Auntie Charo's Soapbox

KUAM's webpage reports that a group of peacenics from Japan were here recently, warning Chamorros and the Chamorro Nation about the coming of the Marines. Here's what KUAM reports: "Members of the Forum for Peace, Human Rights and Environment came to Guam this week to meet with island officials and members of the community. Yamashiro Hiroji spoke through an interpreter about the purpose of their visit, saying, "We came here to exchange our ideas with Chammorros and the Chammorro Nation, we'd also like to know more about the situation with Guam and U.S. bases."
Hiroji says the goal of this organization, which boasts millions of members is to promote peace and remove all U.S. bases from Japan. As for the transfer of Marines from Okinawa to Guam, Hiroji says that he has mixed feelings. On one hand he is happy to have less U.S. military personnel in Japan, but on the other hand he's concerned about the burden that it transfers to Guam. Hiroji says that in Japan the U.S. military presence brought along a lot of social and political problems. "Because of the U.S. bases it causes tension between the east-Asian countries and Japan," he explained.
In addition to increasing political tensions, Hiroji says that the Marines based in his country are also responsible for an increase in crime. "We had a lot of crimes committed by Marines, especially in 1995," he stated. "In Japan a 15-year-old girl was raped by Marines. This is not the only issue - there are also a lot of homicides committed by Marines, so I'm really worried about so many, 8,000 Marines transferred here."
First of all, these people are a group that want to get rid of ALL Americans-U.S. Bases (per KUAM's report) from Japan and it really doesn't matter whether the Marines are well-behaved or not, they want the military bases GONE!!! TWO: Most of the sins seem to have been committed in 1995 and THREE: They don't say how many homicides the bad Marines have committed. Of course, two homicides is two, too many, but just how many did the Marines commit and what happened to the Marine who murdered the two victims?
I have to say that whenever you import a huge amoung of anything, you're bound to get a few bad apples, so adding 8,000 Marines means that you'll probably get 100 bad Marines, 100 bad dependents, etc...I'm guessing the number, as it's anyone's guess how many bad apples will come with the group. In life, there are no guarantees that all will be the perfect guest, just as there are no guarantees that any of us will be the perfect host. How many of our hometown boys will welcome our guests with open arms as they come with their Section 30 monies that we desparately need?
But.....in the meantime....let's not start calling them murderers and rapists before they even become our neighbors....these aren't nice names.....and words such as these are readily available for them to read on the internet....instead, we should let the 8,000 Marines and or their dependents look forward to moving to Guam where the people are known for their warm and friendly hospitality....where problems are handled quietly and intelligently(hopefully away from the Nation people) long before the arrival of our future neighbors.
I also hope that Uncle Sam allows not the Chamorro Nation but the members of the Legislature and the Administration to work hand in glove with the Marines assuring a smooth move to this island paradise and that by the time our friends arrive, our infrastructure problems are solved. (Yes.....I am a dreamer!!!)