Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Musings: Games People Play

Gee, I'm so glad that Fern Rosenstiel, now running for the 14th House District, has finally started noticing what's actually happening in her 'hood:
Gosh, and we've only been raising this alarm for how long now? Couple of decades? Too bad Fern and the other fistees couldn't have rallied themselves to actually speak up when the County Council allowed vacation rentals on ag land, which gave these McMansions a steady revenue stream.

But then, perhaps that's because so many fistees actually operate TVRs on ag land, or are busy selling expensive ag land to non-farmers. Who the heck does Fern think is funding the anti-GMO movement in Hawaii, Gary Hooser's re-election campaign, Dustin Barca's failed mayoral bid? Yes, it's the same “ridiculously rich arrogant people” she's moaning about.

And no, Fern, rezoning was not required to achieve this travesty. Instead, it's all about failing to enforce the agricultural dwelling agreement. Which is how so many of the North Shore “red shirts,” as well as former Coucilman Tim Bynum, one of of the co-sponsors of Bill 2491, were able to build houses on ag land, despite doing no farming.

While you guys are busily trying to destroy true farming because it doesn't fit your romanticized ideal of pure and pastoral, hundreds of acres of Kauai ag land have been lost forever to gentrification. So maybe you could go knock on their doors and ask why they aren't producing any food, instead of attacking the farmers who are.

Fern, you really need to bone up on land use laws, the financing of the anti-GMO movement and so much more before you run for office and start embarrassing yourself with inane pronouncements and hash tags.

Until that happens, here's one for you: #STFU!

But then, Fern's followers are equally misinformed, so they aren't gonna notice.

The rest of us, however, continue to hold out hope that Fern and her ilk will #wakeup and #wiseup before they try to #riseup and tell us how things should be.

Which leads to an interesting “game” that a friend told me about. It's called the Rescue Game, and I'm sure you'll recognize how it's being played by the anti-GMO/anti-ag folks on Kauai, and elsewhere around the state.


Each group of players is assigned one of three roles: Victim, Persecutor or Rescuer. The first two roles are allowed one move each: the Victim’s move is to suffer, and the Persecutor’s move is to make the Victim suffer. The Rescuer is allowed two moves: to sympathize with the Victim and to punish the Persecutor. No other moves are allowed, and no player is allowed to make a move that belongs to a different role.

In the Rescue Game, in other words, whatever a Victim does must be interpreted as a cry of pain. Whatever a Persecutor does is treated as something that’s intended to cause pain to a Victim, and whatever a Rescuer does, by definition, either expresses sympathy for a Victim or inflicts well-deserved punishment on a Persecutor. This is true even when the actions performed by the three people in question happen to be identical.

What’s more, the roles are collective, not individual. Each Victim is equal to every other Victim, and is expected to feel and resent all the suffering ever inflicted on every other Victim in the same game. Each Persecutor is equal to every other Persecutor, and so is personally to blame for every suffering inflicted by every other Persecutor in the same game. Each Rescuer, in turn, is equal to every other Rescuer, and so may take personal credit for the actions of every other Rescuer in the same game. This allows the range of potential moves to expand to infinity without ever leaving the narrow confines of the game.

It’s only fair to note that each of the three roles gets certain benefits, though these are distributed in a very unequal fashion. The only thing the people who are assigned the role of Persecutor get out of it is plenty of negative attention. Sometimes that’s enough—it’s a curious fact that hating and being hated can function as an intoxicant for some people—but this is rarely enough of an incentive to keep those assigned the Persecutor’s role willing to play the game for long.

The benefits that go to people who are assigned the role of Victim are somewhat more substantial. Victims get to air their grievances in public, which is a rare event for the underprivileged, and they also get to engage in socially sanctioned bullying of people they don’t like, which is an equally rare treat.

The vast majority of the benefits of the game, rather, go to the Rescuers. They’re the ones who decide which team of Victims will get enough attention from Rescuers to be able to start a game. They’re the ones who enforce the rules, and thus see to it that Victims keep on being victimized and Persecutors keep on persecuting.  Nor is it accidental that in every Rescue Game, the people who get the role of Rescuers are considerably higher on the ladder of social privilege than the people who get given the roles of Victims and Persecutors.

[A]ffluent white people [are] always in the role of Rescuers.

There’s one other rule: the game must go on forever. The Victim must continue to suffer, the Persecutor must continue to persecute, and the Rescuer must continue to sympathize and punish. Anything that might end the game—for example, any actual change in the condition of the Victim, or any actual change in the behavior of the Persecutor—is therefore out of bounds. 

The Rescuer also functions as a referee, and so it’s primarily his or her job to see that nothing gets in the way of the continuation of the game.

Which is why it doesn't matter how much monitoring is done, how many tests are run, how much disclosure is required. Gary Hooser, Earthjustice, Center for Food Safety, Surfrider, HAPA and all the others who fancy themselves Rescuers will never give up the game.

There's way too much money, power and sanctimony in it for them.

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Funny, i walked the bike path recently too and felt like what a great amenity it is. Everyone seemed happy to be walking, running, bike riding, skating or enjoying the morning with their doggies. It primarily goes through Kapaa, which is a developed place and has been for a long time. It is a benefit to us all to be able to enjoy.
Fern should become educated about all the issues, then run, rather than running for office when she doesn't understand or know anything about such a critical issue as land use.

Anonymous said...

I bet Fern lost 50% of district 14's votes on her rant. Some advice hun , don't shit where you eat.

Allan Parachini said...

I am utterly puzzled about what any of Ms. Rosenstiel's comment has to do with the multi-use path, which is (mostly) on land on which no sane county would have ever permitted residential construction and if that permission had been granted the community would be rightly up in arms. As much grief as the multi-use path takes, it is a way to ensure an accessible way to be close to the ocean for everyone. I think every single foot of it is worthwhile. Planned extensions like connecting Kilauea to Princeville and/or Princeville to Hanalei would be worth every penny spent on them, if only because they would create at least a limited means of travel among those places in the event of a catastrophe in which the highway is cut. There are many who believe the county's approach should be roads, roads and more roads because they argue no one uses the multi-use path. That can only mean they've never bothered to look at it on any average day.

Anonymous said...

The "bike" path will be remembered as the greatest single accomplishment of the last two decades. I just wish they could get it further down the coast and continue the side extensions around places like the golf course or behind Coco Palms.

Anonymous said...

Love the bike path! It's wonderful! I don't know about everyone else but I'm so sick of the whiny tactics like this example of Fern. One thing about politics AKA sales... People will listen to your negativity and shit talking but they won't respect you for it or become a loyal voter because of it. Any one can walk around pointing out flaws. It takes a special person to see and execute solutions and a lot of good work, time, relationship building etc... And most of that work is behind the scenes and not recognized by Instagram or fb followers and so another quality a good leader needs is humility. I don't see Fern having these qualities of a great leader. She's too much like Gary, Dusten, and the rest of that extremely whiny group. Come voting time lets keep our standards high this time Kauai.

Anonymous said...

Yeah Alan I wondered too, what mega mansions she was talking about on the bike path, there are none Except the few Kealia Makai houses that are fake farms. walk along the coast in Hanalei or anywhere north r south past Moloaa and puke, but the bike path?

Anonymous said...

@ 8:50 It sounds like you are new on the island to gallantly defend that path or it's idealism. Hawaiian's repeatedly have asked that the county government have somewhat respect to what their land was like before big federal grants and realtors of extremely low standards began to exploit it's beauty with concrete. Then wanting more of that big fed money (that the mayor loves being part of) it continues going into areas that cannot support it's extension or want it. Looking for a tax break on your land if the path rolls thru it? Why don't you and Mr. 9:31 relocate yourselves to where a freeway of bike lanes exist. It could be the single best accomplishment of decades for the people who like Hawaii just the way it was created. Las Vegas odds: Fern is not going to get elected. We all know that.

Anonymous said...

Rosensteil lacks equilibrium. She would truly be an intemperate, immature and roiling, big mouthed addition to the Council-arrogant, self-centered, assured that she is right on a very thin resume assuming you can accept it at face value.I recall she billed herself as a "marine biologist" during the 2491 ruckus presumably on the basis of her undergraduate work. That's like a pre-med major using the title Doctor on graduating with an AB.At least that seems to have ended. And her tenure and consulting with with the Queensland Road Division (2.5 years), whatever her title, could not have given her much useful experience based on such short duration. Her experience on Kauai, as demonstrated by her many utterances and greatly contemptuous public behavior, has done nothing to prepare her for the deliberative and collaborative nature of the Council. Nor has there been much evidence she can pull back from her own rather narrow view of things and take a larger perspective required by responsibility to many people including ones she has publicly shown such great disrespect for. I rather doubt that 6 weeks or whatever at HAPA's Kuleana Academy has prepared her for much other than more hyper-activism and provided some routine skills of that trade. That's not a quality that is under-supplied in the current Council.

Anonymous said...

The "bike/walk the dog" path was an opportunity to preserve the coast line and the public could have access to the beach. Our Mayor at the time took advantage of this opportunity. Our now Mayor has the Mayor-a-thon now on this path. I have gone to the end of the path and have enjoyed the scenery of the shoreline. "Together we can". Now is different because only half can. Depending on the side of the can you are. Kauai is half can and half no can. People are free to eat whatever they like. Don't make our choices expensive. By the way, all you Mango lovers, there is only one Mango on Kauai that is non GMO and that is the "Common Mango". go figura.......

Anonymous said...

I call your BS. It was a time to raid public funds and the county of Kauai sold a multimodal transportation path to the federal government.

They swindle over $150 million dollars on a luxury item. They could have used a small fraction of the $150 million and just paved the old haul cane roads.

Who got $150 million dollar RICH on that deal?

Anonymous said...

Basically she has every characteristic that has plagued the county of Kauai and its state reps for decades. So she is more than qualified.

Anonymous said...

Maybe she went to the DONKEY beach side and saw the 2 huge mansions.

I thought Donkey beach was for old @$$es?

Anonymous said...

The Rescue Game totally nails it.

Anonymous said...

11:47 There are no GMO mangoes.

Anonymous said...

11:47 Mangoes are NOT genetically modified. You need to brush up on the difference between hybrid seeds, open pollinated seeds and genetically modified seeds. My grandfather created a new variety of mango in the early 1900's which was not created through scientific methods in a lab.

Anonymous said...

12:30 and 12:31

Now the anti GMO supporters will be raiding all of the mango trees. You're supposed to say yeah, yeah all mangoes are maxed out GMO. But you are right, plant a mango from a seed and you don't know what you'll get. Some will be good and some not.

Anonymous said...

I believe that mango on Kauai and the state of Hawaii is probably the most wasted fruit each and every year.

No worry be happy, get plenty mango for everyone.

Anonymous said...

There are enough whack-jobs in District 14 that Fern could be elected.
The demography is changing. My pale-faced malihini brothers have no sense of island history, but are well endowed with well placed Fistees.
Kealia Ag properties were allowed because the developers gave Kealia Beach parking and the Bike Path from Kealia Stream to just past Donkeys.
The Bike Path is a true gift and keeps miles of ocean accessible.
The 700 acres that another Fistee type (Zuckerberg) bought will forever be shut off to all. JoAnn and Mason quibbled about a decent Larsons access that resulted in Zuckerberg cancelling it. Now the old access is all we have. Forget about that "coastal trail" that was part of the Larson Access discussion...it is gone forever. Aloha to Pilaa and Larsons.
So far the only Ag estates that have benefited the sweaty masses is Kealia. Bit by bit, all of the old fisherman trails have been usurped. And Golly Gee Whiz, the real estate companies that destroyed these beach accesses are Bali Hai Realty and Hawaii Life Realty.
Da Hoos old linkage to Bali Hai is well known, but how did these tight fisted money making Realators become such anti-Ag guys?
To a man..the John Ferrys, Neal "the squeal" Normans, Matt Bealls et al are true Fistees. Make your money chopping up the Ag land, fight the real Ag guys (GF, G&R and A&B), hold Fists with Da Hoos, JoAnn, Mason and other elites..The hypocrisy is enough to choke a herd of camels. Fistees Full of Dollahs.
But believe me, almost every house/land bought at over a million is another Fistee voter. It goes with the paradigm on Kauai real estate. And each new resident is a vote for Fern, Da Hoos, Dumbshit Mason or cranky JoAnn....3 Council members working together to destroy every bit of what was once Kauai.
Locals need not apply.

Anonymous said...

I don't think Fern was critical of the bike path, but only of the macmansions which border it at Kealia. Fern is small potato story compared to the former county prosecutor getting ready to blow the whistle on some councilmember.

Anonymous said...

3:38 what do you think Kukuiula used to be before A&B developed its "middle class" housing project? Who do you think their target market was? You think the Big Five didn't carve up ag land to make money? Why do you think all these luxury projects got developed and who do you think did them? Fern? Mason? Joann? Gary? I can't stand them either but you're clueless.

Anonymous said...

Uh the offspring of the AG McMansions is on council. "Where my kids going live"-Darryl Kaneshiro and the Beer gate sold out to big dollas.

The girl that gave Kusaka a plot of land for Kealia Kai ran away from being prosecuted for bribery.

The bike path was a faux transportation plan to siphon federal money.

Anonymous said...

9:02
The federal government may have financed the project, but it is not a faux plan at all, get over it, it is an alternate travel route, and is the dear lady Mrs. Hughes?so far more than 3 beer gators are off the council.
And yes, former AG land is used for subdivisions as well as grazing land and open space. Kauai needs visionary planners.

Anonymous said...

8:15
Kukuiula, Kilauea Sugar, Parts of Amfac have all been sold and many are Ag sub-Ds....but Kealia is the ONLY one that gave a forever gift to the people via the Bike path. Kukuiula did some housing in Eleele...not in Poipu and not a gift.
And there was no gift to any Mayor...the Bureau of Conveyance records at Kealia have been checked, rechecked and have had every Fistee touch them....no free land for any Mayor. An urban myth. Land sales are the EASIEST financial instrument to check..public record.
There is nothing wrong with Ag subdivisions. The can create many lots at the 200,000 price point, if the Planning Department allowed them. At 200K per lot, many locals could buy. Most Ag lands are not suitable for real Ag......like from Wailua River to Kealia Stream.......Kapahi, Homesteads.....all perfect for extra Ag CPRs. These lands are developed anyway some R4,R6 and a mix of Ag. Lets create lots for the people.

Anonymous said...

Poor folks are often envious of the rich hence Bernie Sanders. It's funny how many people see wealth as evil instead of incentive. Must be the difference between those who strive and those who don't. But intelligence is also a factor. Some have more than others. Those with less want s Bernie to take away and give them what others have earned.

Anonymous said...

It would be really nice if everyone would pay 5% for their income tax. No hiding of income. It would a relief for us Brown skinned people who pay over 30%. Wealth is not evil until you look in the mirror and "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall whose the......... of them all"

Anonymous said...

Alternate travel route?? 4/20 all day everyday for you. Keep on beating the Yukimura bike path and bus drums because no one is listening to that BS no mo. The get rich quick scheme from stealing federal funds is done. There's a new Chefriff on island.

Anonymous said...

Kukuiula ain't for the middle class! Millionaires would have a hard time buying in that place.

Anonymous said...

Hooser and Yukimura want to turn the whole island into a place for tourist accommodations. No neighborhood is safe from these two.

Anonymous said...

Hooser and His playmate JoAnn are full of it, it's time they be replaced.