Musings: Fooled Again

It occurred to me, as I stood in the starry darkness, watching a crescent moon consort with Venus, that the anti-GMO movement in Hawaii is not unlike the “war on terror.” Under the guise of fighting an enemy, we're being pumped with fear so our Constitutional rights can be stripped away.

Except the folks who want to permit warrantless property searches, convictions without proof, are supposedly “progressives.” I laughed aloud at the irony and a Newell's shearwater — first of the season, flying overhead — laughed, too. 

Gee, the old Who song — “meet the new boss, same as the old boss” – is still appropos today. Except instead of brown shirts, or black shirts, they're wearing yellow, and red. Shucks. Looks like we did get fooled again.

So who is backing the decidedly regressive charter amendment that would establish an all-powerful environment czar answerable to no citizen, with broad authority to trample civil rights, ban a wide range of commercial and governmental activities?

Well, Makana, making like a farmer in his spanking new overalls. And Councilman Gary Hooser, whose goal from the beginning was to pass a “mellow” ordinance — Bill 2491/Ordinance 960 — as a lead up to “the next step:” ramming through a Draconian charter amendment.

Then there's Wai Koa Plantation — the tree farm that is helping 1%'er Bill Porter dodge property taxes while he waits to sell all his ag CPRs behind Kilauea mini-golf — and Kauai Fresh Farms, the hydroponic lettuce grower it subsidizes.

We've also got the Vandana Shiva-backed Friends of Navdana, which discloses little about its activities, and SHAKA, the realtor-backed movement from Maui. And then there's the pro-2491 contingent: GMO Free Kauai, Ohana O Kauai and Surfrider, which has sadly aligned with Kauai Rising to support “rights of nature” initiatives intended to promote a “new island order” characterized primarily by litigation. Mmm, isn't that the old island order?  

Kauai Rising is the creation of Michael Shooltz, a retired East Coast banker who is also worried about smart meters and chem trails, which is how I happened upon the Kauai Sky blog, which lists the supposed health impacts of chem trails:

Aching joints, acute gastrointestinal ailments, adult onset asthma, autism, excruciating headaches fungal infections, heart problems, inability to concentrate, lower body temperatures, nosebleeds, pneumonia, sore necks [from looking up at the chem trails?], sudden extreme fatigue, twitching eyelids, upper respiratory ailments and vertigo.

And I thought, gee, those are awfully similar to the symptoms attributed to smart meter exposure:

Headaches, weakness, sleep disturbance, emotional instability, dizziness, memory impairment, fatigue, and heart palpitations.

As well as pesticide exposure, according to the alarmist new Surfrider pesticide brochure that helpfully directs folks who suspect they've been dosed with drift to call Earthjustice and join a lawsuit:

Flu-like symptoms, spacey, drunk, hungover, nauseous, low energy, asthma, allergies, diarrhea, headaches, itchy eyes, irregular periods, nosebleeds, irregular heartbeat, forgetfulness, scratchy throat, skin rash, leaky gut syndrome, cancer, early puberty, miscarriages, birth defects, ADD/ADHD, OD [?], gout, obesity.

So how do you finger just one culprit?

But getting back to Michael Shooltz, it was this piece that made the movement's strategy so clear:

In spite of the illusions of complexity presented by our corrupt, elitist system, the solution to the poisoning of Kauai is in reality quite simple. We the People just say "No", this poisoning will no longer be allowed on our island. Period. Later we can dance through laws, or lawsuits, or whatever spasms the dying System tries to foist upon us.

In other words, it really doesn't matter, as Gary has said from the start, whether the law is ever enforced, or whether you pass a bill or a charter amendment that is just, reasonable or defensible in a  court of law.

It's all about wishful thinking, getting your way, throwing tantrums, saying no. Kind of like a two-year-old.

Hey, I believe the System is dying, too, and that we desperately need change, fresh ideas, new solutions. But I don't wanna replace one crappy regime with another, which is why I haven't been able to muster an appetite for the anti-GMO movement, despite my deep concerns about pesticide use and many aspects of biotech.

Because the only thing on its menu is the same old power and control entree served up daily by the existing patriarchal system.

Which brings me back to that Who song:

The change, it had to come

We knew it all along

We were liberated from the fold, that's all

And the world looks just the same

And history ain't changed

'Cause the banners, they are flown in the next war

I'll move myself and my family aside

If we happen to be left half alive

I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky

Though I know that the hypnotized never lie

Do ya?

There's nothing in the streets

Looks any different to me

And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye

And the parting on the left

Are now parting on the right

And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution

Take a bow for the new revolution

Smile and grin at the change all around

Pick up my guitar and play

Just like yesterday

Then I'll get on my knees and pray

We don't get fooled again

Don't get fooled again

No, no!