Letters To The Editor
April 26, 2006 - MidWeek
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Del.icio.usKeep lua separate
In his column “A Question of Coed Restrooms” Bob Jones goes after the Hawaii Christian Coalition for opposing a bill that would legally redefine “sex” from its traditional meaning of “male or female” to mean whatever any individual wants it to mean, then predicts the day when our public toilets will no longer be marked “kane” and “wahine.”
Excuse us for being conservative and traditional, but we still believe women are not the same as men, and saying so does not make it so. HB1233 SD1 purports to make it illegal to discriminate in places of public accommodation based on “sexual orientation” and/or “sex, including gender identity or expression.”
What is “gender identity or expression”? The bill defines the phrase: “Gender identity or expression includes a person’s actual or perceived gender, as well as a person’s gender identity, gender-related self-image, gender-related appearance, or gender-related expression, regardless of whether it is different from that traditionally associated with the person’s sex at birth.”
If language stating that “sex” includes “gender identity or expression” becomes codified in law - and subsequently extended throughout Hawaii’s statutes - the “unintended consequences” could be far-reaching.
Garret T. Hashimoto Hawaii Christian Coalition
Mazie and abortion
Dan Boylan portrays Mazie Hirono as a very staunch supporter of abortion rights. After all, she is the founder of the Patsy T. Mink Political Action Committee, which raises money for pro-choice Democrats. She calls herself “solidly pro-choice.” She also says that we need more support for preschools.
How sad that Mazie refuses to support her fellow Democrats who are pro-life. Only the ones who support a woman’s “right to kill her unborn child” are tolerated by Mazie. How ironic that Mazie has sympathy for the 3- or 4-year-old preschooler, but no sympathy for the unborn child.
Mazie’s mother chose life for her, and even raised her alone. Mazie’s mother was courageous to do so.
Real support for women is supporting them through an untimely pregnancy. Abortion only makes things worse: a dead baby, a wounded woman, and a wounded (or off-the-hook) father.
Teresa Fredericks
Makakilo
Inexperience hurts
Thanks to Don Chapman for the entertaining column “Feeling Awfully White.”
But regarding the woman who became infected after she fell on the reef while surfing in contaminated water, I must point out that the woman was not an experienced surfer. If she rented a board from the Hilton, that tells me something right away! I feel so very sorry for her and hope she comes out of it all right, but I am very certain she was a beginner.
I have been surfing that area (mostly at Ala Moana Bowls) for 35 years, and hope I have an immunity built up, but am not going out to Bowls for awhile.
The reef at Kaiser’s is very shallow and also has all kinds of remnants from boats that have fallen victim to the sharp coral - so close to the surface, you can snag your leash on them. Low tide, beware!
All the local surfers hope we can be in the water soon. Meanwhile, we are exploring other breaks, although not as good as this area.
Jeannie Chesser
Honolulu
Haole and local
Regarding Brian Kasai’s letter “Both sides now” in response to Eric Rosenfeld’s letter “Haole diversity,” they both have good points, but the more politically correct one lies with Eric. I just have to add my “2 cents.”
Being of mostly Portuguese ancestry, it has always baffled me as a youngster and amused me as an adult that I’m always treated one way when “branded” a haole, but the moment local people find out I am fourth generation local Portuguese, I am all of a sudden OK!And this is usually from the local Hawaiian and Asian community. Go figure!
Daniel P. Souza
Makiki
Gift of Pa’ina
Thanks so much for the beautiful Honolulu Pa’ina photo spread on the Legacy Awards (and I’d say that even if Keith and Carmen were not in it). Every place we turned all weekend, people told us about it. About a dozen friends have given us their copies of the Pa`ina pages. At a family meeting Saturday, about half a dozen `ohana members brought us pages. At the Easter brunch with friends, four more copies.
Mahalo a nui loa to everyone involved.
Keith (& Carmen) Haugen
Honolulu
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