Go forward, Imua TMT, is my stance. I stand with the Kanaka for TMT, the majority. You don't see many of us in the majority speaking out, lest we be labeled as "racist" by those who do not care about going forward, only backward, what is the wisdom in that? To speak against the activists is seen as disrespectful to long gone superstitions.

Why not give the youth hope toward making a good living learning more about the origins of our universe, especially those descended from those mighty Polynesians from Tahiti, Marquesas and elsewhere who found Hawaii by navigating by the stars, to find a new land, a new frontier.

To me, the TMT would be a jewel in the crown upon Mauna Kea to get closer to the heavens than any other telescope in the world. What greater honor for a sacred mountain, than to get closer to the origins of our universe?

There is room for both science and culture to coexist. And it does, within those in the majority who see the TMT as a boon for the island and the state.

There are strong feelings on all sides of this, and a lot of misinformation, with the goal of sowing discord, like so many things in our country. Russia is likely chuckling pretty good about this and many other anti-science issues amplified on social media. It's really sad.

To me, this fight is necessary to demand respect and awareness for cultural sensitivity, of course, BUT to work together, not against.

Rejecting the project outright is going backward, not forward. The science will go on, whether in Hawaii or Spain. So, being "for science" isn't enough, but being for the science here in the USA, in Hawaii, atop a mountain revered by ancient navigators of the stars, seems appropriate to me. That is my feeling.

I'm not racist, I'm for uniting all of humanity in the search for knowledge for all of us here on this little rock we call Earth.

Science shouldn't be advanced at the expense of the powerless.

I don't believe that religious arguments (whether indigenous or not) should ever trump scientific ones. Indigenous religion is still religion.

I have the same feeling. Maybe a piece of earth really isn’t sacred, but how to adjust to people who believe it is sacred to them? Maybe, they can find a way to have it both ways?

On this issue I'm going to side with science. It's not as though they want to deforestate an area of pristine wilderness or displace people from their homes, or even have a significant impact on the environment in any destructive way, they just want to build another observatory on top of a mountain peak. The only issue being raised is one of spiritual consideration.

In my view science beats spirituality.

A couple decades ago, my friends and I sought to see the the newly completed Keck Telescope. It was the first large scale application of active optics. At the Visitor Center, they told us they didn't conduct public tours, but we decided to go up anyway. At the top, we saw people skiing and sledding down the sparse fields of snow. When we got to the telescope, the parking lot was filled with cars, but the facility was locked. We thought we'd wait for a while, and then, people started streaming out, getting in their cars and leaving. In a matter of minutes, all the cars were gone except ours and another group of astronomy fans. Again, the facility was locked up tight. Again, we waited for a while. Then, a lone car came and parked. A man unlocked the door and the woman went in. The man spoke to the other visitors and motioned them to come in. They, in turn, waved us in. Seems the wife of the Director became sick on the way down and wanted to come back up to use the bathroom. So, while she recovered, we got a free, exclusive tour. It was magnificent... Techie orgasm!!

The vast majority of Hawaiian residents support the TMT. The scientists are not without heart nor respect for cultural practices. Most people who have strong opinions regarding the TMT have come to their conclusions thoughtfully and respectfully with hope for human harmony in the endeavor.

Here is a joint letter written recently by the directors of the other telescope observatories on Maunakea that begins:

"Aloha to our scientific colleagues around the world, On behalf of the more than 500 people employed by the Maunakea Observatories, we offer a perspective about the Maunakea situation with the sincere hope that our words encourage greater understanding of the complex circumstances in which we find ourselves. "

Read the full letter here:

[maunakeaobservatories.org]

I would be ok IF Hawaii was not an invaded land.
Like, if USA want to take down mount Rushmore for example to make something else, it is their culture (religion is just culture with lasers) they are messing with.
But when talking about messing with other people's culture, then it is a problem.

So......

You would be OK with a Xtian group closing science.

It's not like you can just move a telescope.

Once, while driving along the saddle road that crosses the Big Island, we chanced to see the military firing rocket propelled phosphorus bombs from helicopters. Explosions generated giant white clouds of gas. Yeah, the military needs to practice, but the notion of polluting the Hawaiian landscape with toxic debris was offensive. I've never heard of any protests by the natives against the military operations that are ongoing, probably because they know they wouldn't get anywhere.

Still, if the natives had a concern about their sacred lands, the construction of a telescope is a tiny inconspicuous sliver beside all the other development that has gone on. The real question is: why the protesters zeroed in on this project versus all the rest of the development that has defaced the island. Until that is explained, the protesters seem like Luddite opportunists to me, and get zero credence.

Theirs very little to “protect” up there. Telescopes have been on that mountain top for as far back as I can remember. What’s the fuss all about?

My thoughts. You may not like it.

1. Protesting is their right
2. But protesting should not and will not change the progress of science
3. This science will do more good to humanity than the beliefs of a small section of a society to people locally
4. The astronomy lab is based on sound reasoning as to why it should be there. It is not an unreasonable occupation
5. We have to understand that these protests have not gone anywhere in the 200 year history, do not go anywhere and do not do anyone good
6. Ancient beliefs are replaced by modern science. We have to get that in our heads
7. We now know that often a special interest industry is built quickly around such protests in a democracy of a open society that includes lawyers, activists, fund raisers, media and others. It is not the case here but often protests are encouraged and kept alive by people who have no stake in the cause
8. Protests should stop, people should go back to take care of their families
9. Native Indians do not own lands and do not rule any longer. It is sad but it is a fact.
10. Our nation's progress cannot afford these distractions, protests like these are regressive

Before I read the article I was undecided. Now that I know they have 13 other telescopes I am not. I say let them build the telescope only if they tear down one of the other sites and return it to a pristine condition. 13 fucking telescopes on one tiny island are enough. And I always side with science. Enough is enough.

Technically speaking , Hawaii had a King and Queen and has never signed a peace treaty with the United States . Native Hawaiians do not consider themselves a part of the United States . The US is , again , invading a country that does not belong to it .

Find another place for the telescope.
Simple as that.

This seems a lot less disruptive and disrespectful than running an oil pipeline through sacred grounds. I’d like to think there’s room for compromise.

Shouldn't the real land owners (the people who lived there first) get to decide what their terms are? It seems like we're approaching this backwards

Having lived in Hawaii and seeing how they think, I believe this issue goes a lot deeper than not wanting the construction for indigenous rights reasons. The locals who live there are generally resentful of any project by what they consider outside influence on account of they are still angry that the US stole their sovereign rights.

Of course they are also broke as a state and more or less reliant on the rest of the US and the Navy and air force in particular for economic support. This creates a feedback loop where any project that isn't expected to bring in revenue is shunned. Although the construction of a telescope would progress science as a whole, it would do little to nothing to help Hawaii, so they use the indigenous rights card to justify no construction.

They have a lot of construction projects that are in limbo, wit slow or no progression that are drawing a lot of resources, such as a monorail that has been in development for over 20 years and not expected to be done for 20 or more, despite the original project to be completed in less than 10.

I'm not big on cemeteries and ceremonial burial grounds, so I don't care. It did dawn on me the other day as I saw them clearing land to expand a cemetery, it does provide a green space that would not be there otherwise, so that is a positive.

Why keep compromising and losing on the victims side ? "Science" is not some blameless graduate student promising to advance knowledge for all humanity ???? Most scientists are University/government employees paid far more than Native Hawaiians to dance for tourists or drive tractors through pineapple fields....I am Cherokee and genocidal whites have reduced the number of tribes from 1800 to 400 and most of them are like me not knowing a single word of our mother tongue....science is just another assimilationist tool delaying if not denying full reparations for stolen land and murdered forebears....not to mention rapes poison pipelines and destruction of habitat with natural foods

Burial sites? Worst waste of real estate next to golf courses. But if it is their land, they should have a say in what goes there. Never found common ground with the concept of Eminent domain.

They should have chosen another place. This didnt just come up.

superstitious bull shit. At 13,803 feet, there are very few, if any native Hawains who have ever gone to the summit and seen any of the telescopes. It is the idea of something up there that bothers them. If no one had told them, they would not have known.

Take superstition out of the argument and see what you've got left. If there were good environmental grounds for protesting then they deserve to be considered. Because something is 'sacred' is not an argument. Anything can be sacred to somebody. I could say that science is sacred to me and understanding the universe is vital to finding my spiritual place within it. The modern world has done many wrongs to native people, but opening the book of reason and science to them is not one of them. I've no respect for mumbo-jumbo. Come up with a decent argument or go home.