Nuttiness in Hawaii: Ethnic separatists take over palace
I’ve been keeping tabs on the Native Hawaiian secessionist movement for a while now. When last we visited the subject, the Aloha State’s GOP elite were pushing the agenda.
Now, things have taken a new, unhinged turn. The ethnic separatists have taken over a historic palace and are barring all non-Hawaiians from entering. Malia Zimmerman, editor of the Hawaii Reporter, e-mails:
Our Iolani Palace has been taken over by Hawaiian sovereignty activists since 5:30 a.m. and the state is sort of at a standoff with them. The protesters want the palace returned to the Hawaiian kingdom and the kingdom reinstated.
Several state employees were locked inside their offices this morning in an adjoining state archive building and were eventually released but they cannot get their cars out of the parking lot because the activists won’t let them. School children scheduled to see the palace today were turned away.
The state sheriffs have not arrested the 35 activists, and one said to one of our contributing writers that he is “on their side” and won’t shut down the protest. I called the Department of Land and Natural Resources director Laura Thielen and got her assistant. Thielen made a statement this morning about the hostile takeover, but has not issued an update since. They (all the relevant state directors) are all in meetings – I was told – trying to decide what to do. The protesters are not armed, as far as we know, and at least one we tracked down has a criminal record for DUI and harassment, so I don’t know what the problem is. Arrest them and let everyone get back to work. The whole thing is being really badly handled by our law enforcement and our state.
This is a letter from a retired police officer here named Earl Arakaki – he sent it just minutes ago: “What these people did is comparable to what Gov. Faubus did with Arkansas schools in the late 1950s – refusing entry on state property based on race. That is a constitutional violation. Honolulu Police Department, State Sheriffs and even Federal law enforcement took an oath to defend the U.S. and State of Hawaii Constitutions. Why no action! At the very least these racist should have been first warned to cease. If they refuse then at least arrested for HIndering Government Operations as Iolani Palace and Offices are state of Hawaii government property. At the most they should have been arrested for civil rights violations based on race. I don’t know who is worse – the government officials who fail to act, or the racist occupants.”
Full report here.
MSM coverage from the Honolulu Advertiser suggests that the trespassers will get away with a slap on the wrist. If that:
A Hawaiian sovereignty group occupied the grounds of ‘Iolani Palace, locked the gates and blocked non-Hawaiians from entering for about eight hours yesterday to protest the U.S.-backed overthrow of the Hawaiian government more than a century ago.
The protest was conducted by the Hawaiian Kingdom Government, one of several groups that claim to be the successor government of Hawai’i. The group said it will return to the palace today but will not lock the gates.
No arrests were made yesterday and the protest ended peacefully with the group removing the locks it had placed on the gates at around 5:30 a.m.
Extra security will be on hand this morning to ensure the gates will not be locked again, said Laura Thielen, head of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which has jurisdiction over the palace grounds.
A number of symbolic protests have been staged on the palace grounds to draw attention to Native Hawaiian issues, some with the consent of palace officials. But yesterday’s action went further than most by actually locking the gates to the palace grounds and shutting down not just the former residence of Hawaiian royalty but also the State Archives Building.
Thielen said it has not been decided what, if any, charges would be filed against the group or its members. “That depends. We’ll remain assessing the situation and see what happens,” she said.
The P.C. virus isn’t confined to the mainland.
***
Commenter RaisedRight asks a good question: “Has Obama ever talked about this issue? He did grow up in Hawaii and it is an issue of race.”
***
Background on the Hawaiian secessionist movement here, here, here, here, here, and here.
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Why should they obey the laws? Our government has made it clear through their inaction on illegal immigration that people can pick and choose which laws they want to obey and no repercussions. Anarchy will have free reign today. Probably an indication of more to come.
Then he needs to be arrested along with them, kissing his job and his pension goodbye.
Exactly. When law enforcement refuses to do their job and instead join the law breakers, they need to be fired.
Why is this clear racism allowed to go unchecked? Has Obama ever talked about this issue? He did grow up in Hawaii and it is an issue of race…
Racism in any form is bad. I wonder though if these activists are less about being pro Hawaiian and more about being anti American?
Hawaii. Earl Arakaki. Iolani Palace. Honolulu Police Department.
They should be protesting for more consonants.
It’s an issue of a conquered people who want their land back. It’s pretty cold-hearted to not at least sympathize with a people who had their land stolen from them by an imperial power.
Peaceful protest is part of the American tradition.
Rusty, actually the land was given to the Hawaiian people by King Kamehahameha. The did not have a firmly rooted concept in land ownership and many Hawaiians actually sold land cheaply. This is how they lost their land.
What the Hawaiians really want today is to have the same rights and Native American tribes. For whatever reason they don’t.
Ethnic pride run amok…like all other egomaniacal pursuits.
I think I disagree. Why should I sympathize with a group of people that wants to divide land and buildings and rights based on race?
David Kalakaua’s “The Merry Monarch” younger sister Liliuokalani took the throne. She wanted to restore the power to the throne that was signed away by her brother Kalakaua. Hawaii’s own monarchy gave away the island to the US, through the coaxing of bankers of course. Else it would have been British.
There’s a right and a wrong way to approach matters. No need to blur the lines with talk of sympathizing…
Bingo, another case of TLH. Where are the race hustlers when you need them talking about unity?
Not race, but heritage. It is not for all polynesians or asians, but for people of Hawaiian heritage. Obviously they know it will never happen. There are very few people of Hawaiian heritage even left in Hawaii.
On May 1st, 2008 at 9:35 am, Rusty said:
It’s an issue of a conquered people who want their land back. It’s pretty cold-hearted to not at least sympathize with a people who had their land stolen from them by an imperial power.
Then, in that case, we Southerners want Yankees out of the Grand Ole Confederacy! THE SOUTH IS ONLY FOR SOUTHERNERS!
With respect, I doubt most Hawaiians today know the difference.
Before 1959, you could in fact make the argument that Hawaii was taken illegally. Because it was seized by two American businessmen. However in 1959 Hawaiian citizens voted overwhelmingly for state hood. The Native Hawaiian population is under 20 percent; most Hawaiians of today are of mixed Asian descent. They don’t rate the rights granted to Native Americans because they have not lived as a tribe. (Exception: island of Niihau) Yes, I sympathize with the Hawaiin reseidents before 1959, however they let the bayonet constitution happen. This is why the illegal immigration issue is so important in the United States. If you let other people run your country, then it never belong to you in the first place.
MM, thank you for covering this story.
/s/
the guerilla
So…..You want your old kingdom restored…the invaders kicked out….you raise an army defeat the invaders and kick them out…..that is how it is done. If you can’t do that…then…. you can’t do that.
I grew up on Hawaii but I am of Chamoru and Filipino origin. I recall the anitpathy towards haoles and non-hawaiians, but not to the extent of a separatist movement. However, the racism was apparent.
It is almost similar to the “nativist” on my island of Guam. They seem to forget that we are now apart of a greater nation, and that this separatist mentality is not shared by the majority who actually enjoy being citizens of the United States of America!
Besides, we are all, the term I remember, poi dogs!
It strikes me odd to see people rebelling against something that hasn’t happened in their life time.
It’s the same as the hispanic outcry that they didn’t cross the border, but instead, the border crossed them… They claim that Texas and California are rightfully thiers because it was taken from them. Well, they took it from Spain. Spain took it from the Aztecs, and so on.
Every nation on earth should give away every last bit of thier sovereignty to the oldest indigenous tribesman alive, so that we can return the land to its rightful inhabitant.
Rusty, you’re such a bleeding heart. You go live in Waipahu or Waianae and see how long you last.
There is defintely a few people out there who do hate haoles anyone who comes from the mainland and anyone who has anything to do with the military bases out there. They also hate tourists too but that also applies in Orlando.
There are few true Hawaiians left as Mister P said. My former neighbor’s granddaughter goes to Kamehameha and they used to comment on how few “true” Hawaiian looking kids go to the school. It is a heritage, not a race. My son is part Hawaiian and Japanese.
They should also receive the benefits Native Americans do. It was discussed once or twice while I lived out there.
Yes, Hawaii is nutty in many ways (having peace protestors come onto private property a number of times) but it is a wonderful place to live. The people overall are very nice. You have bad folks on the mainland, that’s for darn sure. No place is paradise but living in Ewa Beach for four years was darn close. We miss the people and the laid back lifestyle.
The United States has got to apply its laws equally and fairly. Ignoring this encourages special interest groups like this to do what they want under whatever excuse they want to give.
The activists and the “law enforcement” people that will not enforce the law need to go to jail. Period! We cannot have our laws and land subverted in this manner. So sorry about whatever happened in the past but that is just the way it is. Hawaii is a state with all applicable state and federal laws. Period, dot, the end!!!
Unfortunately, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and Obama are unavailable for comment.
Terrig, it seems we have similar views about Hawaii. Yes Kam Schools now take students who are 1/16th Hawaiian. What I loved about Hawaii when I was first stationed there in 1970 was the blend of different cultures, heritages and races. I have always felt at home in Hawaii (as opposed to my native Chicago). I ended up marrying a wonderful Chinese/Filipino girl from Aiea.
But it is foolish to paint everyone with a broad brush that fits only a few.
The Hawaiian culture is part of what binds all the different groups together. Even pidgeon english was based upon Hawaiian grammar.
But yes there are some racist. I use to referree basketball games and encountered a few
One thing I have noticed about colored protests/grievances is that it’s all about their color their heritage their bloodlines, in every case it’s totally racial/racist. So do you think that if these types take control anywhere they will be allowing you a job, food, a place to sleep? I don’t think so. Congratulations PCMC US government you have created the setting for these racists to run wild. We made the next generation of fascists US citizens, well at least when this is all over the Germans will seem like old news the monkey will be on someone else’s back, others will have succeeded them in infamy.
BTW Terrig, I do remember having a couple of very liberal roommates when I moved back for a while. All they did was complain about how they were discriminated against. There complaints were quite funny actually. It showed me how easily our imaginations can run away with us.
When you get to be a state in the United States, you have to abide by the laws and constitution that govern the United States. The majority of my extended family is scattered within the Hawaiian islands, and even they–as non-Hawaiian Pacific Islanders–sympathize on some level with the Hawaiian secessionist movement.
Much of Hawaii’s commerce is influenced by local tourism of non-whites. If blatant racism stops or slows the flow of travelers to ‘paradise’ and Hawaii secedes, there will be no income–or federal assistance–for programs to support the thousands of native Hawaiians that suffer from addiction to meth/ice. And then what of their kingdom?
On a related note, I agree with katieanne and James Felix. Who do these complicit sheriffs think they are? Collect their shields and guns and let them see what life is like without the protection of the U.S. government.
Mister P, my husband and I were discussing before he left again where to retire. We came to the DC area for that reason but even though we’ve been back about 14 months (lived in GA prior to move here) we thought about retiring out there. It’s a long way off and while this will probably be his last deployment before retirement, we have discussed it. We really did like living there (although I will admit the first year was difficult) and we think maybe we’ll go back. Meanwhile I’m here in Prince William, VA, looking at houses for sale in my old neighborhood.
I am very familiar with Aiea. My son took swimming lessons there. It seemed like a nice are too.
josetheguerilla, that’s a great point and something I should have considered.
Thanks for a fourth-grader’s perspective.
Most adults see this racist throwback occupation for what it is.
I doubt they’d be talking secession if they didnt have tourism, natural resources and the military propping up the local economy.
If Hawaii were a vast wasteland, they’d be begging for govt support $$$.
The Aztlanders have much the same viewpoint, its not about their land, it’s about the resources and what has developed ON the land over the years.
This seems to be a drive to create a “state” within a state. It’s really a repackaged form of the “Sharpton” shakedown, except there’s a few “pineapples” involved.
I’d kick this guy’s obnoxious ass off my force. I had a rookie once that didn’t want to enforce a trespassing warrant on an eviction. “I don’t think it’s fair,” she told me. I told her that her job was not to like the law but to enforce it, and if she couldn’t do her job she needed to find a new line of work. She did. This clown needs to too.
We just bought a place in Central Oregon. Cheaper than Hawaii. Property taxes are low. There is no sales tax. The environment on the Eastern Slope of the Cascades is just georgious.
Bush should have ordered the governor to call out the National Guard and arrest the racial separatists and if the governor wouldn’t comply he should take control of the National Guard directly, which he can do under the constitution. Then he should have held a news conference comparing this to the 1950’s incident cited in the article. Charges of civil rights violations should follow with long prison sentences after conviction.
Why is it OK to trample on White people’s rights when the same thing against any other race would be unacceptable?
Having been to Oahu on several occasions I can truly say you can keep Hawaii. I was not very impressed by the blatant racism of the local population when passing through back during by flying days.
Mister P how did you ever afford land in Eastern Oregon? The main reason my wife and I never settled in her hometown of Prineville is due to the exaggerated price of property (not to mention the hefty property taxes to keep Californians out). I really enjoy going home to visit her family and the view of the Cascades they have as you head toward Bend. Count me in as envious and jealous.
I would like to add…..compared to the rest of the WORLD…..white people ARE a minority….so whats the problem? How come we can’t be recognized? Why the hate?
oderint dum metuant
If you want to effect a change in the United States, you do so at the ballot box, not by breaking the law you disagree with, or criminal trespass and seizure of property.
Yep.
Agreed.
Let them hate, as long as they fear.
It may be time to airdrop in that master of race relations “Jerry Wright”.
Why with his masterful illiteration this could be solved with little more than total capitualtion of the non-natives.
Of course, as a sign of good faith a few Haole’s will have to be sacrificed.
But if it helps, all the better right?
Well considering the fool, er the King wanted to make an alliance with Japan and knowing how the Imperial Japanese treated OTIJ’s we can safely assume that the King was an imbecile. They should be thanking the US military for heading off who knows what horrible tragedy. They might be observing a day like Dec 7 perpetrated on the Hawaiian people themselves, the short bloody afternoon or something like that. I’m sure that MM knows some people that could tell us all about the history of Imperial Japanese occupation. Think about how they treated the Chinese who they considered inferior to them and they didn’t go round in grass skirts. If they want to rewrite history many things change in the process. The authorities would do well to think about things in larger terms than what has happened in the time they have been alive.
I lived in Hawaii for many, many years. My husband is from there, and is of mixed race.
Hawaii’s dirty little secret is its racism. Is there good in Hawaii? Of course. But under the guise of “aloha,” people ignore the blatant bigotry and racism that permeates the entire culture. I worked in the government, and had many friends and acquaintances in law enforcement, in the legal community, and in the judiciary. The number or anti-white and anti-black racial crimes are covered up because the prosecutors find ways not to charge the perpetrators with a hate crime. Police officers refuse to serve restraining orders on behalf of white victims if the aggressor is Polynesian or Asian. Whites are beaten on “beat a haole day.” These incidents are NOT unusual, and I have first-hand knowledge and experience with the ones I have listed. This type of hatred, sanctioned by the state through its inaction and pandering to the Hawaiian rights movement, has grown in recent years, and was part of the reason we moved away from Hawaii, with NO regrets.
Arguing that Hawaiian is a “culture” not a race is a PC argument put forth that ignores the fact that many native Hawaiians view themselves as a race, and advocate the establishment of a race-based system of government in Hawaii, with them at the top. It is solely based on bloodlines.
Imagine if you were of French descent, and based solely on that, you claimed separate and superior rights to current French citizens. That is what the native Hawaiian movement wants – ANYONE with Hawaiian blood, regardless of how much, or where they were born, or where they live, would have greater rights than those who do not.
Gekoman said:
“Besides, we are all, the term I remember, poi dogs!”
Poi Dog:
Hawaiian Poi Dog is a term used in Hawaii to describe mixed breed dogs.
Great point Gekoman. I am such a mixed breed that I don’t identify myself as Irish American or Caucasian American or any other such qualifiers. I assume most American feel that way also.
Everywhere I go I insist on everyone referring to me as an Austrian-German-Irish-Caucasian American Womyn.
The chickens have come home to roost
Well Boomer we actually lived in Bend about 25 years ago, but left because we couldn’t earn a living. We didn’t buy land, we both a villa at Eagle Crest for about 300K. They dropped the price about 20 percent. At Eagle Crest the propertay tax is only about 1550 dollars per year. Prineville as you know is just about 15 miles down the road.
We are moving from Iowa with its 6000 dollar a year property tax.
BTW: Somebody yelled at my wife to “go back where she came from.” when we lived in Bend. But we know that person did not speak for all Oregonians :=)
Much of this, but not all, goes back to Clinton I’s nonsensical “apology resolution“.
When naive politicians pander, trouble eventually follows.
Oh Hawaii, there are other places with beautiful beaches that have warm breezes. There are other exotic locations populated by people who at least pretend to like me, and the dollars I spend in their countries. They welcome me to their historical palaces. I will no longer spend a penny of my hard earned money in a place that doesn’t appreciate me or the financial support I contribute to the Hawaiian economy each year that I visit.
Aloha Hawaii. I won’t miss you anymore than you miss the people you call dumb @#$%+&* haolis when you think we’re out of earshot…that is, until you no longer have a job and are standing in line at the welfare office. Maybe then you’ll wish Hawaii and Hawaiians had never lost their “Aloha Spirit.”
I have spent a great deal of time in Hawaii, and learned something of the history.
These protesters should get down on their knees and thank the white devils who brought them out of the stone age and removed the whims of an absolute monarch. Before discovery by the white man, the hawaiian society was brutal, and included the sacrifice of those who lost battles or were not in the kings favor. The dreamland of peace and plenty never existed.
We have grown up to where the seperation of people by race or “heritage” (whatever that is and however it is measured) is no longer tollerable. They need to grow up, and catch up with the rest of society.
How is the seizure and occupation in this instance any different than the Indians’ seizure and occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969? All they accomplished was to trash the place.
And how is a group of evidently Polynesian-based people self-defining themselves as a distinct “Hawaiian race” any different than formerly Jordanian and Egyptian Arabs re-defining themselves as “Palestinians?”
Race-based bigotry is just that, no matter what the pigmentation of the bigots is and no matter what label they choose to affix to themselves; and self-congratulatory bigotry doesn’t justify or even satisfactorily rationalize outlaw behavior.
Clear the palace, and treat the petty criminals like the trespassers they are; just don’t either (A) ignore them, which only emboldens them to do more, or (B) crack down too hard on them, which only makes them into self-styled “martyrs.”
#51
I must pleasently disagree with you that its no longer tollerable to seperate ourselves.
Take a look at the typical college campus cafeteria and you see that blacks self segregate and don’t tolerate whites/latinos/Indians (eg India) and etc from sitting in those areas. The looks and comments are extremely frightening to the extent that I no longer eat at the “Tiger Cafe”
I could write a book on the racial politics in Memphis and that the most discriminated ethinic groups are non-blacks when it comes to job opportunities, seperate colleges, scharloships (sp?), and to hear the slurs directed at you openly and people wonder why blacks and other ethnic groups can’t get along.
I lost my job tuesday because an african-american wasn’t doing his job and I finally said enough and let the guy fail on his own merit. He’s still working there and I am not.
So this summer after teaching at a summer camp, I have to find another part-time job and still get ready to carry a full class load of 15 Cr hours.
GSP
I lived there for a few years. My wife was military and I worked as a diver and met alot of locals.. Some were nice but deep down they do not want us there. When you go eat, service is bad, it is like they are doing you a favor. So therefore it made it that much more enjoyable to always be around. I would love to see them stand on their on 2 feet,which would last about 1 day. Then no more road money, bridge money, federal assitance ETC.
I am just feeling that Aloha spirit right now in lovely Baton Rouge.. And by the way,, I’ll dive Florida and the Keys before i go back there.. Electric beach isn’t all that… But Hilo I love..
Often these are the same.
But if you check their DNA, they came from Southern China and Taiwan.
Sad but true, I suppose.
Send in the riot police! Bean bag them all!
I went to a meeting and met a group like this at Wai’anae, Hawai’i, as they spell it. The groups were cordial and each had a point. I could see both points, but US and State laws should prevail. They might try to seceed, but the South tried that in 1860 and it failed. To exclude anyone based on race is apparently unconstitutional. Remember Bobby K ?
The only twist is that liberals, “African-Americans”, “hispanics” and several other protected, preferred “minorities”, including some women are allowed to discriminate based on race. Everyone except certain other peoples, who work and follow laws.
HELLO?!?!?!?! This attitude is unfortunately becoming common place across the world and is now reached our own country. The Palestinians, then the Mexicans, now the Hawaiians. Give us our land back because it was taken from us “illegally.” All being demanded and argued by generations who were not even around when the alleged “illegal” taking occurred. I fear that this mentality is only spreading.
Here in the People’s Republic of Hawaii, the small number of native Hawaiians are treated as spotted owls. Can’t touch ‘em.
The indigenous people of Hawaii have sovereignty. They are citizens of the United States of America.
If they want reparations for actions against them by previous generations, they need to get into a very long line. They should also be very thankful that the Spaniard Ferdinand Magellan missed Hawaii on his circumnavigation.
#9 Mister P
“…What the Hawaiians really want today is to have the same rights and Native American tribes….”
You are right, they and the American Indians should have the same rights — the same rights, no more no less no different, than other American citizens. Which is to say the Hawiians and the American Indians should be told ‘the war has been over for generations, you lost, welcome to the United States of America.’
All of this Native American tribal rights cr*p needs to be discarded, the reservations dismantled (and the casinos closed.) I see no reason why they should have the right to do something that is prohibited to the rest of us. We are supposed to be in this together, without respect to race, religion, national origin, etc., etc., except of course if you are white, male, heterosexual in which case you are by definition a racist, misogynistic, gay-bashing bastard.
I am sick and tired of this hyphenated American, holier than thou nonsense.
If, in their fantasy, they became a so-called independent nation, they’d still get our tax money. D.C. would just change our support of the nation of Hawaii from “state” aid to “foreign” aid.
There evidently isn’t a nation that hates us enough that we won’t send them monetary aid. I guess Hawaii would become one of them.
In a sense this is the yawner story of the day. As if we couldn’t have seen this coming a thousand miles down the road. Now all we have to to is watch and wait until the Hispanics start pulling this stunt, not too long in the future, say next year? The dissolution of America has begun.
I really did like living there but I knew that there was a lot of racism and anti-militarism as well. I guess in my dorky little neighborhood of West Loch Estates and at Immaculate Conception (the 1700 Mass), people were always nice for the most part. We rarely ventured into Waikiki but when we were at Bravos or the Chili’s in Kapolei we were always treated well. The only place we weren’t was at the Cheesecake Factory in Waikiki. While I did experience racism when we first moved into the neighborhood but they got evicted and they were Japanese. I will say I don’t miss people telling me that we should not have been allowed to adopt our son because we are not Asian. (I would tell them why don’t you step up to the plate, social services has plenty of little Asian kids who need good homes and that would shut them up pretty quick.)
But you all are right, if the military pulled out of there and tourist quit going they’d be hurting. But all in all there are a few that are annoying as heck but I always had pretty good experiences when dealing with the police and other government officials.
#53, I’m sorry that happend to you. It happened to my mother about 17 years ago. That person is also still there even though the others still complain about picking up the slack for her. File a lawsuit, my mother wishes she had. Another woman where she worked lost her job in the same situation did and won.
Such is true Hawkeye54. I was in Yap and they had the best roads I have ever been on. I commented that they had a good goverment to take care of all the roads this way, and the mayor said no,, thanks to the USA we have these roads. But they did love Americans there though and appreciated what they had from us.
SKG
gunslingerpatriot #53:
I’m sorry for your experience. I just quit my job today. /sigh I was a temp and found out the job would never turn permanent. Best money I ever made but man, I worked in literally a hive of villainous scum.
I wasn’t happy anyways. Maybe it will be new opportunities for both you and I.
As to Hawaii, it’s nice as a tourist destination but as a state, I just wish they’d secede and get it over with.
Hey Terrig: my employment situation is a lot like your mom’s. As a military spouse, I’ve had a lot of trouble with discrimination with prospective employers. I was working as an admin assistant for a naval contractor and first they a)made me move my office space so that one of the manager’s cronies could enjoy my new office furniture, and b) since the job I had was temp to permanent I found out today that it would never turn permanent.
I know that there are really good Naval contracting firms out there, this one just happened to be one of the worst. Oh, well. If the Navy and their supporting employers went away from either Hawaii or Norfolk, VA, both places would be devastated. Too bad they don’t show their appreciation nearly enough.
For the record I agree with that. It does them no good to hang on to a lost past. I just can’t get excited about this event, because frankly there is not much to it. A few people have gotten caught up in a drama of self-importance, using their own heritage as a setting.
It is unfortunately as there is so much to me proud of in the Hawaii culture. The music, the dance, the aloha.
But we can not roll back the clock (as the UN did for Israel for some reason). The past is the past.
“I just wish they’d secede and get it over with.”
um, as a resident of the STATE of Hawai’i, i just wish you would sthu.
having lived here for 5 years [and it's tough to get more haole than myself] i’m saddened to see all the folks here relating their horrible stories of discrimination. not only saddened, but a bit confused ’cause i’m not sure what part of town you would have to be in to have those experiences as they surely don’t mirror mine [fwiw].
this is a unique plot of land, and we have many positives. that’s not to minimize the negatives, which are surely present — and the fools who actually think they are going to “restore” the kingdom are chief among them. they, however, represent the fringe [too large of a fringe one might argue, but the fringe nonetheless]. these type of demonstrations are fairly routine, and are met with a shrug by the vast majority of the populace, who, like many other places, is just trying to live day to day, go to work, raise the kids, etc. etc.
Buck,
No offense or anything but many people aren’t being served by their state government in Hawaii anymore. I’ve heard experiences from military folks who’ve been transfered there about how tough housing is to find, especially on Oahu. The housing prices are astromical and the crowdedness not very appealing.
I meant no disrespect and was referring to the “nativist” movement that is growing in Hawaii. I wonder if you realize that. I realize that there are many good things happening, and good folks that live in Hawaii. Perhaps, I should have clarified my statement. I have some questions, though, for you:
1. Are you being wisely served by your RINO of a governor?
2. As a state that has a heavy military presence, why are the loons given so much influence in matters of say, practice fields for military fliers?
3. Why is housing so expensive in Hawaii? Why is fuel a lot more expensive in Hawaii then it is on the mainland?
4. What is going on with the GOP of Hawaii? What’s your take on that?
I have nothing against the place but they’re a little bit like some of the New England states (like Vermont). Hawaii is so left that I’m surprised it isn’t teetering into the sea.
1. Are you being wisely served by your RINO of a governor?
better served by the corrupt hacks who preceded her, that’s fer sure …
2. As a state that has a heavy military presence, why are the loons given so much influence in matters of say, practice fields for military fliers?
50+ years of one-party rule in the legislature tends to bring about such silliness …
3. Why is housing so expensive in Hawaii? Why is fuel a lot more expensive in Hawaii then it is on the mainland?
for housing, supply and demand — we’ve got many, many retirees [not only from other states but from all over the Pacific] who are willing to pay astronomical sums for their “shangra-las”, and joe and mary public kinda get stuck with tiny, way overpriced bungalows.
for fuel, we have 2 refineries practially next door to each other to serve all the islands. however, at the moment we are at ~$3.80 for regular on O’ahu, which apparently is less than what the Bay Area is paying [so i've heard]
4. What is going on with the GOP of Hawaii? What’s your take on that?
Ann Coulter wrote years ago “between the criminals, the elderly, the welfare freeloaders and the union members, the democrat candidate starts with about 40% of the electorate.” here i would spot them another 9% from those constituencies. so, do the math.
the gop, stupdily, got associated with the rich land & business barons soon after statehood — they’ve been fighting it ever since. It is my hope that the gov. can win one of our senate seats soon, our lt. gov. can succeed her, and we can run SOMEBODY for state senate and other local offices that can finally get a foothold and get rid of the institutionalized entitlement mentality that shows up in too many places here …
/allowing private enterprise to succeed here would be a really good start …
whoa – in the answer to #1 above, it should be “better served by her THEN BY the corrupt hacks who preceded her, that’s fer sure”
/sorry
EmJem, I know what you mean about Norfolk & Va Beach. When I moved there I lived in an apartment complex called The Lattitudes on old 44 right by Oceanna. People would complain but it was a virtual air show every day and the noise didn’t bother me. When I married my first husband who was a pilot he used to have to put up with people saying stuff to him if he happened to buy gas off base. I think they were almost worse in Hampton Roads than in HI.
Buckaroo, I did like the Lt. Gov. better than old Linda Lingle. Is the cheapest gas still at Costco? It was always cheaper than at the military bases.
Didn’t Obama grow up in Hawaii? Most people looking at his childhood seem to have thought that race was not an issue in Hawaii – if it is really as racist as some of the commenters indicate, that might explain some of his angst…
Well, he has officially announced he is running for gov. in ‘10, which would seem to mean lingle will be going up against inouye in the senate [unless dan, for the first time in a long time, shows some grace and steps down himself -- snicker]
“Is the cheapest gas still at Costco?”
prolly — it’s out of my way so i stick to whatever Aloha or 76 happens to be uncrowded when the mood strikes
/thank God for a short commute — that’s distance-wise, not time-wise!
# 74 GF
b.o. is screwed up due to his parents being screwed up, his wife being screwed up, and his pastor being screwed up — his time in HI was mostly during his adolescence where he went to the absolute pinnacle of the pyramid top private high school — so only so much of the blame can be placed there …
Hey johsteele #62, you are soooooooooo right on!! I too am tired of the hyphens and special treatments.
They want “their” land back? In order to demand something back, it must have been “their’s” to begin with. As Leonard Bernstein once said, “a dirty savage squatting on a piece of land does not constitute ownership of property.” Harsh, but it gets the point across. For it to have ever been “their” land, they must have had some conceptual framework of private property: without the concept of “property,” land cannot belong to anyone in a society/culture (and group/collective rights are nonsense; no entity other than an individual can have a human right, ie the right of property). If they actually did have such a concept, it would be the first pre-iron age tribal group I’ve ever heard of that had such a concept.
I’d love to see the justification the nativists give for their demands for property and money. They were there first? See above. “Their” land was taken? See above.
Meanwhile in Obamaland:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=182062
Vet arrested for wearing USMC Sniper t shirt to council meeting.
“I’d love to see the justification the nativists give for their demands for property and money”
dude, they had a kingdom, ruled by a monarch [and later an elected legislature]. It was recognized as an independent country by britain, the u.s., and others from the early 1800s through 1893. where it goes off the rails is in 1893 a group of businessmen overthrew the monarchy and established a civil government. in 1898 said government petitioned for and became annexed by the u.s. in 1959, after years of manuevering, the annexed territory was admitted to the union. THAT’S what the folks are pissed off about …
I can’t say I fully agree or disagree, because I don’t know what happened in 1959. All I do know is that the vote to become the 50th state passed by an overwhelming majority of something like 94%.
So out of the whole state, only 6% voted against the idea? Or were there only 6% of Hawaiians in the state to vote “no.”
RLR