Political merry-go-round
Musical Chairs, anyone? City Councilman Djou wants to replace Mayor Mufi, who wants to replace Gov. Lingle, who may be left standing.
Djou’s recent comments (“Sleep on it,” 2/24) make it sound like he’s serious. His “a carrot and a stick” statements are those of the wealthy representative from a wealthy neighborhood who wants to scare those who see the homeless exclusively as offensive, rather than offended-against: A fundamental vote-getting strategy.
Many of the homeless have been ruined and raped by “the system,” a government that raises taxes while cutting jobs, making Hawaiʻi’s exorbitant rent prices unpayable. Entire families end up homeless through no fault of their own.
In Kapiolani Park, the campers are usually more careful with their trash than the “visitors,” local or not. They tend to smell, as do many of the sacred tourists. They’re noisy, like the children of those same visitors and tourists.
As Darlene Hein of the Waikiki Health Center points out in the same article, it’s not only better, it’s even cheaper to help the homeless than to eliminate them. But that type of talk will never get her elected. Not in Hawaii.
Tom Luna
Honolulu
COMMENTS
We often print online comments in our “Letters to the Editor” section of Honolulu Weekly. While submitted letters are often edited for length and clarity, online comments we use are printed entirely as they are written for the website. If you do not wish for your comment to be used in Honolulu Weekly print issues, please write “Don’t Print” at the end of your comment. For questions, e-mail editorial@honoluluweekly.com. Thank you!