Editorials
Wednesday, April 10, 1996
Real villain is unnamed in fatal
Palolo beating
GEORGETTE Kido is behind bars, charged with the manslaughter of Lynne Lindquist at Palolo Recreation Center. The "real" culprit, according to Kido's sister, is one too many beers after a women's slow-pitch softball game. A public official laments that police aren't enforcing the no-drinking law in city parks. But a key villain has not been identified by anyone involved this tragedy, one that is often ignored in crimes involving alcohol. Violence - why is it so difficult for people to acknowledge?
Kido, 30, and 37-year-old Lindquist were among a group of softball players who gathered after a game to socialize and drink beer on March 31. The two exchanged heated words. According to a witness' police affidavit, Kido allegedly grabbed Lindquist's hair, pounded her head on the sidewalk and punched her face. Lindquist was treated for her injuries, but lapsed into a coma three days later. She died last Friday.
Then came the finger-pointing:
- Kido's sister, Momi, said, "(Georgette's) really a mellow person with a great personality. If it wasn't for drinking at the park, this wouldn't have happened."
- Police Chief Michael Nakamura said, "It would be impossible and also not feasible to arrest everyone drinking at parks."
- City Councilman John Henry Felix said, "The law is clear. What is needed is more signs and better enforcement (of public no-drinking laws)."
These excuses are smoke screens. Alcohol doesn't cause violence; it merely exacerbates violent tendencies. Many people drink beer and hard liquor, both in public and private, but do not break the law by inflicting harm on others. More police patrols or no-drinking signs would not greatly decrease the number of violent acts in Honolulu.
In the Georgette Kido manslaughter case, it is too simplistic to blame bottles of beer for the death of Lynne Lindquist. Eradicating episodes of public drinking won't lead to a peaceful community.
Other editorials, in brief:
Unabomber tip
THE Washington Post and New York Times came under fire in October when they decided, at the urging of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to publish a rambling "manifesto" written by the Unabomber. While publication of the manifesto led to the eventual arrest of a Unabomber suspect, it does not mean that newspapers should automatically publish writings under threat of violence or at the behest of government agencies. It does mean that newspapers should have the flexibility to depart from strict rules of aloofness, sometimes with beneficial results.
Sister Roberta Derby
THE nun in blue habit might have seemed to observers as an oddity at a crime scene surrounded by Honolulu police, but the officers knew better. As the nation's first woman police chaplain, Sister Roberta Julie Derby was cherished as friend, teacher and counselor to many of Hawaii's law enforcers. Derby retired because of illness last month from the Honolulu Police Department, and died Monday of cancer at the age of 72 in Saratoga, Calif.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited Partnership
Rupert E. Phillips,CEO
John M. Flanagan,Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro,Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang,Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner,Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser,Contributing Editor