At the Risk of Ticking Off a Lot of People....Beat Someone Up in Hawaii and Get Out of Jail Free
Where: Statewide || Grouped in: Statewide Any Kine || Tagged:
Violence is something that people don't like to talk about as being present in Hawaii. For the most part, Hawaii is a safe place. However, there are some really troubling signs. According to the most recent FBI violent crime survey, violent crime in Honolulu surged 9.8 percent in 2006! In Waikiki there have been several very high profile severe beatings of visitors -- football players from a visiting college team and an aide to President George Bush (no one has been caught or prosecuted in either of these cases, to my knowledge). Then there was the home invasion of a "Lost" cast member (they did catch someone quickly on that). The Hawaii courts have also consistently, at least on the surface, refused to recognize that random acts of violence against visitors are a serious threat to both the state image and to social civility. If word gets out that its open season on tourists, then the police will have a lot of trouble slowing things down.
In general, the state and municipal courts have refused to make examples of people precipitating these random acts of violence either against locals or visitors. Witness the most recent court decision where two local residents beat a man who asked them to move their car so his wife, wearing a leg cast could cross the street. The victim was beaten so severely that he has permanent brain damage. One of the attackers actually hit the woman with the cast on and gave her a concussion when she tried to pull the other attacker off her husband. The first attacker (of the husband) got a whopping 5 year sentence with one year of actual jail time. Now that's real deterrence. The second, who -- I'll repeat this -- beat a woman wearing a leg cast -- got 30 days. The courts decided these guys were not a serious risk. Maybe drugs were involved. Who cares. Social scientists have theorized that these types of crimes, because they are such an affront to social mores, need to be severely punished. If you can't send a message on cases like this -- random violence targeted at helpless victims -- the message is clear. Beat someone up in Hawaii and get out of jail free.
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Comments
Jose said:
I hope Hawaiians are treated exactly the same when they come to California! What comes around goes around. Stay on your___ rock and NEVER venture off of it! We’ve got enough great mild weather, palm trees and the same beautiful Pacific Ocean right here. You guys even buy our sand!! If you’re a psychotic, violent racist, don’t think we’re going to welcome you here in Cali. We don’t put up with disrespect here from anyone.
—08/08/09
transplant said:
The thing that gets me is, locals (probably not even Hawaiian) say to “Get off our island” “Go Home” etc… But would all the Hawaiians on the mainland willingly leave and cut off any association with the USA? What about protection? What if another country wanted to take over the islands? Can Hawaii defend itself without the USA? What about economy? Can they now continue to live on fish and poi, or would they seek access to the USA market? And the infrastructure? What, rip it all down? It seems to assume a lot, yet give nothing in return. Hawaii would be another Cuba in that case.
—10/12/09