Friday, July 21, 2006

"Just Leave Lebanon Alone" Whining, Hawaiian Style

A resident of Hilo, Hawaii has just been whisked away from Lebanon to Cyprus:

Big Island teacher Sarah Ahmadia's week-long journey to escape Lebanon has ended with a short ride on a U.S. military helicopter to Cyprus.

Ahmadia, 27, a biology teacher at the Keaau campus of Kamehameha Schools, along with her aunt and cousin, were among 200 Americans who were forced to wait another day after embassy officials overbooked the chartered cruise ship Orient Queen a day earlier.

"Nobody seems to be taking an active role in this crisis," said Ahmadia's father, principal of Keaau Middle School, who was born and raised in Lebanon. "That's not acceptable. Our government and the world should not sit back and let this go on."

"I'm not a politician. I just want to see peace. Just leave Lebanon alone," he said.

For some people, just leaving Israel alone is not an option or even a concern. There were eight "nays" for House Resolution 921 that:

Condemning the recent attacks against the State of Israel, holding terrorists and their state-sponsors accountable for such attacks, supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and for other purposes


One of those "Nays" was from Neil Abercrombie (D-HI1). Ahmadia has found his proper representation in Abercrombie.

For my thought on this see below.

Crossposted at The Dougout

Update: Here is a quote from Sarah Ahmadia who was just rescued from Lebanon courtesy of Three Grand from the taxpayers:

Sarah Ahmadia had one request: "For people to put pressure on the United States government to do all they can to support Lebanon." [i.e. Hezbollah] Israel's attacks, she said, are "completely wiping out Lebanon's economy."

When reading such statements the word "narcissism" readily comes to mind.

4 comments:

Pastorius said...

Grant,
I'm going to ask you a question. It's going to sound obnoxious, but I ask it in all seriousness, having just been to Hawaii recently for the first time.

Is Hawaii really part of the United States. I mean, I know it is technically, but the feeling I got being there is the locals do not want to be part of America, and do not understand America, and do not live by American rules.

I thought Hawaii was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been too, but everyone seemed to live in a different dimension. I won't comment anymore, because i want to hear what you have to say.

Anonymous said...

Aloha Pastorius,

At the time Hawaii became a state over ninety precent of the people here where in favor of it. Today, according to polls, that number has dropped to around 75-80 percent who favor statehood. However, who are these people? I suspect many of them are Mainland Moonbats who have moved here. Almost all of the University of Hawaii's moonbatty faculty received their "education" on the mainland.

Culturally Hawaii is different since it is located in Polynesia and a large part of its population are from the far East. However, I think trendy America hatred is a recent import via the university and the Democrap Party.

Pastorius said...

Well, I stand corrected.

I had bad experiences with hotel staff. I found Hawaiian people to be nice and helpful, but they also seemed to have contempt for white people. I am married to a Filipina so it isn't as if I am not compfortable with asians.

Also, when I was there, I noticed a commercial on TV for a t-shirt and some silly government services for "native Hawaiians." Yes, it was a government funded program promoting racial serparatism.

When I say I noticed that native Hawaiians don't seem to understand Western culture, I mean that many of the Hawaiians I met did not have a sense of time and space like Westerners. I see this in Filipinos also. However, the thing is, second generation Filipinos are like Americans. It's only those who move here who do not have this sense of time and space.

One would presume that Hawaiians are all second-generation Americans, right?

Of course, it would take time for the culture to filter in, but I don't think that fully accounts for the behavior.

By the way, for anyone reading this and wondering wtf I mean by a sense of time and space, I will say this full-well knowing that Grant will understand what I mean even if you don't:

Up another block means anything from that's about 100 yards from here, to that's several miles down the road.

In five minutes, means sometime in the nebulous future. Could be hours.

Right, Grant?

:)

I felt like I was hagning out with a bunch of weedsmokers the whole time I was there.

Of course, that has its charms, but not when you have to rely on people.

Anonymous said...

That's why they call it "Hawaiian Time!"

Racial politicals is alive and well here as is the resentment "I'm a victim" mentality. Most Hawaiians are not like that. However, few people here (or on the mainland for that matter) have the guts to stand up to the victim mentality, including our RINO governor.

Given the large number of immigrants over a short period of time I would think assimilation in Hawaii would be slower than in the mainland. There being a much higher percentage of immigrants or second generation Americans here. That's changing too, locals are becomming more American, for better and worse.

Gotta go now, keep up the great posts.