THANK YOU, KPUA

It made perfect sense to me that the first station in nation to drop Rush Limbaugh's program was KPUA in Hilo.  KPUA's decision made the national news and even got them some ink in USA Today.  After Limbaugh called Georgetown student Sandra Fluke a "slut" and a "prostitute" and then followed up with asking Fluke to post videos of her sexual encounters on the Internet, the decision to drop the program (by president and general manager, Chris Leonard) became a foregone conclusion.

The reason it makes perfect sense that a Hawaii station would be the first to drop Limbaugh?  Because no local person would ever make comments like that on the air.   Our culture simply does not allow it.  Imagine someone like Robert Kekaula or Billy V or even Alaka'i Paleka calling someone a "slut" or "asshole" or whatever on the air.  Never mind what the station execs would say, their parents, relatives, former teachers and friends would be storming their phones, Facebook and Twitter accounts with something along the lines of "what were you thinking?"  The worse call would come from Mom or Dad (or both), "You made us shame on the radio today."  Even a lifetime ban from radio could never be as bad as bringing shame on your family.

I think that's the fundamental problem with Rush Limbaugh, regardless of whether or not you agree with his politics.  Maureen Dowd's column in the New York Times today said it all, "Have you no shame, Limbaugh?"  The answer is "NO" he does not.  He doesn't have any shame because he was raised by people who apparently didn't value respect.   Though we may struggle sometimes to meld all the cultures we have here in Hawaii, our common thread is that all indigenous cultures place respect as the cornerstone of their beliefs, lifestyle and teachings.  To show outward disrespect (unless under attack) would bring shame upon your family.  Using "shame" as behavior modification may sound dysfunction to the rest of the world, but it keeps us from calling each other nasty names that get us labeled as bigots, racists and woman-haters.

In the big scheme of things, my opinion doesn't matter and Rush Limbaugh is going to keep calling people names as long as people tune in to listen to his "commentary".  But in our little corner of the world, its comforting to know that we live by a set of cultural values that doesn't give people like Rush Limbaugh the forum to hurt and defame others.

Thank you, Chris Leonard and KPUA.