Prisoner photos spark strong reaction in Hawai'i
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Staff Writer
Ask O'ahu residents to make sense of the images coming out of Iraq this week, and you'll get just about every reaction imaginable.
They're horrific. It's a few bad apples. They're disgusting. Maybe it was necessary.
Just about the only thing people from Ward Warehouse to Wahiawa agreed on yesterday was that pictures of Iraqi soldiers being abused by American soldiers and the spreading furor worldwide are going to make a difficult situation worse, no matter how you feel about the war or President Bush.
"This war is weird. Sometimes you feel one way, then you feel the other way. We're all very much divided, but this is kind of thing is that could tip you in one direction or another. I want to support the troops, but if this is what it takes, I don't know," said Laurie Ballesterors, a Hale'iwa native home for a vacation from California, where she now lives.
Some people said the images have made them rethink their ideas on the war and how it's being run. Others said the pictures only hardened positions they've had all along.
But nobody didn't have an opinion. Or almost nobody.
John Kahalewai, a 21-year-old self-employed mason from Wahiawa, said he hadn't heard about the pictures. "I'm too busy working to read or watch TV," he said. "I'm just trying to get by."
Nearly everyone else contacted in nearly two dozen interviews had strong thoughts one way or another about who's responsible and what it means for the war effort, the soldiers and those left behind on the home front.
Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5460.
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| Here's a sampling of what people said:
• Claire Holland, a site director for the YMCA in Wahiawa: "It's probably a few bad apples, but then there are others who just stand by without speaking out. That's got to change or the terrorists are going to end up winning more recruits and threaten our home security even more." • Rhonda Sanborn, a teacher's aide at Wheeler Elementary School: "Potentially this could mar the military as a whole and that worries me because the military deserves better." • Chambray Macalino, a senior at Mililani High School: "It's not our president's fault. It's the fault of a few individuals. They're the ones that need to be punished." • Herman Chung, 45, a landscaper from Wahiawa: "To me, it's good what they did. You've got to let the military do whatever it takes to clean it out. If they are terrorists, we've got to find out, right? You've got to do what you've got to do to stop what's going on." • Marcelo Martin, a 39-year-old Waikiki disc jockey: "It shouldn't be an indictment of the whole military, but it's going to change a lot of sentiment among our allies. It's an atrocity that shouldn't have happened, but it's probably not the first time that it's happened in a way." • A Schofield Barracks Army staff sergeant who didn't want to give his name: "Of course we're worried that this is going to have a negative impact. It makes it harder for everyone. People see this type of stuff from a few people and it leaves a bad taste in the nation as a whole." • John Sunderland, a disabled American who served in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division during the Grenada war: "It's inexcusable. Nobody should have been treated that way. I don't care what the hell they did. They still deserve to be treated as humans. This is going to cause nothing but more rebellion and chaos for Americans." • Jay Fukuda, a sales representative from Waipahu: "There's more going on out there than we hear about, but the good outweighs the bad. I don't think we're getting the whole picture. We need to hear both sides before we judge." • Cliff Samuelson, a retired United Airlines worker living in Waikiki: "Things are going to take a turn for the worse because of this. It's going to make it harder for us to build any kind of coalition. It could get really nasty." • Hale Cauton, 30, an events coordinator for the Life Foundation: "I was never a war or Bush supporter and now I'm even more so." • Jim Divers, a visitor from Sunnyvale, Calif.: "Every barrel has a few bad apples and I think the United States as a whole will recognize that. Nobody will turn against the war because of this. There are 3,000 bodies at the bottom of the World Trace Center. That's 3,000 reasons for you not to be swayed." |
