F.O.P (Fresh Off da Plane)

"Maui Reviled"

I had to happen eventually, I figure.

I was at a recent public meeting when someone got up to testify and brought with him a little blue book. Just the sight of it immediately drew murmurs and then quite audible guffaws before this nice man, who has community ties and appears to have lived here for some time, began to actually quote from it -- in what was meant to be a good way.

The gentleman was making an argument to keep Honoapiilani Highway close to the highway when it’s realigned mauka to avoid ocean erosion. The little blue book he held with highlighted passages, he said, praised the views of the ocean from the highway, calling such proximity to the water a rarity while driving in Hawaii.

But it’s hard to imagine that most people in the room were really listening to him since they were pretty busy talking to each other about either his audacity or ignorance.

The book was “Maui Revealed” or “Maui Reviled” as I’ve heard locals call it.

The guidebook is exceptionally popular as well as -- in my opinion -- being well researched, polished, interesting and informative. And I’m probably really gonna hear it for saying that.

See, someone quoting "Maui Revealed" in public here is a little bit like someone quoting the “Anarchist's Cookbook” in Oklahoma City.

I’m not using hyperbole here. At worst, many locals believe the authors, Andrew Doughty and Harriett Friedman, who reportedly live on Kauai, have blood on their hands.

At best, people feel that this book has unfairly ruined or damaged businesses as well as quietly encouraged people to trample off the paths in at least one nature reserve or trespass across private property by the hundreds daily to get to other remote pools and waterfalls.

Wow, people hate that book here. Some of my own colleagues groan at the slightest mention; and one entertainment writer even refuses to print the authors' names.

And then there are those who say this is sour grapes by locals who don’t want their favorite spots overpopulated with tourists. Coming from a tourist town myself, I understand them, to a point.

I had no idea how people felt about it when I learned about the book before I moved here. I admit that I read it and even bought a copy of it for my mother to encourage her to visit.

I also agree with a number of the authors’ honest reviews, which is what I hope to expect from a guidebook. But I am extremely uncomfortable with them giving directions across someone’s land (Although, I’m not proud to admit that I’ve trespassed as a private individual in Minnesota to get to a secluded spot for a sunrise, overnight camping or a dip.).

A number of locals have blamed the deaths of at least five hikers and swimmers over the past four years on “Maui Revealed.” The most recent was in January when a 22-Oregon man fell from a cliff into a shallow pool on the “Commando Trail” above Kailua, which is on private land but described in “Maui Revealed.”

In the past, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources also has asked the authors to leave out directions to two delicate inland pools in the Ahihi-Kinau Nature Area Reserve.

I don’t believe these folks are guilty of any crimes or are directly responsible for deaths or lost hikers. I’ve bought a few books on hiking in Maui and found similar descriptions. They ain’t exactly complete secrets. 

I also do not discount the obvious incredible effort put into producing “Maui Revealed.” I read that Doughty is a cartographer who makes his own maps and takes his own aerial photos.

And I know it takes guts to eviscerate a business here, especially publicly. There can be -- sometimes -- a touchiness when it comes to business in Maui (Although, the authors don't really need to face it since they refuse to be photographed or even do phone interviews. But to be fair, this is a practice not entirely uncommon for critics.).

I chalk up the thin skin by locals to the fact that some Maui business people aren’t really used to dealing with the press and certainly not "bad press" or media they didn’t buy at an advertising or public relations firm.

So I often encounter maybe a sense of entitlement or even anger for presenting another side to an issue, as though the rules and ethics of journalism don’t apply in Maui. These are often the same rules people constantly gripe about CNN, The New York Times or Fox News for not being unbiased all the time.

Then again, who likes getting ripped publicly? It’s happened to me, and it ain’t fun.

Once a city councilor called me a waste of skin in a letter to the editor for writing a series about Superior, Wisc., being a party town. In my defense, this is a place that literally has more bar stools than people. And it earned the nickname "The Tijuana of the North" well before I was born.

My uncle clipped out the letter just to be sure I saw it and brought it the Thanksgiving dinner to share with the whole fam. Thanks, Uncle Dave. It was actually pretty  funny.

I give the “Maui Revealed” authors props for actually practicing a style of journalism. It’s a not my kind of journalism or research writing as a mainstream daily newspaper reporter, which is supposed to be fair and unbiased as well as informative and honest.

They are in the bias business as critics. From what I can see they play by most of the rules by at least being straight with their opinions and traveling anonymously and not accepting payment or freebies for their takes.

This is what Doughty told The Honolulu Advertiser in a 2004 interview via e-mail:

‘’Our books aren't about revealing secret places. They're the equivalent of sending a friend ahead of you on vacation, doing the things you plan to do and reporting his opinions. Our books are about our opinions and our experiences. Nothing more, nothing less."

However, despite the book’s sections on safety, I believe they crossed a journalistic ethical line by describing how to get to a place that requires crossing private property.

Sure, journalists make mistakes in their private lives. Like I said, I’ve jumped a few fences in my day.

But as professionals, we are not allowed to violate the law in the process of getting a story, unless it is to protect the identity of a source or if your name was Hunter S. Thompson. By extension, I do not believe it is right to explicitly or implicitly instruct your readers on how to break the law.

However, again, considering how well-known some of these places already are, if anything, I think the authors are only guilty of perpetrating silly braggadocio on their readers with their repeated claims to know all about Maui just because they live in Hawaii.

In less than a year here, I’ve frequently disagreed with the opinions about restaurants or parks or attractions of people who were born or raised here. Still, it’s a helpful book to a newcomer or visitor, but they sure ain’t right all the time. Then again, who is?

Of course, this is all only my opinion. I just ain’t gonna stand up and present it to a full room. But please feel free to let the barrage begin below. Just remember, that waste of skin line isn't your own.