There’s a standoff going on up on Saddle Road. Just east of Pohakuloa. At the turn off that takes you up to the top of Mauna Kea.
Thousands of people have gathered up there over the last few days to stand shoulder to shoulder – working together to block construction vehicles, to show solidarity for the need of this society to slow down, to listen to the people, and to show respect.
Development happens fast.
The symbol of a massive eighteen-story building being built on the peak of Mauna Kea is difficult to appreciate unless you’ve spent time on Big Island, on Hilo side looking up into the hills.
The concept of ‘Sacred Natural Lands’ doesn’t seem to have a place in the United States business world. There are plenty of National Parks. But depending on who’s in power, there could be mining, lumber extraction, oil drilling, etc. going on inside those vast parks.
For most U.S. citizens, if you asked them to name something sacred, they might come up with ‘church’ a generic image in their head. Maybe they would be at a loss for words.
The concept of Private Property arrived in Hawaii with the Europeans. Money for land. Land for money.
Strangely though, up on top of Mauna Kea, the land isn’t held in private property. It was land stolen from the Kingdom. The state claims rights, ownership, but the top of the mountain is listed as ‘conservation land’.
Building massive industrial projects is questionable at best.
It seems like we’re at a cross-roads.
The symbol of the TMT is pulling the people of Hawaii together in calm strength and impressive organization. Like Kaho’olawe did in the 70’s. The unified protests of the Navy bombing that island became a huge symbol for the Hawaiian Renaissance. Perhaps this proposed telescope and the impressive wave of dissent will lead toward the next step of Hawaii stepping away from the United States.
Sure, everyone knows that there are good parts of the United States. Certain tools and ideas that can be appropriated. But, today in Hawaii, it feels more and more that we’re living in a creepy military state, an occupied nation. Convoys of military trucks every day. Low altitude military helicopters every night. Military planes constantly flying circles over our heads.
And, our island society hasn’t been able to deal with the growing homeless population.
How many years will this population keep expanding?
And we keep buying more cars. The population grows. More cars. Till the roads barely move.
It seems like these islands have serious issues to deal with. Food security. Water resources. Education. Aging population. Excessive tourism. The frightening cost of living. Industrial Ag using dangerous poisons all around us… —Not easy issues.
And when thousands gather together peacefully. Singing, praying, chanting. Demanding that those in power listen, demanding that outside money cannot win, pointing out again and again that the overthrow of the monarchy was illegal… that the people of Hawaii were stepped on by a military empire, and their descendants, today, are getting ready to take back what is rightfully theirs.
dusty middleton 