Once again Sarah Palin and her family have shown extreme grace under fire that is often only appreciated after the fact. 

According to an article in The Maui News, the paparazzi were so aggressive during the Palin’s vacation in Maui in December 2009, that the hotel literally had the errant photographers “thrown off the property”.  The “Mainland photographers” were so aggressive that not only did the other hotel guests complain but that  an “old-time, low-key Maui paparazzo” was physically prevented from taking pictures himself by those photographers. 

An Alaska newspaper journalist even went so far as to comment that Palin should have used duct tape over the visor.  Duct tape?  What planet does that guy hail from?  Yeah, let’s put duct tape on my cap in Maui and go into a store and see how many stupid looks I get for looking stupid. 

As the following excerpt from the article  by Harry Eagar as posted in The Maui News, the mainland photographers then used a media ploy that not only forced the Palin’s to leave but prevented other photographers from taking pictures so that the photographs they took (2,000 of them) would be worth more. 

The yardstick of public opinion that measures the depth of yuck these kind of media jackals can sink too just got a little dirtier.  

“Palin incident showed new, unwelcome presence on Maui

By HARRY EAGAR, The Maui News , January 16, 2010

The Sarah Palin visor flap last month may have been just another political gotcha, but it revealed the presence on Maui of a new, aggressive and unwelcome breed of paparazzi. Maui has had the reputation as a place where celebrities could hang out without much fuss. But after the former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate was photographed at Kaanapali Beach wearing a Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., visor with “McCain” covered in black ink, she decamped abruptly, saying her holiday after her “Going Rogue” book tour had been spoiled by aggressive photographers.

In the superheated world of political blogging, that explanation was doubted, but Mike White, general manager of the Kaanapali Beach Hotel, said it was “absolutely correct” that obnoxious photographers chased the Palin family off Maui.”

[...] 

More on this revealing article can be read HERE. 

Tags: Maui