'Milk' Oscar followed by hypocritical display

How paradoxical it was to first watch actor Sean Penn be embraced by his peers and awarded the Oscar on Sunday for his portrayal of gay rights pioneer Harvey Milk ... and then see the hatred demonstrated by those at Hawaii's Capitol (”;Crowd slams same-sex unions,”; Star-Bulletin, Feb. 23)—thousands wearing red, the color of Christ's blood, angrily demanding that all not be treated as equals.

They think they were representing Jesus, who stood up against the establishment for the downtrodden. Maybe they should really look inward and think, “;What would Jesus really do?”;

Civil unions go against will of the people

I applaud Bishop Larry Silva for speaking out forcefully against House Bill 444, a thinly disguised attempt to undermine marriage as the exclusive province of one man and one woman (”;Civil unions are indeed same-sex marriages,”; Letters, Feb. 22).

As luck would have it, my wife and I volunteered to serve at our then-local precinct in Waianae in 1998 when the same-sex marriage initiative was resoundingly defeated. We were astonished to see people in their 70s, who admitted they had never voted before in their lives, asking us to point out that portion of the ballot dealing with same-sex marriage so that they could be sure how to mark their ballots opposing this measure.

Do our legislators really believe the intense support of traditional marriage has simply melted away in a single decade? If so, the real questions are these: What on earth has happened to our legislators? Has their duty to represent the will of the people who pay their salaries become too onerous? Should they perhaps be looking for another line of work?

Jesus, Damien didn't bend to majority will

Sunday's letter from Bishop Clarence Larry Silva, protesting House Bill 444's giving equal rights to same-sex unions, is evidence of how far some religious leaders have strayed from Christ's teachings. Would Christ have based his teachings on the will of the majority, as Silva argues? Of course not.

One of Hawaii's own, Father Damien De Veuster, is now on his way to sainthood. We revere him because he overcame prejudices and indifference in his own church to care for people who God had created differently from the rest of us. Every person of conscience should ask themselves what Damien would do about HB 444. From what I know of his life, I think he would support it.

Don't ban cell phones on city buses

Imagine you're on a bus. You're on your way to work. Or maybe you're on your way to meet your friends. Either way, an accident has occurred on nearby streets, and there is a traffic jam.

You would like to call your employer or your friend to notify him/her that you might be late. However, that would not be allowed if cell phone use is banned on the bus.

To those who want to ban cell phones on buses, do you want to ban bus riders from talking to each other? Or are you jealous because someone has a cell phone and you don't?

Mahalo from family of beloved cartoonist

If I had to describe how I felt after my father's memorial Mass this past Sunday in single words, among them would be “;overwhelmed”; and “;awestruck.”; You see, throughout our lives, Corky was simply “;Papa”; to me and my four siblings. Sure, we were aware that Papa was “;somewhat”; famous, a celebrity, even. His celebrity hit me like a hammer Sunday at Newman Center.

My family arrived about an hour and a half early, and there were people already waiting to enter! And they continued arriving at the parking lot even as the service was about to start! We expected family and friends and even some fans to show up. Well more than 300 people crowded into that small chapel, with people from all over the globe, many having flown in just for that weekend to see Papa off. Newspapers in other countries covered it. E-mails poured in to me from family friends and relatives, telling of all the services and tributes being done all over the world for simple, unassuming and always humble Papa. It made me realize the magnitude of the many lives he affected and touched. My siblings and I can only hope we turn out to be at least half the person Papa was.

On behalf of my family, I would like to thank the people of this wonderful state that Papa brought us to from the Philippines. Thank you for following his works, thank you for loving him and thank you for missing him as my family does.