Please join me at Imua TMT's Rally in support of TMT!
UPDATE:
Thursday, July 25, 430pm @ the State Capitol
Signs and shirts will be provided until supplies run out!
Bring your own fun signs supporting TMT (please keep it POSITIVE).
The most important thing is to come out and show our elected officials that you support TMT.
Come show the world that Hawaiian culture and science can coexist on Mauna Kea!
If you are on the neighbor islands, rally at your City Hall!
For more information on Mauna Kea, check out the SECOND 300-odd page Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law that our Board of Land and Natural Resources debunking many of the claims made by the protesters: BLNR-FOFCOLDO.pdf
Look out for my op ed in the Star Advertiser on July 24 as well!
I hope to see you at the Rally!
Aloha,
Sam King
* * * * *
TMT supporters must be patient, but start taking action
by Samuel Wilder King II (excerpt)
Like most Hawaiians, I support the Thirty Meter Telescope. It is clear at this point, however, that the protesters at Mauna Kea will not be moving any time soon. We must therefore be patient. That does not mean TMT supporters should be idle. But what can we do?
First and foremost, we can all show up to the rally that Imua TMT is organizing at the state Capitol on Thursday, at 4:30 p.m. Bring your family. Bring a sign. Shirts will be provided. If you are on the neighbor islands, rally at your city hall. Post in the pro-TMT Facebook groups if you need help coordinating. The Pro-TMT Facebook groups like We Support TMT, Yes to Thirty Meter Telescope, Kanaka for TMT, We Are Laniakea-Hawai’i Island For TMT, and Imua TMT can coordinate more public appearances….
We can also sign Mailani Neal’s “We Support TMT” petition and share it online. Even though polls show that the vast majority of Hawaii supports the TMT, politicians need to see that there is real energy behind those numbers. Otherwise, they will think our community likes the idea of TMT but doesn’t really care.
Third, we can get on social media and push back on the outright lies being peddled about the project. There are posts out there about how aquifers may be damaged, which is completely false (see paragraphs 861-888 in the FOF/COL). One outrageous meme asserts that the TMT is nuclear powered (I cannot believe I have to say this, but it will not be). This kind of deception is corrosive to our democracy and, unfortunately, it must be addressed head on.
Fourth, we can refocus on the positive aspects of our shared culture, instead of embracing divisive victimhood and historical revisionism….
read … TMT supporters must be patient, but start taking action
* * * * *
Telescope Supporters are 80% Majority and ‘Terrified to Come Out”
SA: …Oahu supporters of the Thirty Meter Telescope will be holding their first major demonstration in favor of the $1.4 billion project today at 4:30 p.m. at the state Capitol.
How many people show up is anyone’s guess.
“Some people are terrified to come out,” conceded Samuel Wilder King II, one of the rally’s organizers from the Facebook page Imua TMT.
… King, a Native Hawaiian attorney practicing in Honolulu, said even though most people in Hawaii, including Native Hawaiians, support the TMT, it’s a huge risk to organize such an event because of how it might play in the media.
“If people don’t show up, it looks like nobody supports the TMT,” he said. “That may be, but I still want my voice to be heard.”
King said anti-TMT forces are “crazy organized” and “on top of their game” after years of cultivating social media networks.
“The reality is the protesters have been going at this a lot longer than any average supporters have been,” he said.
He said he wouldn’t be surprised if TMT foes attempt to overwhelm the rally with big numbers, although to him that would be disrespectful of the kapu aloha concept opponents pride themselves in following.
Malia Martin, another rally organizer, said she doesn’t mind opponents showing up.
“We welcome them with open arms and facts,” she said.
Martin, a Native Hawaiian who works in the Waikiki tourism industry, said Mauna Kea is indeed a sacred place, but there is room for a noble scientific endeavor that fits nicely into her Polynesian heritage of using the stars for navigation, exploration and knowledge.
Martin said backers are part of a silent majority for a reason, and for Native Hawaiians it can be particularly uncomfortable….
According to the latest Hawaii Poll commissioned by the Honolulu Star- Advertiser in 2018, a majority of Native Hawaiians support the project.
While a similar poll three years ago found that 59% of Hawaiians opposed the TMT’s construction, there was a turnaround in opinion in the latest statewide poll with 72% expressing support for the telescope.
Overall, 80% of Oahu residents supported the project, according to the poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling &Research Inc. of Washington, D.C.
King said anti-TMT forces have claimed the moral high ground on culture and are using it to peddle a victimhood story that doesn’t represent historical truth. They are also using the project to advance their sovereignty aims….
HNN: Another pro-TMT rally will also be held at the same time in Hilo at the intersection of Hawaii Belt Road and Makaala Street.
read … Pro-TMT rally planned for today at the state Capitol