I haven't gone a halfway decent rant in a long time, and in the face of AP Exams, Finals, and PMS, I figured now was just as good a time as any to bitch.
While driving home the other day we were listening to the local conservative talk radio station, and it came to my attention just how pathetic this place really is. Mike Buck, the host, was discussing the ethnic backgrounds in the state of Hawaii. Now, it's a given fact that most people here aren't white. We're a minority, enough said. He was getting to the point about how only 20-30% of Hawaii residents identify themselves as 'all white', and that the state with the highest percentage of self-identified 'all white' residents was Vermont.
That's all fine and dandy until he made the comment of "And really, what kind of stupid person lives in Vermont?"
Oh yes, he did. In case the hypocrisy of this situation isn't clear enough, let me highlight some facts you may not recognize. First off, Mike Buck is half white, half Japanese. Local term is happa. Second, this is a conservative radio station and pretty much all of the conservatives in Hawaii are 'all white'. They're pretty much also all in the US Military, which doesn't make them conservatives, but it's a fairly conservative institution. The US Military also makes up for about 30% of Hawaii's economy, and when the tourist industry (which he saw fit to bitch about the day before this segment when AAA published that the average cost per day of vacation per adult in the state is over 700 dollars, he called it a 'gross over estimation that discouraged travel' and then continued to rant about how tourism was already a sick industry and how the price gouging wouldn't help anything at all...nevermind that it pretty much does cost that much when you factor in food, transportation, lodging, and shopping...) isn't doing as well as it used too, do you really want to go and piss off your one stable economic endeavor?
So kudos, Buck, in successfully insulting your audience. Perhaps you should retire from the right wing and join the left. It's not as if your red vote counts here anyways.
Party politics aside, this state is a disgrace. The state government is a mess, restraining the power of the governor left and right and then complaining when she is unable to institute any legislations because they took away her ability to do so (Gov. Lingle is a Republican too, ironically...). The homeless problem is pitiful. The large majority of them are either into drugs are just refuse to work, and state efforts to aid them have failed wonderfully, providing problems for those who are actually trying to get back on their feet.
77% of local high school students actually graduate in Honolulu, and when the state offers to put forward advanced diploma projects that allow honors students and academic achievers to be rewarded for their efforts with recognitions, a huge up-roar occurred from many parents, legislators, and school board committee members alike. God forbid we should attempt to help those who help themselves. Most kids in this state can't locate Texas on a map, and that's including the 4.0 private school ingrates I go to school with.
So there you have it. Just a few things that piss me off, outside from the rainbows, traffic, and 'aloha spirit'.
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