Let's talk about racism and white privilege.
In 1932, a Native Hawaiian St. Louis graduate by the name of Joseph Kahahawai was shot in the back by a gang comprised of white military men and aeast coast socialite named Grace Fortescue. As good fortune would have it,they would get caught, tried, and convicted. Then-Governor Judd would famouslycommute their sentence to an hour over cocktails in his home.
And this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are the political cartoons of the 1800s and 1900s. Racists laws against language and culture. Disparatetreatment of Hawaiians in the judicial system. Racism against Hawaiiansremains prevelant, systemic, and continues to destroy our population.
There is just so much it would take a lifetime for me to recap it all.
The Southern Poverty Law Center decided to recently write an article on racism in Hawai`i... against whites in Hawai`i.
You have got to be kidding me.
So I wrote to them. I'm reasonable like that, explaining that portraying white people as victims here is silly and inaccurate in the grand scheme ofthings. And I was told my Mark Potok, editor of their magazine: "I don’t doubtat all that many Native Hawaiians live in real poverty, or that they arefrequently the subjects of real racial hate and discrimination. It may well bethat we will do a story some time in the future about that situation."
In other words, we really don't give a damn about the racism against or suffering of Hawaiians.
And this is why we never get anywhere with race relations in Hawai`i.
So I'm opening the floodgates, because it's about time we started having this conversation in Hawai`i. Among ourselves... for ourselves... (so I willbe writing about regularly... buckle up.)
In my opinion, white people do not experience racism in Hawai`i. They experience lack of privilege.
And there is a select minority of white people who continue to complain about our rejection of white privilege in Hawai`i. And it hurts everyone,mostly, other white people. I don't actually know anyone, white or otherwise,who wants to be arbitrarily privileged. Most people I know only want theopportunities which they have earned and to which they are justly entitledto.
Everyone wants to be able to get along and work together to fix our community's problem.
The problem is that articles like the one for the Southern Poverty Law Center are so racist that is breeds anger and resentment in the community. Letme explain why (in the form of a question).
In consideration of the fact that we have sex trafficking from Asia, Micronesians denied health care, the grave overrepresentation of Hawaiians inour prisons, why is it that a national organization chooses to run a story ona couple of children being called names in school? To me, it looks like theyare getting the attention simply because they're white.
And I call that racism and white privilege. And it makes me mad.
What (to me) confirms that it's racist, is a response that says: we don't doubt there's racism against Hawaiians, but maybe we'll talk about thatlater.
We've been waiting for 116 years. What exactly are you waiting for at this point?
Yes, there are race problems here in Hawai`i, but the problem is not "Hawaiians versus everyone else." There are people who want everyone tobelieve that because Hawaiians are a threat to existing power structure inHawai`i - where the wealthy stay on stop and everyone else works two and ahalf jobs to make ends meet. The problems in Hawai`i are everywhere: in thedomestic violence rates; in the continued denial of health care and healthbenefits; sex trafficking; discrimination against gay couples; languagebarriers for immigrants.
You don't want to talk about Hawaiians? Fine. Then talk about sex trafficking.
Or talk about nuclear testing on Pacific Islanders.
There are a thousand race-related problems that the Southern Poverty Law Center could have championed and they stood up for white privilege. It's sad,because there are so many other groups who needed those resources more andmore urgently.
It's absurd when educated, middle-class, white males complain about discrimination, because the truth is not one of you would trade lives with ayoung, black lesbian. Or, more applicably to Hawai`i, someone find me aneducated, middle-class white male who would trade lives with a femaleMicronesian immigrant with Type II Diabetes.
Anyone?
That's what I thought.
Bottom line is: whether or not there is actually is a "kill haole day" is irrelevant, because I can find you thousands of Micronesians, Asians,Polynesians, and other minorities who would gladly trade your "kill haole day"for their dispossessed and painful lives.
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