Rapa Nui

Back in my younger years, Hawai'i was a lot different. It was definitely more attuned to the Aloha spirit than now. I am, of course, waxing nostalgic about a time nearly four decades ago. Now, Hawai'i can be metaphorically considered the Easter Island (Rapa Nui) of today. We are the new Rapa Nuians.

Moa'i Stonehead

Hawai'i, although a noncontiguous colony of empire, was at least a decade behind with the trends of the mainland empire. And, the big name businesses of the mainland did not fully saturate the local economy until recently. However, technology, primarily media services, expedited the import of cheesy mainland empire culture. The Aloha spirit vaporized.

Hawai'i today is an overpopulated state with limited land resources rapidly being converted to residential and commercial use. The cost of living has always been high, but political forces have insured that the local economy cater primarily to the affluent. Thus, land prices are exorbitant and out of reach for most of the locals.

Catering to the "rich and famous" class always has the negative repercussion of creating an economically dichotomous society. Hence, Hawai'i is now the national trendsetter for a population made up of the "haves and haves not." The "middle class" has been relegated to distant memory.

There is a huge wave of external and internal migration. Hordes of Chinese, Micronesians, Marshall Islanders, Filipinos, and Vietnamese are moving here, legally or not. Third World immigrants are boosting the demographic of the poverty class. In addition, a large contingent of poor people are moving here from the mainland empire with the specific intention of surviving in homelessness. Very little is being done to curtail the migration. Sadly, nearly all of the indigent population is strapped in the lowest poverty class. Unfortunately, the poverty class is responsible for a large percentage of the rising crime, drug and alcohol abuse, and mental illness.

Typical Rapa Nui Hottie

The affluent class are also immigrants. They are the international "rich and famous." They have enough wealth to become instant residents with high political clout. Naturally, there are few complaints about this class of immigrants. In fact, the "welcome mat" has been laid out to invite more of them.

With that said, the Aloha spirit is long gone. What we do have is a "melting pot" of haughty, arrogant, rude, self-important and stupid asswipes, dickheads, morons, and clowns. Look no further than Slob Manor (read: rental housing) for ideal examples.

The economy of Hawai'i is mostly related to tourism and the military of empire. Agriculture has made somewhat of a comeback, but its products are mostly for exotic export. Hawai'i is not self-sustaining. Heck, even the garbage has to be shipped to the mainland empire by barge. Everything else must be imported.

We are running out of land and open space in Hawai'i. Traffic is one of the worst in empire. Infrastructure is slowly but surely crumbling. Population is increasing rapidly. Potable water is at capacity. Natural wildlife has gone into extinction. Defoliation for construction projects has increased the average ambient temperature. In other words, we are figuratively carving out infinite Moa'i stoneheads. The result? Rapa Nui reprise.