Click it or ticket those in trucks, too

Regarding the Honolulu Police Department's "Click It or Ticket" campaign: I'm in agreement with the seat-belt law and believe that those who ignore compliance should be cited.

However, the seat-belt law, like other laws, should apply to everyone equally, including those passengers who choose to ride unrestrained in the beds of pickup trucks.

During a 30-minute drive from the Leeward side to Kaneohe recently, my wife and I witnessed three separate violations of the seat-belt law. We counted 11 persons riding in the beds of three pickup trucks.

We live in a democratic society, and as such, equality must be the same for everyone.

Make it a law for all, or no law at all.

Mike Northrup
Kaneohe, HI

Real prostitution is given free rein

I believe the SWAT-style raids at hostess bars and clubs ("Strip-bar raids raise eyebrows," Raising Cane, May 19, Star-Bulletin) are a diversion, with police using the "Richie Rule" conviction that states that even if two adults touch through clothing, that constitutes prostitution.

For years, rotating crews of mainland street prostitutes and their pimps have plied their trade under the noses of the Honolulu Police Department station in Waikiki. These real hookers, who defile our world image as a family resort destination and rob visitors, continue on unchallenged. And don't think that this isn't reported extensively in Japan and elsewhere.

While living in Waikiki, I complained about this and was hassled by the police.

I'm a middle-aged man who has visited many hostess clubs, so you could say I'm a regular. Where else can you get drinks for $2 to $5, great house pupus and meals, and friendly service where everybody knows your name? As far as prostitution in these places, I've looked and have never seen it.

The vast majority of owners and hostesses are decent, akamai professionals who would never knowingly hire underage girls and jeopardize their business. They have no reason to. The police department needs to get its priorities straight.

Patrick Dolan

Racial stereotyping is found here, too

It is truly disheartening to hear about Kealoha Cable's unpleasant encounters on the mainland (Letters, Star-Bulletin, May 25), where people have made disrespectful assumptions about her based on her racial or ethnic identity. Indeed, I know how offensive such experiences can be, as a haole living in Hawaii.

I now live on the "ignorant" mainland, but Cable's letter brought forth memories of Hawaii that will be with me for a lifetime. For instance, I think back to the incredulous glances my fellow kamaaina gave me when they discovered that I could actually pronounce common Hawaiian words. I recall the numerous times that non-haoles would pull up next to me in traffic to offer directions back to the hotels in Waikiki as I drove to and from work. I remember the sheer shock, if not horror, on many faces when it was revealed that I was not a mere tourist from the mainland, but one of their own.

I hope Cable sees that Hawaii is not so immune to the disease of bigotry as people would like to think.

Max Dalton
Morrisville, N.C.

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