal's seat at Waimea High School. We all know that BOE and DOE played no roll in this nonsense of students being athletes then becomming success in the respected choice of degree and field like a BA degree. An example, you cannot put someone like a Pereira or even an Aaron Francisco from Kahuku High School, now former Arizona Cardinals NFL, as a BA candidtate after a prolific showing in sports. It just does not work that way. We all know that they cannot be serious placing academics after a 10 year assistant coach with a rediculous man/educator and/or coach if I might add like Tommy Rita of the 1980's and then expect him, Patrick Pereira to educate people in 2000's after being associated with dumb athletes all their life and now turn to academics. Now they educate people? Ha! What are we looking at here is basically a rediculous and dumber community than most perceived DOE standard base learning. Otherwise throw this article out already, alright?
best regards,
Dean Kelly Sabado "