Comments Removed from Maui News Website

The Molokai Times should do the same.

Molokai Dispatch Editorial

The Maui News reports that they will no longer allow comments to be posted on its Web site “due to flagrant abuse of the privilege – including continual name-calling, crude language, profanity, slander, threats and racism.”

The comment section obviously became too offensive to the company’s editors as well as their readership.

But if you thought that the Maui News comments were bad, they pale in comparison to those found in the Molokai Times website – if you choose to go there, beware, it’s ugly.

The painful words thrown around the Molokai Times’ comment section are many times more hurtful to our small community than they would be in a larger population. Community members are named and picked apart. Others join in the fight until an entire webpage is filled with “name-calling, crude language, profanity, slander, threats and racism.”

For some, the anonymous nature of commenting on the web removes the sense of personal responsibility – kindness, respect, patience and thoughtfulness are set aside as users vent their frustrations on others.

And how does this make our community look to off-islanders and mainlanders? Like a bucket of crabs stuck on a backwards little island. Auwe!

In the absence of anonymous online commenting, the Maui News is encouraging readers to submit hand-written letters and emails as a more civil way to voice opinions.

The Molokai Times has shut its doors leaving behind a legacy of community service through media – remove the anonymous comments from the website so we’re not left with the ugliness too.