The Oct. 1 "Chamber View" column and letters on Oct. 1 and Oct. 3 were spot on. The chamber survey says 3 percent are against Halloween and, as Mayor Alan Arakawa said, there are kupuna in favor of the event, not to mention 97 percent of the general populace.
Everyone on Maui is well aware of the hui of anti-Halloween critics. The Cultural Resources Commission scheduled meetings, and it has not been pretty. From the very first meeting, they used intimidation and exaggeration. They've verbally abused and heckled Planning Department officials during presentations, and others giving testimony who didn't agree with their opinion. They laughed and cheered when somebody insulted pro-Halloween testifiers.
At the last CRC meeting in Lahaina, one kupuna rudely slandered a local historical writer and accused the videographer of shooting biased video. Another talked of hand grenades and molotov cocktails. Not once at any of these dozen or so meetings has any CRC chairman asked for order. This only encouraged disorderly conduct. Many have left meetings in fear for their personal safety. All good reason to bypass the CRC.
Protesters recently marched at the county building displaying a poster of the 2004 logo, a Hawaiian horseman they consider disrespectful. Why parade this image up and down the highway? Baffling.
In spite of all this, many have struggled to negotiate with them in good faith to no avail.
Kenny Hultquist
Lahaina
