These remarks are not meant on a personal level.
We come into contact with Hawaiians all the time whether police officers, bureaucrats, OHA functionaries, politicians or 501 c3's who work on the payroll of the Americans. Many cases they are used to put a face [of buffer] on the State oppression of Hawaiian nationals. I believe in some cases they act with ignorance or a combination of knowing their actions but feel helpless. In a recent conversation I spoke with someone who is paid by the State to remove my Ohana from their land under the guise of creating a park. They readily admitted that my Ohana owned the land and yet they are going forward with the developer and State officials to try to remove them.
I cannot see into their hearts and yet I feel frustrated that for a few dollars they will bring this Hewa on all of us.
I ask in all seriousness “How do we effectively deal with them with Aloha”?
How do we address our unity with a faction of Hawaiians that interfere with it?
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YOU SEPARATE THE PERSON FROM THE BEHAVIOR....they have to put food on their table. AND YOU PRAY THAT THEY DESIRE TO CREATE CHANGE TO IMPROVE SITUATIONS FOR KANAKAMAOLI. The hewa or unrighteoiusness is in the eye of the beholder. I appreciate your voice but I think every situation is different. It is not a global thing...do you want to rally them up and hang em? Hello? Effectively dealing with them is to pray for them - maybe you teach them your enlightenment of your knowledge for change...SMILE.
Kai Landow > HALE O KEAWE-A-HEULU aka: NAIHEMarch 13, 2009 at 1:36am
I see what you mean on the personal level and yes you can work with each person you know. There is maybe 500,000 descendants of the Kingdom. We do not have many resources [unlike OHA] to inform, educate and employ people to the Kingdom. I have no problem with people working in the State, but what do we do when you are arrested on Kingdom business or removed from your land when you have the royal patent? What happens when their are asked or required to act as the oppressing arm of the State?
I am not making this a personal argument. I only used that story as an analogy. Don't forget people don't like being told what to do or that they are wrong in their actions.
The other big problem is they actively interfere with the process of organizing the Hawaiian Kingdom. I only suggest we deal with them with Aloha, but we must deal with them, Yes?
Aloha kaua e Kai,
One of my kumu once gave me this definition of Aloha: alo - face to face, ha -breath of life.
Now, the rest of what I can say should NOT be seen as the fault of my teachers to teach me well (if I make mistakes in what I say, it is my fault as a student, not theirs as teachers) and what I say is not also the error of romanticizing or thinking too much, either. But here's a fruit of direct experience, and maybe it will be helpful to this situation. Again, this is from direct experience.
The 'aina - made of a great deal of silicon. Silicon holds and transmits information. Your kupuna have filled the 'aina --over the long centuries of their intimate engagement and dialogue with the 'aina, the creatures of the 'aina, with spirit and with each other -- with their energy and mana, and because Hawai'i is so volcanic, and so unusually situated on this earth, you have potential access to the energy and mana of your ancestors in a way that is more immediate than in many places. Your computer lets you get on Maoliworld and communicate with everyone else, because it is driven by silicon. Your 'aina has even more to offer, but you have to know how to "boot up" yourself to have access.
Alo - ha. Boot up instructions, yeah? This is why you all have such a feeling for this, beyond the touristy corruption of the word "aloha' by occupiers and commercial interests -- because alo-ha is part of the essential operating instructions and you all know it in your na'au. Same with the other values. Powerful operating instructions.
This is one potential kauna of why you can "eat the stones of the land" and it can be enough (Kaulana Na Pua).
Now, the deeper you go into your engagement and dialogue with the 'aina, the more you are grounded in your kupuna - you know this too, I don't have to tell you this. However, the real life potential of this is that YOUR kupuna can talk with the kupuna of those other folks, the ones you are wondering about, and they can help to shift this whole situation, with your help. But you have to be "booted up" and you have to be in the "spiritual practice" of affirming these connections, even if they seem somewhat intangible or remote sometimes, this potential of these connections, every day, every second. You can make it shift. Take it one at a time - that OHA official? Ask your kupuna to get in touch with their kupuna - have a little chat. That cop? That bureaucrat? That "Americanized" Hawaiian? Same thing. This is a deeper undercurrent of the movement toward unity, which is what you need.
I'm not saying do only this - no, I'm just saying juice it up and ground yourself, fill yourself with the amazing potential of your deepest connections to the 'aina and your kupuna as you take every action you can to work towards the good. I know that there are deep sources of assistance there for you all, I feel it when I'm there, I even feel it when I'm here. Obviously, I am not the only one to feel it. In a way, the whole problem of Hawai'i is that the mana is soooooooo desirable that it has inspired the greed of a deeply troubled, intensely violent culture which craves "healing" but which has instead perpetuated the most grevious violence imaginable in pursuit of this thing it feels, yet cannot comprehend.
Okay, that's it for now. I hope it makes sense. Malama pono.
"the deeper you go into your engagement and dialogue with the 'aina, the more you are grounded in your kupuna - you know this too, I don't have to tell you this."
Ok Mahalo for such well thought out mana'o. Yes the deeper you go into the Aina is a grounding force but...let me roboot this.
Since forever I heard na kanakas say we need to unite. Who is it that we lokahi? Do we lokahi anyone who has Koko? do we not forget heirs of the nationals not of the blood?
We are made up of good Hawaiians and bad Hawaiian and the some ha'ole's which are good and bad as well. What is are responsibility to the larger Ohana? We can dismiss some and then you ask who is to judge?
Unite for some is just dogma. Some Hawaiians like the women I spoke with believe in the rightness of her actions and could not see herself chumping out for the occupiers. Do we malama her and how do we bring her na'au in line as it were.
In short what is the strategy we should employ to unite those Kingdom people with us and not be sabotaged by those consciously or not working against us?
As well as I believe we are bound by the protocol of Aloha, that's just me.
It's very tricky, because, as others have pointed out - it's not one size fits all, and you have to "separate the person from the action."
A few more thoughts:
Unity of action is not always possible, but unity of values are.
Unity of a common goal can grow from values. But It seems to me that the biggest thing preventing nearly total consensus around the restoration of the kingdom is fear - fear of retaliation, fear of not being able to make a living or provide for the family, fear of conflict between family members and community - all that kind of thing. I think many Americans who may feel sympathetic to the causing, knowing something of the history, are also stymied by the fear of how such a transition of release and restoration could come about (but I'm less worried about them, at this point).
So, one big thing is finding ways to overcome all those fears. Practical things. Plans people can understand and participate in. Lots of work to do here!
But I wanted to get at this question in another way. I was thinking about values, and how different values are more appropriate to certain situations.
I was thinking about how everything is really on such a individual situation - no cookie cutters, even though there are guidelines.
Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher from the last century, had this really interesting idea he called the "three fold social order," which he tried to get European heads of state to consider, after the carnage of WWI. (It didn't work, unfortunately). He took the ideals of the French Revolution, "liberty, equality, fraternity" and tried to see where these ideals best fit.
He figured out that equality had to fit in with rights and laws - because people are all different, so you can't say everyone is "created equal" but more accurately, that everyone should be created with equal (human) rights. Okay, makes sense there.
Then he figured that liberty was properly the quality for personal and public expression, arts, education, spiritual pursuits. We should all be able to say and believe what we want - but not to do as we please, without regard for others. Free speech, in other words, and free beliefs.
Fraternity he felt was the sphere for commercial and business, growing food and making goods - otherwise you have the avarice, greed and rampant poverty (and pollution!) we have from capitalism.
This was all too radical for the time, even though it seems very common sense. I guess I bring this up as showing how various values can be looked at, along with spheres of human activity, and we can consider what is most appropriate for each.
So with the question of unity, what sphere does it really relate to? And what values support it best?
And what values are not as appropriate. This, then, could provide a rough guideline for those individual, person by person, moment by moment interactions.
Pono is a dynamic state, too. Differs from moment by moment, person by person. The adversary of one day may be the ally of the next - the grounding I speak of at least ensures that you can also be nimble in this kind of dance, and do fewer things that may cause lasting resentment which might affect a future unity of purpose or value.
Amy
Yes, I do concur with your mana'o. I am engaged more in the Hawaiian culture and dialogue than I ever was. Ten years ago, just a little, but enough. However, I stand firm in all that I do and engage in everything to learn more about the issues that affect kanaka maoli. I say my sincere ALOHA to Tane and Pono for educating and loving my 'ohana unconditionally.
Shoots I too am grateful for Tane and Pono. I have had some really great conversations with Tane and love his deep knowledge of history and the law. Tane; I believe agrees with me that if we can find a way to bring Kanakas back into the Kingdom we would like to do it. I know there is a simple answer, which Ho'oponopono....But getting people to agree to this process seems difficult.
It could be worse, however I'm happy for the po'e who support all the work we do. There are good and bad behavior in every race, however the ALOHA does extend to those related and unrelated too. The Hawaiian Kingdom belongs to all kanaka maoli regardless. The process appears to be a difficult challenge, however, the kanaka maoli have survived turbulent winds and will stand firm to resolve differences. The United States need to deoccupy and leave us to rebuild unity among our own po'e!
Kala mai but oiwi do not necessarily live aloha. It's due to the Hawai'i Visitors' Bureau trying to condition Hawaiians themselves that somehow we LIVE aloha 24/7 with what they called the aloha spirit. That's just a tag line. All of us don't necessarily do so:
*
- Molokaiians pule o'o
- Some Ka'uans killed some of their oppressive chiefs
- Some Mauians pushed some O'ahuans off cliffs
THIS is a part of our history and thus a part of WHO we are. (Just my mana'o.)
You cannot deal with unreasonable people with "aloha." * Dealing with them or "reasoning with them?" With unreasonable people??? No... but you can pule o'o, get rid of your oppressors, and/or push them off of the cliff. (See above.)
Just because you live aloha does not mean that others do so sometimes you HAVE to OKI.
As for those who are employed by the "state" or federal government... having a job may correlate to surviving but it does not necessarily correlate to them being sell-outs. In my experience the very people who are employed by the "state" are the most likely to be supportive but since they focus on surviving they don't say or do much but their support IS there. Just because we do not see it or hear it does not mean it's not there. I know some people who work for prominent companies as well as at universities who focus on surviving. Nothing wrong wit dat... and they are the most supportive. They just cannot risk losing their livelihood and thus risk their survival. I don't blame them and in my experience they are some of THE most supportive of everyting HAWAIIAN (ma olelo haole.)
If you referring to specific people though... it's on a case by case basis. Some truly NEED and deserve to be oki'd because they are pilau and no matter how much you want others to work together sometimes they want to paddle their own canoe. Of course in the process they are more likely to drown as they insist on paddling their own canoe because they are focused on their survival instead of on OUR survival (thus the kakou vs. au concept) ... so for me it's on a case by case, person by person basis. All of the oiwi whom I know are cool. However there are some who are not and yes... you HAVE to oki these few. Either that or you can IGNORE them. You really have to or else nothing will be done and the focus will be on them instead of the GREATER good which is ALL of us... not just one or a few but all of us as in KAKOU so OKI or IGNORE. IMHO either is fine to do.
Replies
I am not making this a personal argument. I only used that story as an analogy. Don't forget people don't like being told what to do or that they are wrong in their actions.
The other big problem is they actively interfere with the process of organizing the Hawaiian Kingdom. I only suggest we deal with them with Aloha, but we must deal with them, Yes?
One of my kumu once gave me this definition of Aloha: alo - face to face, ha -breath of life.
Now, the rest of what I can say should NOT be seen as the fault of my teachers to teach me well (if I make mistakes in what I say, it is my fault as a student, not theirs as teachers) and what I say is not also the error of romanticizing or thinking too much, either. But here's a fruit of direct experience, and maybe it will be helpful to this situation. Again, this is from direct experience.
The 'aina - made of a great deal of silicon. Silicon holds and transmits information. Your kupuna have filled the 'aina --over the long centuries of their intimate engagement and dialogue with the 'aina, the creatures of the 'aina, with spirit and with each other -- with their energy and mana, and because Hawai'i is so volcanic, and so unusually situated on this earth, you have potential access to the energy and mana of your ancestors in a way that is more immediate than in many places. Your computer lets you get on Maoliworld and communicate with everyone else, because it is driven by silicon. Your 'aina has even more to offer, but you have to know how to "boot up" yourself to have access.
Alo - ha. Boot up instructions, yeah? This is why you all have such a feeling for this, beyond the touristy corruption of the word "aloha' by occupiers and commercial interests -- because alo-ha is part of the essential operating instructions and you all know it in your na'au. Same with the other values. Powerful operating instructions.
This is one potential kauna of why you can "eat the stones of the land" and it can be enough (Kaulana Na Pua).
Now, the deeper you go into your engagement and dialogue with the 'aina, the more you are grounded in your kupuna - you know this too, I don't have to tell you this. However, the real life potential of this is that YOUR kupuna can talk with the kupuna of those other folks, the ones you are wondering about, and they can help to shift this whole situation, with your help. But you have to be "booted up" and you have to be in the "spiritual practice" of affirming these connections, even if they seem somewhat intangible or remote sometimes, this potential of these connections, every day, every second. You can make it shift. Take it one at a time - that OHA official? Ask your kupuna to get in touch with their kupuna - have a little chat. That cop? That bureaucrat? That "Americanized" Hawaiian? Same thing. This is a deeper undercurrent of the movement toward unity, which is what you need.
I'm not saying do only this - no, I'm just saying juice it up and ground yourself, fill yourself with the amazing potential of your deepest connections to the 'aina and your kupuna as you take every action you can to work towards the good. I know that there are deep sources of assistance there for you all, I feel it when I'm there, I even feel it when I'm here. Obviously, I am not the only one to feel it. In a way, the whole problem of Hawai'i is that the mana is soooooooo desirable that it has inspired the greed of a deeply troubled, intensely violent culture which craves "healing" but which has instead perpetuated the most grevious violence imaginable in pursuit of this thing it feels, yet cannot comprehend.
Okay, that's it for now. I hope it makes sense. Malama pono.
It makes sense esp. that we turn to the kupuna.
Ok Mahalo for such well thought out mana'o. Yes the deeper you go into the Aina is a grounding force but...let me roboot this.
Since forever I heard na kanakas say we need to unite. Who is it that we lokahi? Do we lokahi anyone who has Koko? do we not forget heirs of the nationals not of the blood?
We are made up of good Hawaiians and bad Hawaiian and the some ha'ole's which are good and bad as well. What is are responsibility to the larger Ohana? We can dismiss some and then you ask who is to judge?
Unite for some is just dogma. Some Hawaiians like the women I spoke with believe in the rightness of her actions and could not see herself chumping out for the occupiers. Do we malama her and how do we bring her na'au in line as it were.
In short what is the strategy we should employ to unite those Kingdom people with us and not be sabotaged by those consciously or not working against us?
As well as I believe we are bound by the protocol of Aloha, that's just me.
Kai
A few more thoughts:
Unity of action is not always possible, but unity of values are.
Unity of a common goal can grow from values. But It seems to me that the biggest thing preventing nearly total consensus around the restoration of the kingdom is fear - fear of retaliation, fear of not being able to make a living or provide for the family, fear of conflict between family members and community - all that kind of thing. I think many Americans who may feel sympathetic to the causing, knowing something of the history, are also stymied by the fear of how such a transition of release and restoration could come about (but I'm less worried about them, at this point).
So, one big thing is finding ways to overcome all those fears. Practical things. Plans people can understand and participate in. Lots of work to do here!
But I wanted to get at this question in another way. I was thinking about values, and how different values are more appropriate to certain situations.
I was thinking about how everything is really on such a individual situation - no cookie cutters, even though there are guidelines.
Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher from the last century, had this really interesting idea he called the "three fold social order," which he tried to get European heads of state to consider, after the carnage of WWI. (It didn't work, unfortunately). He took the ideals of the French Revolution, "liberty, equality, fraternity" and tried to see where these ideals best fit.
He figured out that equality had to fit in with rights and laws - because people are all different, so you can't say everyone is "created equal" but more accurately, that everyone should be created with equal (human) rights. Okay, makes sense there.
Then he figured that liberty was properly the quality for personal and public expression, arts, education, spiritual pursuits. We should all be able to say and believe what we want - but not to do as we please, without regard for others. Free speech, in other words, and free beliefs.
Fraternity he felt was the sphere for commercial and business, growing food and making goods - otherwise you have the avarice, greed and rampant poverty (and pollution!) we have from capitalism.
This was all too radical for the time, even though it seems very common sense. I guess I bring this up as showing how various values can be looked at, along with spheres of human activity, and we can consider what is most appropriate for each.
So with the question of unity, what sphere does it really relate to? And what values support it best?
And what values are not as appropriate. This, then, could provide a rough guideline for those individual, person by person, moment by moment interactions.
Pono is a dynamic state, too. Differs from moment by moment, person by person. The adversary of one day may be the ally of the next - the grounding I speak of at least ensures that you can also be nimble in this kind of dance, and do fewer things that may cause lasting resentment which might affect a future unity of purpose or value.
Amy
Kai
*
- Molokaiians pule o'o
- Some Ka'uans killed some of their oppressive chiefs
- Some Mauians pushed some O'ahuans off cliffs
THIS is a part of our history and thus a part of WHO we are. (Just my mana'o.)
You cannot deal with unreasonable people with "aloha." * Dealing with them or "reasoning with them?" With unreasonable people??? No... but you can pule o'o, get rid of your oppressors, and/or push them off of the cliff. (See above.)
Just because you live aloha does not mean that others do so sometimes you HAVE to OKI.
As for those who are employed by the "state" or federal government... having a job may correlate to surviving but it does not necessarily correlate to them being sell-outs. In my experience the very people who are employed by the "state" are the most likely to be supportive but since they focus on surviving they don't say or do much but their support IS there. Just because we do not see it or hear it does not mean it's not there. I know some people who work for prominent companies as well as at universities who focus on surviving. Nothing wrong wit dat... and they are the most supportive. They just cannot risk losing their livelihood and thus risk their survival. I don't blame them and in my experience they are some of THE most supportive of everyting HAWAIIAN (ma olelo haole.)
If you referring to specific people though... it's on a case by case basis. Some truly NEED and deserve to be oki'd because they are pilau and no matter how much you want others to work together sometimes they want to paddle their own canoe. Of course in the process they are more likely to drown as they insist on paddling their own canoe because they are focused on their survival instead of on OUR survival (thus the kakou vs. au concept) ... so for me it's on a case by case, person by person basis. All of the oiwi whom I know are cool. However there are some who are not and yes... you HAVE to oki these few. Either that or you can IGNORE them. You really have to or else nothing will be done and the focus will be on them instead of the GREATER good which is ALL of us... not just one or a few but all of us as in KAKOU so OKI or IGNORE. IMHO either is fine to do.
MALAMA~~ Lana
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