Lawsuit ended up hurting Kamehameha
The suit brought by
John Doe against Kamehameha Schools deserves some final comment. Where Doe and his legal team initially trumpeted possession of the moral high ground in their protest against purported racism, their principles suddenly evaporated with the acceptance of a monetary settlement. Their principles have been purchased, and John Doe is immediately transformed into John Dough. We estimate that the total costs to Kamehameha, including legal and settlement expenses, approximate $5 million; this in turn translates into the woeful squandering of assets that would have better provided a six-year education to 50 students at the Kapalama campus. Mr. Doe did not punish Kamehameha Schools directly; he instead snatched educational opportunity from the grasp of those more deserving than he. We are all accorded different gifts in life; Doe covets Pauahi's gift, although this gift is not intended for him. Therein evolves the irony that Dough has diminished and harmed that very institution, and its students, that he sought to join.
The settlement between Doe and Kamehameha stipulated confidentiality. However, Doe is no longer a minor, and no longer deserves that shield of anonymity. Will the real John Doe please step forward to be recognized.
Bob and Paulette Moore
Kamehameha Schools 1952 and 1953
Pearl City
Hawaiian school happy to take haole tax funds
I couldn't agree more with your reader's comment. Why anyone should want to be where they are not wanted is puzzling ("Only Hawaiians benefit from Kamehameha Schools,"
Letters, May 20). Some of us taxpayers "looking in" are equally puzzled about how a racially and religiously biased organization should profit from tax exemptions -- i.e., public funding -- usually enjoyed by organizations operating in all of the public's interest.
The semantical acrobatics to justify and perpetuate institutionalized division in Hawaii no longer "saddens" me. What "saddens" me is having to contribute to it against all will and common sense with my hard-earned tax dollar.
JP Muntal
Kaneohe
Forget Sudoku, just read sports section
Sunday morning I was reading my favorite newspaper. Came to the sports section and the first article on the page was headlined, "
Rainbows lose fourth straight WAC game."
I wondered what sport they were playing, so I read further. When I finally got to the middle of the third paragraph, I found a clue: "... pounding out 17 hits ..." Aha! Obviously either baseball or softball, but which? Maybe I would find out later, inside, I thought, so I looked at other parts of the front page. And there was the giveaway in big print: "Wahine reach regional final." The baseball team hadn't done so well.
I think I have this one figured out: The Rainbow Warriors are "Rainbows," and the Rainbow Wahine are "Wahine."
There was another puzzle not so easy to solve. On the first page it tells of Michelle Wie having sprained her left wrist earlier this year. On B5, it talks about her "sore right wrist." I don't need the answer to this puzzle, but I found it amusing.
Bart Mathias
Honolulu
Using pidgin can be beneficial in business
Regarding Doug Carlson's condescending opinion of the harm pidgin will have on your life, I could not disagree more (
"Me and him are killing English," May 20).
The ability to speak pidgin is a skill and an asset in the business community. While working for a manufacturer's representative agency (becoming vice president), I would personally escort the regional managers and vice presidents of multimillion-dollar mainland companies on sales calls. Depending on the brand and product, we would visit business owners, contractors, engineers, architects, end-users and/or facility maintenance personnel. At first, I was nervous accompanying these fancy dressed, wealthy Caucasians. But soon it became obvious that many of the individuals who made sales calls to Hawaii once or twice a year could not understand the questions that our customers were asking. Regardless of the question, when it would happen, my job was to tactfully make sure that both parties understood each other. And because I have learned not to prejudge people on their vocabulary, grammar, race or gender, it is equally important to do my job without offending anyone (as best I can).
The ability to treat coworkers with respect, inspire teamwork and communicate the vision of the company to those around you ... that will make you a valuable employee or business owner.
Mark Lau
Aiea
Blame the criminal, not the type of gun
I was dismayed to see your anti-gun bias in
yesterday's article "Gunfire kills man in front of family." You boldly headline the picture of a ubiquitous firearm cartridge "The Deadly 9 mm" and go on to list several recent criminal cases involving firearms.
Your article indirectly suggests that if we ban all guns in Hawaii, it will turn into a crime-free paradise. Why haven't you printed a list of recent crimes involving knives and title it "The Deadly Knife?" The only ones to blame are the criminals.
Dwight Arakaki
Punahou 1992
Irvine, Calif.