Aloha is a two way street

The latest ("Sagum stood tall", TGI, A4, 10-5-2007) of Peter Antonson wrongheaded letters to the forum caught my attention and compelled me to respond.

From his uninformed call urging others to waste their time launch a recall petition of county council members (because he is "to busy" to do it himself and despite any legal authority in the county charter to do so) to his evident willingness to substitute majority mob rule (as determined by pollsters) in place of the law, his advice is consistently misguided. Now he claims to "speak for many'"without a fact or even a poll to back him up. If we took his advice and relied on majority mob rule instead of the rule of law we would all still be living in racially segregated housing, and going to segregated schools.

I frequently attend public forums and far from seeing what Antonson characterizes as a vocal minority I see actively engaged citizens that care enough to take time out of their busy lives to exercise their democratic franchise regardless of their positions on any specific issue.

Those that do not exercise their franchise are disengaged from the public process and most likely hold an opinion about as robust as an unenlightened passerby. Opinions not strongly held enough to be expressed in a public forum where they can be critiqued by others are probably not well thought out either. Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt as the old adage goes.

Regarding Antonson's negative characterizations of citizens opposed to the Superferry operating without following environmental laws as "hysterical nostalgic protesters" I would remind Peter Antonson that aloha is a two way street. Invited guests are welcome, but a home invasion is another matter altogether and necessity knows no law.