Letters to the Editor
Friday, August 16, 1996
Shouldn't 911 be used for
emergencies only?
A few months ago, after coming out of my office, I discovered that my car was missing and assumed it had been towed away. I had no idea which company had towed it or where it had been towed, so I called the Police Department.
Upon explaining my predicament, I was told to call 911 for assistance. Initially, I felt reluctant to do this, for I was always taught that 911 was for emergencies only. However, I went ahead and called, and after being transferred several times, I finally got the information I needed.
I still feel uneasy about calling 911 for non-emergencies. It seems to me that this system should be divided into two numbers: for example, 911 for emergencies, and 1-911 for non-emergencies. This would perhaps unclog the system and allow police to respond more quickly to a crisis like the one in Mililani.
Gretchen Worthington
Mililani murders show need for
neighborhood vigilance
The terrible tragedy in Mililani has blatantly shown us two basic things that we must always keep in mind.
First, that people need to pay careful attention to any warning signs that a person may be unstable and aggravated over any particular condition or situation, and that threats have to be taken seriously. If you reflect on past incidents of this type, you will see that there were warning signs that were ignored because people have an "Oh, he wouldn't do that" attitude.
Second, that in spite of all good intentions and heroic efforts, it is simply not possible for the police to protect us in a situation of immediate danger. The bottom line is that four people, including a terrified woman calling 911 from her own bedroom, were defenseless against an armed attacker.
Darlene Chang
Kahaluu
If guns are killing,
more laws are needed
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recently revealed some astounding information on the cause of deaths in America:
1) 19,000 people use guns to commit suicide every year.
2) 18,500 people are murdered by guns annually.
3) Gun-related homicide has risen 18 percent in the last 10 years.
4) Guns now kill more teen-agers than all diseases combined.
The response of the U.S. House of Representatives last month was to trim $2.6 million from CDC so it could no longer study gun deaths. In addition, several state legislatures recently have passed laws making it easier to carry concealed guns in public.
Can this be responsible legislation?
Vern Newbold
Powell gave great speech,
but for the wrong party
Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell joined the wrong political party. He gave a brilliant speech. I noticed, as did Star-Bulletin writer Mike Yuen, that he received no applause when he called for a reduction in "corporate welfare and welfare for the wealthy" (Aug. 13, Star-Bulletin). Oh, my, how radical! The GOP would rather blame the past for all our ills!
Powell is a Teddy Roosevelt Republican. He should do what TR did. Roosevelt, disgusted with the country club control of the GOP, left the party in disgust. Let the phony Christian Coalition keep control of the Republican Party. A resounding defeat awaits the GOP in November.
Bob W. St. Sure
Pearl City
Bickering over sovereignty
will not help Hawaiians
A return of Hawaiian sovereignty to the islands will continue to be nothing more than a self-indulgent delusion, commemorating a long-lost historical artifact, as long as sovereignty groups continue their petty bickering, and denigrating the recent good-faith contacts with an international organization (UNPO) that might one day assist a Hawaiian claim to sovereignty.
Indications so far are that there is currently neither sufficient vision nor practical competence to implement such an idea. It takes more than a cause, however righteous, to overturn historical forces.
Michael McCarthy
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