• Be cautious with water-filter systems • Kanaka Maoli culture allowed cockfighting • Cooperation better than lawsuits • Mind your own business about cockfighting Be cautious with water-filter systems This week we are celebrating Earth Day and kama‘aina are learning
• Be cautious with water-filter systems • Kanaka Maoli culture allowed cockfighting • Cooperation better than lawsuits • Mind your own business about cockfighting
Be cautious with water-filter systems
This week we are celebrating Earth Day and kama‘aina are learning about the environmental and health hazards of plastics used in bottled water. Many people have home water-filter units in their refrigerators and kitchen sinks.
Although using a certified unit is a healthy, practical and economical way to meet the need for good tasting healthy water, there is a possible health concern if the unit it not used for more than 10 days in a row.
Since these units remove chlorine and do not sterilize the water, it’s important to follow the manufacturer’s instructions which in some cases requires you to dismantle the unit, remove the filter and allow it to air dry.
When you are ready to use the unit again, just put the filter back in. For the drip/pitcher types of filters it’s important to refrigerate any water that has been filtered for the same reason — to prevent bacterial growth. When considering a purchase of a water filter, it’s important to check what contaminants they are certified to remove as well as price concerns and convenience.
Carol A. Pratt, Wailua
Kanaka Maoli culture allowed cockfighting
Cockfighting has been an integral part of Polynesian culture and heritage for thousands of years. Animal extremists from the Humane Society of the United States want to criminalize my culture and my heritage. They advocate depriving me of my inalienable rights based on their opinion because they do not approve of my culture. Outsiders love Hawai‘i but don’t approve of all aspects of the Hawaiian culture.
These extremists have enacted laws over 126 years ago to take my culture from me and many other Hawai‘i natives. I have one thing to say to these extremists: if you don’t want to participate then don’t attend the events. If you still cannot bring yourself to be near it, then flights to the Mainland leave Hawai‘i every day. Get on one.
This is Hawai‘i. My family lived here and my culture was here long before you or your family came to our islands. Cockfighting is a part of our culture and heritage. You do not have the right or the authority to deprive us of our culture and our heritage. As with any raid made by law-enforcement officers, the raids that are made to defend a chicken are endangering human lives and must end immediately. The laws and attacks being made on native Hawaiians to strip us of our culture are based solely on the opinion of people from another culture, are wrong and must stop at once.
Even now, cockfighting flourishes throughout Hawai‘i. Cockfighting was made illegal over 126 years ago in Hawai‘i by outsiders. Animal extremists influence even local people today, promoting the idea that we are not entitled to our native culture and heritage. These extremists want police officers to attack and assault our island people and deprive us of our freedom, culture and heritage to defend a chicken. They have been attacking us to defend a chicken for over 126 years. It is time to repeal this law and end the attacks on our culture, our heritage and our animal-agricultural industry.
Law-enforcement officers make raids, rip our families apart, take us to jail, endanger our lives and the lives of our family members to deprive us of our freedoms, our sport and our animal industry, then kill our gamecocks (property) because these gamecocks cannot be used for anything else except what we are using them for, which is their method of harvest.
It is time our legislators recognize that cockfighting is a Hawaiian cultural practice and understand that after 126 years we need to support our heritage and culture of cockfighting.
Note: An estimated 125 chickens that were taken from the cockfight back in May 2009 were euthanized (killed) by the (Kaua‘i) Humane Society in defense of the chicken.
Harvey Garcia, Kalaheo
Cooperation better than lawsuits
Thanks for printing my letter in reference to environmental groups suing KIUC on bird-killing (Letters, April 15). Hope that they consider the bad effect such a move would have on our already-stressed-out public — more expenses for KIUC and higher electric bills for our people.
I’m all for improvement but not on creating any more problems for utility company — our lifeline for comfort and survival.
Constructive criticism is OK — tearing down and creating hardships via suits is not the way. This is Hawai‘i — there are better ways!
Thanks again. Keep up the good works.
P.S. Short letters by numbers will result in more subscribers — long rebuttal letters are boring and unread by the general public.
Tom Laverly, Kapa‘a
Mind your own business about cockfighting
To our Italian sista (“Honor cruelty,” Letters, April 21), I am glad you are from Italy, congrats, me too, I came from another planet, and let me tell you, where I came from we eat chicken and some other exotic meats, I do not want to mention because I tell you, I don’t want to scare you, I was also taught about respect for other’s ideas, customs, etc., and to be honest it gets kind of old when everybody is telling the Kauaians how to run their lives, and by the way a key secret to a successful life is that “mind your own business” and share your love and aloha since love causes no harm to anyone.
Aloha.
Goretti Perdue, Kilauea
