Regarding Sam King II’s comments about the Thirty Meter Telescope protest (“Delays in clearing TMT protesters pose risks to stability, security,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Oct. 27): If it was not for “civil disobedience,” which is a privilege here in America, women would not have the right to vote. People of color would still be sitting in the back of the bus.

We Americans practice civil disobedience when the government is not performing to the standards we think appropriate and have exhausted all other avenues of recourse.

The leaders of our state for the past 50-plus years have created this environment and now are challenged with making the needed corrections. The TMT project is the tip of the iceberg.

John FitzGerald

Hakalau, Hawaii island

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