Su Ba wrote:Lorinne, I don't think there is anything we could say that will change the way mainlanders are dealing with their crisis. Hawai'i has a unique culture which incorporates aspects of Old Hawaiian and oriental cultures. And here there is a lot of respect issues when it comes to ohama (family), Aunties, Uncles, and Tutus (the elderly who culturally are given respect). So although we of course have our rogue elements in our society, in general there is an obedient respect for authority........as long as it doesn't counter Hawaiian cultural tradition or values.
One thing that drove the State of Hawai'i to action was the fact that we have few hospital beds, few ICU units, and very few ventilators. There is no way the State could deal with a major outbreak without massive suffering and deaths at home. That, plus the call from the public to take serious action, forced officials to act. Our governor dragged his feet initially, but a major call for action by the public forced him to act. One thing that really impresses me here in Hawai'i is the the public has significant power to sway officials. Not on every issue that's for sure, but they really can often swing things in their favor.
Restrictions really suck. No doubt about it. On with most of the islands here, our communities are small. It didn't take long before communities themselves were impacted, and it really hurt to see a favorite town Auntie dying from this virus. It got personal. It wasn't just some faceless statistic that got the disease. So while people grumble a bit about the restrictions, we don't hear many loud complaints. When such complaints get aired, some respected elder within hearing range speaks up, shaming or berating the complainer. End of story.
Do we enjoy the peace and quiet? I haven't heard anyone here say that. In general the Hawaiian residents enjoy their tourists. They are friendly with them, help them out. Hawai'i is very much an Aloha state. And of course, much of the State relies upon the tourists to financially survive. While there are things that are annoying about tourists (they litter horribly, leave messes behind in their hotel rooms, and are awfully rude by Hawaiian standards), people here still welcome them to our islands.
The way Hawai'i is slowing this epidemic is via forced social distancing (including lockdown), sanitation, and facial covering. Only three of the islands have things under control. Two more are almost there. And two need help. As I stated before, we are hoping for an early release of a working vaccine.
I live in Kona, and I see two types of people here at the moment. There is the first group which holds all the recommendations as serious and abide by them the best they can. There is a second group that lives basically the same way they did three months ago. Though businesses are only supposed to be open if they are essential, the definition is so broad that almost every business is still open. You can wake up in the morning and go to Starbucks for your latte, head over to Home Depot or Lowes or Ace Hardware and browse the garden section or maybe shop for new kitchen cabinets, head to Target and see what new shoes might have come in recently, then stop at any restaurant in town for lunch. After lunch you can head to Safeway and grocery shop (almost everything is back in stock now). On the way home stop for gas and run by the bank to get some cash from the ATM. Later in the afternoon you grab your surfboard and head out for an hour or two catching some waves and on the way home grab dinner at a local restaurant. I know people that basically still live this way...a lot of them.
Perhaps there is some sort of herd protection going on where those taking things seriously are protecting everyone else. Maybe we have it better since it is warm here and homes have good mauka and makai breezes. All I'm saying is that there is a huge mixed bag of what people are and are not doing in abiding by regulations, weeks after they were imposed. Not sure what (if anything) the solution is to this.
