It started with a kanaka saying how sad it was to see on the Merrie Monarch that not many people who dance hula speaks Hawaiian, and opted for the "White man's language." Apparently it caused one Haole girl by the name of Jenny, who claims to be part Shawnee or something, to quickly speak out claiming that English is not a White Man's language, it has no race color attached.
I had to explain that what that statement really meant is how the English language which originated from a European country, managed to make its way throughout the world. And of course with the global market today, English has become the dominant language, to a point where so many Americans are very arrogant about it and use that claim to validate why other languages should have no preference. I also made it clear on how important it is to understand, especially when people want to learn a language like Hawaiian, that this is a fact that all must understand in order to see the bigger picture.
Jenny didn't like not so much what I said, but the fact that I had said anything at all. Why? Because, these people really feel they have the right to say what they need to say and most importantly feel that we are not right at all. Our opinion really doesn't matter.
The conversation quickly turned into her romanticizing Hawaiians, and I said to her I've heard it so many times and was sick and tired of people like her romanticizing us, creating this faux image of how we are docile, subservient creatures willing to do their bidding and have no common sense, lack knowledge to think for ourselves. This happened back in 1820, and continued ever since then, was the root behind the Bayonet Constitution, and STILL continues today in people like Jenny.
They'll say things like they are part Native American, as if to validate that what they say is gold because, they can relate on some "indigenous" level. If that were the case, she shouldn't have been offended. She was only offended and quickly attached "race" to the other person's comment about "White Man's language" because she obviously sees herself as white. She is immediately judged for being white, receiving any white privileges, therefore she is white! She didn't like the way I cussed at her because I was just sick and tired of her trying to say how one bad apple in a BEAUTIFUL barrel always has to cause problems. I again told her to stop doing that, stop making us out into these so called "beautiful" people whom she believed we are.
That's the problem with these people. They romanticize us so much, they really believe that we are subservient, ignorant natives running around willing to do their bidding and awaiting their counsel JUST TO PLEASE THEIR EGO!
Then she deleted her responses, then came another guy by the name of Lee Rogers who was offended by the fact that a white 82 year old man who claims Shawnee, Cherokee, French & Dutch ancestry was offended by the use of "White Man's language" in this forum. But Lee, typical Haole, demanded that I:
1) apologize to the 82 year old KUPUNA who wrote that he wanted to learn the language his mother spoke, what she taught him
2) apologize to the owner of that forum
What's wrong with this picture? Again, these people really think we're idiots. I told him that in the past, people like him have the audacity to tell us what to do and that we do have our own minds and can think for ourselves. I told him that they need to stop dictating to us what to do and what not to do. If the administrator/owner of the group has a problem with me swearing at Jenny who removed her posts, then I'll do it. But for now, Lee Rogers isn't the administrator. And that if the 82 year old man was offended by me, so be it, he should know that this is only a reaction coming from a Hawaiian, if that 82 year old man really is Hawaiian which, according to that man's site, didn't say that at all.
In the end, Lee Rogers said, as others have said to me before when I reiterate that they cannot dictate to us how to do things, especially concerning anything of our culture, that I cannot dictate to him to NOT dictate to us. How fucked up is that?
So to translate, Lee and all these other people who think they know it all and know more than we do feel that only they can make these demands on us, that they can learn our language according to their own needs & wants because they create these so called rules as to what should be learned with the language and what isn't allowed, but most importantly, we can't speak up and say that we don't like it for any reason, especially to say that THEY can't tell us what to do because in return they'll say I'm (or we are) the hypocrite because I'm doing just that, telling them what to do.
Did I miss something here?
Basically, they STILL believe they have the right to dictate to us. That's what it comes down to. They get to impose their rules, regulations, language and most importantly thoughts, but we can't do it for ourselves, definitely not speak up against that unjust thing that they're doing because we would be hypocritical at that.
Comments
Here's something I wrote down yesterday based on the book I'm reading:
The ego thrives on the feeling of superiority which strengthens its sense of boundary & separateness by complaining, faultfinding and reacting.
Remember the steps that took place in that discussion.
1) mentioned of how the Hawaiian language was dominated by the English language in hula dancers.
2) Jenny reacted to that comment & mentioned how English is color blind & not tied to a specific race.
3) I explained what that comment really meant, the origin of English.
4) Jenny reacted in a hissy fit, complained about some of the things I said even if I explained it nicely then began romanticizing & giving me her opinion on things.
5) unfortunately I reacted, but to the point of her romanticizing us, insisting that there is this image of us that makes us unique or separate in her own kinda way & telling us how we should do things.
6) She left, then came Lee Rogers w/ the same MO.
7) Lee reacted, demanded that I make an apology to a) the 82 yr. old man & b) the owner of the group and c) I remove all of my posts. Of course he had issues w/ me replying to him and boy did he react.
E malama pono.
But, as always, they took it to mean that White is encroaching which is my point, yours as well, but not the OP's comment. That OP too is adamant about writing in Hawaiian, which is cool, and he's all for the perpetuation of the language, but that he was disappointed that those who dance hula tend to be comfortable speaking English, which isn't a Polynesian language nor did it come from Polynesia. That was my point, the OP's point as well.
And as you pointed out, they have this idea that comes from way back when, that we don't know better, and oly they can tell us what would work for us, that means, what we should do in this forum as far as teaching the Hawaiian language, including not saying things like "White Man's language." Such idiots.
E Kaohi..mahalo as always for your kind words. I am actually fortunate that I speak English as a first language rather than learning it later in life like many of my friends. But, it is not OUR language, not the language of OUR ancestors, unfortunately that girl was the one who, b/c of the Original Poster's comment, made it racial, but most importantly didn't like me pointing out to her exactly what the OP meant by his comment. Just begin the Haole dominating force. Now that I don't like, when they think we don't know any better.
As I said before you have such talent in your writing and the way you say things. I wish I had that type of writing so that my students could stretch further into higher thinking and writing. I teach transition only and that's just all encouragement only. My student's usually move on to another level which is the purpose of the class. Thanks for furthering the argument about 'White domination' and their dry language.
I admire your tenacity in keeping things truthful and real. I don't know if I would be as diplomatic as you. I do try, but I can get exasperated with their stubborn, brainwashed arguments that are so feeble; it doesn't support their arguments.
People need to understand where all that rubbish stems from. It's from lack of knowledge, critical thinking, and logic.
The Papal Bulls instituted that evangelistic thinking that Europeans adopted since 1095 and a few more subsequent deicts in 1495, and later. Sadly, they don't even know their history and foreign policy which promotes their manifest destiny doctrines.
These ignorant people cannot understand that along with the arrogance, they expect us to speak their language rather than they learn the languages of others. In the U.S., the dominant, mainstrean society is the ethnocentric WASP culture under which non-whites must assimilate in order to live within their society.
U.S. Americans can't comprehend that there are other values, mores, cultures, and heritage outside of theirs. Blond-blue eyes is the epitome of the aryan stock which Darwin redeems as super inteloligence vs. black Africans.
Little do they know that their Cro-Magnon genes kept them in their barbaric, savage behavior. The main civilizations became the Middle East and Asia (China) while Europe was still a third world group of people grunting and groaning. It wasn't until the twelfth centurey after learning the ways of the dominant civilization that they came into their own. Every major thing they learned was from these civilizations and that it is the basis for their civilization.
While they were thinking the world was flat, the Polynesians were voyaging throughout the Pacific, transporting themselves back and forth from islands to islands. Our society developed a highly-structured civilization much admired by western sailors before the arrival of WASP missionaries who felt the opposite due to their feelings of superiority.
Racism is a white thing because of the manifest destiny doctrines, white is might=white is right attitude. The U.S.A. is made up of what it made up. Everyone knows that and the double-standards they practice even among themselves. ....and that is how they think Hawai'i is part of the U.S.A.; even some Hawaiians bought into that and suffer from the Stockholme Syndrome without even realizing it.
Once the maka piapia is wiped from their eyes; they will see the truth and be shocked into using their common sense and logic by the reality of what is being pushed onto us. I'm glad you are out there to set the record straight; more people should be as vocal.