Musings: That Civility Thang

It's 3 a.m. in Seoul, but my body has no interest in the digital clock, only its own, which is saying I should be up and not lollygagging in bed. But such is the nature of jet travel, and its inevitable body lag.

I've got a post on my new website that reflects a bit on my initial impressions of Korea. The people are unfailingly polite, and I was reminded again of the Asian-influenced civility that has so sadly been lost on Kauai in the past few years, trampled by the tactics that characterize the mainland-based anti-GMO movement.

But what do they care if the social fabric of Hawaii has been irrevocably rent? They've got an economic and political agenda, and it doesn't have anything to do with supporting communities, despite all their “good neighbor” rhetoric, which they believe should apply only to seed company actions, and never their own.

I happened to stumble upon a piece online that was written by Chuck Ellis, the marketing manager for ABC Research Laboratories, a food testing company. He wondered why there were so many incendiary anti-science and anti-biotech memes on the Internet, and so few pro-science ones. Turns out the pro-science guys are making memes in their limited spare time, while the professional activists — yes, the anti-GMO movement is very well-funded — are paid to churn 'em out frequently and fast.

Yet they are the first to scream “corporate shill” when anyone questions their antics. Ellis' inquiries brought him to Dr. Alison L. Van Eenennaam, director of the Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Program at U.C. Davis, who made this very astute observation about the shill claim:

It’s been used as a way to discredit and silence those sources that have nothing to do with the [biotech] companies. So if you can’t believe your public sector scientists, and you can’t believe the companies, who’s out there speaking about the technology? Just the groups opposed to it. It’s a way to quiet the voices and amplify the spiral of silence… 

Eenennaam goes on to say:

“There’s a biotechnology industry, but there is also an activist industry whose business model is fear…The more they can make it an issue to people, the more donations they can make for that activist organization. And so the more fear they can generate, the more funds they can get in.”

Which prompted her to produce this video in response.

I saw that fear-mongering/outrage-provoking formula today in Linda Bothe's mean-spirited rant in The Garden Island, which was full of the usual misinformation — no, Pioneer is not leaving, it just closed one facility, and yes, the seed companies are the only ones keeping ag alive on the westside, including supplying water to taro growers, despite Earthjustice claims to the contrary — and all sorts of judgments about how “good neighbors do not fight for the right to spray poisons near our schools, hospitals and residences” — never mind that the chem companies are neither spraying near those facilities, nor fighting for the right to do so.

Ironically, in Googling Linda's name, I noticed she'd been given — though it does not say by whom — a “civic recognition award” for acts of kindness and compassion, neither of which she displayed with her blasé comment: “I realize job loss is a concern, but as the saying goes 'when one door closes another door opens.'”

The door is about to close on some B&B/homestay/illegal TVR owners who are scrambling to get their applications in before Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. signs the homestay bill that the Council passed last week. As reported by Sam Lee in comments — though never by TGI — the Council did pass the bill that restricts new applications to 10 per year, prohibits homestays in guest houses and requires a special use permit for operations on ag land.

[Correction: TGI did report the Council vote on B&Bs, buried in a story on the budget. And though JoAnn spoke against the bill, she cast no vote, which counts toward the majority under Council rules.]

Only Councilmembers JoAnn Yukimura and Gary Hooser opposed the bill, with JoAnn seeking to grandfather in all the scofflaws — a patently unfair approach that was used with the TVRs — and Gary opposing any regulation at all. Which caused a friend to wonder why Gary is constantly attacking the seed companies, which actually are doing agriculture, while protecting the gentleman farmer/TVR owners occupying some of the island's best ag land, yet producing nothing but dirty towels and sheets.

In other news unreported by TGI, police officer Darla Abbatiello has settled her EEOC complaint against Kauai County, the one that resulted in the mayor suspending Chief Perry and his top brass, which in turn led to big drama and other legal claims that are still pending. Because the county can never handle personnel matters without blowing hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees.

Darla will get $100,000 and KPD has to undergo training in retaliation and various other EEOC matters. Though Perry took all the heat, it turns out the County’s discrimination policy relating to malicious false reports was in direct contradiction to EEOC retaliation guidelines. Oops...

While we're talking about KPD, I contacted Chief Perry to find out what really went down at the Hanalei Pier last week, prompting the mayor to publicly apologize:

In a nutshell, one of the student victims was involved in some type of confrontation with an intoxicated local teenager and was punched.  Chaperones attempted to intercede and were assaulted by other locals who were friends of the teen. It was an ugly scene. The suspects fled in a truck which was later found to be abandoned. Officers are following up with the registered owner. It’s a bad situation when there are angry locals—for whatever reason—mixed in with unsuspecting visitors just trying to enjoy themselves.

And that, folks, is the state of Hanalei to Kee today. Though many will mightily deny it, it's due in no small part to the proliferation of big money TVRs in a confined, remote area that was never supposed to have tourist accommodations and the subsequent squeeze on local residents, creating a sort of land use molotov cocktail, just waiting for a spark.