Wegesend's got it wrong
"Oh God" were the first two words I uttered when I finished reading the propaganda laden piece by Pablo Wegesend. I'm curious as to whether or not he is a part of the monolithic propaganda machine that has set itself up in the American media?
Wegesend seems to forget there were times when speaking against the government landed people in jail. Mr. Wegesend, if the government had laws governing speech in the past (especially at wartime), what makes you think that they will not have them in the present or future? Are you aware that history tends to repeat itself?
I was quite impressed also with how Wegesend singled out non-European countries as places where freedom does not exist. A long time ago, there was a place called Germany that was ruled by a man named Hitler who made these people called Jews wear yellow stars. He then went on to kill millions of them.
Have you ever heard of that one? Hitler wasn't the only freedom-limiting dictator, but he is enough for that example.
Allow me to get to the meat of my argument. I'm very curious to know just how many other housing projects Wegesend has been to. How many other times has he seen the gap between rich and poor? I guess he thinks it is about as wide as a stream. In reality, it is more vast than a gulf.
Wegesend names places like Kuhio Park Terrace, Mayor Wright and Kalihi Valley Housing. Those are not the only projects on the planet, you know. Have you ever been to a mainland project before? Have you ever been to a place called Cabrini Green in Chicago — a project where looking at someone wrong could have put you in a body bag with a toe tag?
You ever hear an AK-47 fire on the streets of the nation's capitol? I have and it was not on a holiday. How about going to Perry, Bowen or Capitol Homes in Atlanta? I had to work at all three and let me tell you something, there is a HUGE gap between rich and poor.
Some of these people do not even have basic utilities, save electricity. There are also hungry people there, as well as massive drug sales and usage, crime and prostitution. I'd love it if you would go there so I could hear what you would have to say after eight little hours! I bet you'd be singing a different tune.
Let's not forget the elderly people, some of them war veterans, that have to eat dog and cat food so they can afford medicine. But this is the land of economic empowerment, right Wegesend?
Wegesend says that the pessimistic "far left" doubts that America is a place for economic progress. If this is such a place for economic progress, why are there so many people struggling to pay their bills? I'm not talking about people without education, I'm talking people with degrees. Just because [Wegesend's] father made it does not mean that everyone else will. As a journalist that expects to be taken seriously, I'd expect him to know that.
Ah, slavery, what the far (racist) right loves to bring up. "American slavery was abolished 145 years ago", Wegesend says.
So?
Apparently, economic progress is not being made here because we still talk of how much black men and women make in terms of how much white men and women make. In fact, white men make the most, and black women make the least at a job where they all have equal qualifications. How do you explain this one, Wegesend? I would love to hear your reason (excuse).
The right and far right both refuse to acknowledge workplace discrimination. In 1992, it was predicted that in sometime in the 2100's, blacks would make the same amount as whites. 2100? It's 2001 right now! I may as well quit school if it is going to take me that long to earn the same amount as a white man!
Wegesend also points to Bush's plan to give illegal aliens amnesty as a tribute to Bush's (or someone's, you tell me who) greatness. Bush was only considering it because he knows he needs more Hispanic voters to win the election, period point blank.
Finally, as far as women's rights are concerned, many Native American nations were structured in a matrilineal fashion. Ceremonies, laws and the issuance of justice were done with the woman's family in mind.
This, Ka Leo columnist, far outdated the creation of America. They had been like this since the beginning of time. Europeans fought over the status of women (and slaves) for ages, and it took America all the way until the last century to realize that a woman's vote is just as good as a man's.
Pablo, it's not a hate of America that drives the left. I'd go so far as to say the left probably loves America more than the right because the left is the side that wants to see some sort of progressivism in the country. The right would prefer to wave their American flags (made in China, by the way) and not change at all. As long as their pockets are fat, they are happy. You know, if all this puts me on the far left, or the left, or just left of center, that's fine by me. There are far more issues upon which I agree with the left. There are a very few upon which I agree with the right.
And Wegesend, get your math right. Slavery legally ended in 1865, not 1856 as your fuzzy math would lead the readers to believe. That was 136 years ago, not 145. There's no excuse for inaccurate journalism.
Tobin Jones
(by e-mail)
Communications
Kudos to Ka Leo for Trask coverage
I am proud of your efforts to be objective in your reporting. The impact of your paper in revealing facts about incidents regarding Professor (Haunani Kay) Trask enlightened many people. It showed how easily the news media practices yellow journalism which is commonplace in our society.
We depend on responsible reporting, and such tactics used in our local news is an insult to our intelligence and a crime. I admire your paper in maintaining its integrity and not being bought off by those with private agendas.
I may not like some of the actions of Trask but respect her candidness and truthfulness as she perceives it. She is very knowledgeable and I can see her passion to speak out. I deem myself to be intelligent and able to weigh the facts for myself, through my own research and investigation. I am able to evaluate the pros and cons. I make my own decisions and choices and take responsibility for them.
Thomas Jefferson once said that when people are afraid of government, it is tyranny; and when government is afraid of the people, it is liberty. As long as we are cognizant that government is afraid of the people and they will practice character assassination to all that oppose their ill practices, we will have our liberties preserved by speaking out. It is our right and privilege.
Thank you again for producing a credible paper we can all be proud of.
David M.K. Inciong, II
(by e-mail)
Mr. Means is actually a conservative
Kirsten Delaney in her comments on Dr. (Haunani) Trask refers to a lecture several years ago sponsored by the Associated Students of the University of Hawai'i and given by Russell Means. In her letter she refers to Means as an 'ultra-left Native American speaker.' Native American Mr. Means surely is. However it is not accurate to refer to him as left in any sense of the word. Two aspects of Means' celebrity reveal this rather clearly.
In the 1980's Means supported the Reagan administration's then support of the right wing terrorist grouping known as the Nicaraguan 'Contras.' At this time persons on the left (e.g. Manning Marable, Howard Zinn, Rosa Parks) were opposed to any funding of the CIA sponsored Contras.
Mr. Means also ran for vice-president on the ticket of the Libertarian Party. The Libertarian Party is a distinctly anti-left party, opposed to public spending on programs earmarked for poverty relief, supports decreases in taxes for businesses, and is unsupportive of laws that make it easier for working people to organize in unions, etc.
It is hard to imagine a great figure of the American left like, say, Martin Luther King Jr., who dedicated his life to organizing for such causes, able to make much sense of Means' choice to run for vice-president on such a ticket.
Stephen Philion
lecturer/Ph.D. candidate
Sociology
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