Racism: Not in my experience (Honolulu, Pearl City: home, neighborhoods, buy)

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by ZhugeLiang

Yes, that stuff about the Hawaiian soverignty crowd, those really idiotic "Defend Hawaii" with a picture of a rifile decals and hate crimes taking place on the Big Island, they're really just figments of our imaginations.

The issues surrounding Hawaiian sovereignty opens up a whole can of worms; however, things like the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' "Kau Inoa" drive amount to institutional racism. In general, institutional racism exists when the policies, practices, and procedures of an institutional favor some ethnic groups over others, even when persons within the institution harbor no ethnic prejudice. The preferential admission policies of the Kamehameha Schools' are another example of institutional racism in Hawai'i.

Another form of racism is interpersonal racism. In brief, interpersonal racism exists when a person of a dominant race does something to maintain the subordination of a person of another race. It can be argued that interpersonal racism can't really exist in Hawai'i, because there aren't any "dominant races" here. However, manifestations of interpersonal racism such as prejudice, discrimination, and hate crimes do exist in Hawai'i.

Historically, the injustice surrounding the notorious "Massie Case" still resonates somewhat within the "racial subconsciousness" of Hawai'i. Scholars, such as David E. Stannard, assert that the "Massie Case" resulted the rise of a "local" identity vis-a-vis a "non-local" one. Thus, if "locals" Bob Kahahawai, Jeff Chang, and Kimo Takai have "Defend Hawai'i" decals on their vehicles and are quick to "false crack" Mike Fortescue (who recently moved to Hawai'i from Florida), there's a reason -- albeit a somewhat misguided one. Compared to parts of the continental United States, the racial situation in Hawai'i can be better or worse, depending upon factors like one's appearance, personality, attitude, and simply luck.

[manoagirl]

Originally Posted by maui08

Whoever has been posting that racism is not a problem on the islands must be living in one of the major hotels full-time and not in the real communities! Not just Hawaii but every island has an underlying issue with race. It may not be in your face style but it is real and is everywhere. True, Hawaii does have some of the most friendly people in the world but put them in a group on a beach with some alcohol and you have serious trouble. The locals seem to get stirred up very easily when they are in groups almost like a pack of dogs.

-I also have many close friends who are full on Hawaiian and THEY even admit that racism is an issue on the islands. Hawaii is a lot of things to a lot of different people which makes it a fun place to be. But don't pretend that mainlanders are welcomed with open arms.

After reading some of the post I think that what mainlanders experience the most is what it feels to be treated as a minority. Perhaps it is more difficult for some of the Caucasian (Haole) people as oppose to other minorities that come to the island. This refusal to accept your new minority status can be a difficult transition for some. From my personal experience the more racist a person is the more difficult time they will have blending into local culture. I have experienced prejudice on the island, every racial group does but not racism. I have only experienced racism on the mainland those two terms are not mutually exclusive. No one is saying that experiencing prejudice is pleasant, but it is personal and shared experience that causes minorities to relate to one another.

The Chinese have an expression that says "If you don't expect anything , then you won't be disappointment". Coming to the Island with a sense of entitlement can cause great pain and disappointment for some. Blaming local people for your pain and misery by referring to them as a "Pack of dogs " shows your state of mind. That is like calling them animals, or uncivilized. how is this type of attitude helping to address the problem, when it is part of the problem. Look to your ancestors and try not to behave like them. Try to be a better person, and learn from the mistakes of your ancestor made instead of repeating them or blaming the locals for your situation. This is the exact attitude of European culture superiority that cause problems for other Haoles on the Islands, and give them a bad rap. This is a question to Haoles, why is it that you feel you deserve respect when you dont' always show respect? Could it be that you feel you come from a more civilized culture and it is superior to other cultures? Just asking because if this is the case then this may be the reason many feel the difficulty in blending in with the local culture and community and feel isolated all because you come across as better than them and more superior. Is it also possible that your Haole ancestors sold out their grandchildren, and granddaughters and left them to clean up their mess?? Personally I don't think it does any good for victims to blame other victims for their problems. A haole friend once tried to explain haole culture to me and I always remember him telling me that White people come from a culture full rules they are taught as children to follow boy, was he correct!!. In comparisons some other cultures have less rules of conduct to follow. I have found the Haole culture to be very rigid and sometime too uptight due to culture norms this may also be a reason why it can be difficult to blend into a laid back culture because you have a difficult time relaxing and being yourself. I have also found the Haole culture to be one of the most compassionate cultures once barriers of understanding have been broken. The local culture is full of humor and entertainment, also full of drama!! many Haoles have a difficult time fitting into local culture because they may fail to see the humor in it and have a hard time laughing at themselves. Don't take things so serious with the locals and stop looking for problems.

[HankDfrmSD]

Originally Posted by manoagirl

This is a question to Haoles, why is it that you feel you deserve respect when you dont' always show respect? Could it be that you feel you come from a more civilized culture and it is superior to other cultures? Just asking because if this is the case then this may be the reason many feel the difficulty in blending in with the local culture and community and feel isolated all because you come across as better than them and more superior.

I think you will not get many detailed answers to this question, because it's a tough one, and those who probably should answer it seriously may not realize they need to.

I'm old enough (76) to have lived through many phases of "feeling better than" to "blending in with the local culture", so I'll try to answer your question.

I’m white. My family first came to America in 1610, and settled in the south. They were wealthy. Some owned slaves.

I grew up in a suburb of New York City in the thirties and the forties. My parents were pretty prejudiced. When I was young we had “servants”. Usually Irish, or black. In those days, black people were called Negros, which is the Spanish word for black. Some people slurred that word, and that’s where the “N-word” came from. When I was in elementary school we chose up teams by saying ‘Eeny Meany Miney Moe, Catch a N……. by the toe. If he hollers let him go. My mother said to choose this ONE!” We didn’t know any better. There were no blacks in our class, but I’m not sure we would have used another chant if there were.

As I went through school, I had classes with a few blacks in them, and learned that I was superior to them in many ways. I got much better grades. I dressed better. I smelled better. (They had no indoor plumbing, but I didn’t know that then).

When I graduated from Yale, I was commissioned an Ensign in the US Navy, and served for 31 years. We officers had our bunks (beds) made, our rooms cleaned and our meals served by Stewards. Stewards Mate was a regular petty officer rating, like Gunners Mate or Machinist Mate, but only Black and Philippino men were recruited for Stewards. So: What did Black men do in the Navy? They were servants.

About half way through my career, in the ‘60s and ‘70s, that all began to change. Black men were recruited into the “other” rates in the Navy, and into the officer corps, but it took a long time for the new system to really work. Not because of resistance to change, though there was some of that, but because it takes ten to fifteen years to rise through the enlisted ranks to Chief Petty Officer, or through the officer ranks to Captain. “Stewards” became “Mess Management Specialists”, and are now all white.

As these changes came about, I became more responsible for making them happen. When I became a Commanding Officer of a place with about four hundred people, one of my major responsibilities was to promote Affirmative Action. It was challenging, but rewarding.

When I was a very junior officer, I came to Hawaii for the first time. I have been going back ever since. My children largely grew up there. I think I’ve learned more about race relations from all that time there than from anything else. I’ve learned that every single person (local and haole) has a different “take” on this subject, and it all depends on their experience. My kids survived “Kill Haole Day”.

I also had duty on Guam, where I was the Production Officer at a shipyard, with 2600 people working for me – most of them Phillipinos who were “non-immigrant aliens”, and had practically no rights. Very much like the immigrant workers who came to Hawaii to work the Sugar Plantations. My experience on both islands taught me that skin color had much less to do with talent than education and ambition. The best engineer that ever worked for me was Phillipino, on Guam, an American citizen from Hawaii, not a “non-immigrant alien” (NIA). We had NIA college graduates working in the machine shop.

I learned, in the production department of the shipyard at Pearl Harbor, that there can be serious prejudice between the secretaries of Japanese ancestry and the secretaries of Chinese ancestry, bordering on hatred.

My oldest son graduated from the University of Guam, and married a classmate, a girl born and brought up on Guam, but of Phillipino heritage.

When I was relieved as the Commanding Officer of that Navy activity, I was relieved by a black Navy Captain.

I now live in Kailua, on Oahu, half of each year. I was trying to answer someone’s question here about ethnic makeup one time, so I looked around at a Kailua Town block party to try to figure the mix.

I suddenly realized that I had to make a conscious effort to count local vs haole.

I think that means I fit in.

BUT……….. Three doors away from me there is a local family that has large parties about once a month in their back yard. I’ve never been invited. Nor have my other neighbors, who are all haole.

Maybe God isn’t finished with me yet, and I have more to learn.

Hank

[maui08]

Originally Posted by manoagirl

After reading some of the post I think that what mainlanders experience the most is what it feels to be treated as a minority. Perhaps it is more difficult for some of the Caucasian (Haole) people as oppose to other minorities that come to the island. This refusal to accept your new minority status can be a difficult transition for some. From my personal experience the more racist a person is the more difficult time they will have blending into local culture. I have experienced prejudice on the island, every racial group does but not racism. I have only experienced racism on the mainland those two terms are not mutually exclusive. No one is saying that experiencing prejudice is pleasant, but it is personal and shared experience that causes minorities to relate to one another.

The Chinese have an expression that says "If you don't expect anything , then you won't be disappointment". Coming to the Island with a sense of entitlement can cause great pain and disappointment for some. Blaming local people for your pain and misery by referring to them as a "Pack of dogs " shows your state of mind. That is like calling them animals, or uncivilized. how is this type of attitude helping to address the problem, when it is part of the problem. Look to your ancestors and try not to behave like them. Try to be a better person, and learn from the mistakes of your ancestor made instead of repeating them or blaming the locals for your situation. This is the exact attitude of European culture superiority that cause problems for other Haoles on the Islands, and give them a bad rap. This is a question to Haoles, why is it that you feel you deserve respect when you dont' always show respect? Could it be that you feel you come from a more civilized culture and it is superior to other cultures? Just asking because if this is the case then this may be the reason many feel the difficulty in blending in with the local culture and community and feel isolated all because you come across as better than them and more superior. Is it also possible that your Haole ancestors sold out their grandchildren, and granddaughters and left them to clean up their mess?? Personally I don't think it does any good for victims to blame other victims for their problems. A haole friend once tried to explain haole culture to me and I always remember him telling me that White people come from a culture full rules they are taught as children to follow boy, was he correct!!. In comparisons some other cultures have less rules of conduct to follow. I have found the Haole culture to be very rigid and sometime too uptight due to culture norms this may also be a reason why it can be difficult to blend into a laid back culture because you have a difficult time relaxing and being yourself. I have also found the Haole culture to be one of the most compassionate cultures once barriers of understanding have been broken. The local culture is full of humor and entertainment, also full of drama!! many Haoles have a difficult time fitting into local culture because they may fail to see the humor in it and have a hard time laughing at themselves. Don't take things so serious with the locals and stop looking for problems.

I actually agree with your post. What I don't agree with is the folks who write that racism is not a factor in Hawaii. I fully understand and agree that racism is ignorance and is found all over the world. My problem is that so many local people have stickers on their cars that read, "If you don't like Hawaiians...why the **** did you move here?" Or stickers expressing how they want everyone to leave "their" island....So, I guess I am confused....do the locals really want the "haoles" to leave and take all the "American" influences with them? Could they really live without all the luxuries that have come over from the main land and simply return to life like it was years ago? How and where would they work if all the "haoles" left? The culture here is pretty passive-agressive if you ask me

[manoagirl]

Hank said: I suddenly realized that I had to make a conscious effort to count local vs haole.

That reminds me of a friend of mine on the mainland, who has cerebral palsy .
when I first met him I recognized he was handicap and walked with a limp, then after I got to know him I had not paid any attention to his limp or handicap, in fact I had forgotten he was even handicap. One day someone asked me what was I doing hanging around with some drunk, I guess they thought that because of the way he walked it was due to his cerebral palsy.
I had totally forgotten that he was handicap until someone felt the need to point it out to me. I had to make a conscious effort just to see his handicap. The same can also be said with race. When you stop looking at yourself as different or better your actions follow with a different attitude and you stop calling attention to yourself, because you no longer stand out in the crowd but blend in.

[manoagirl]

"If you don't like Hawaiians...why the **** did you move here?" Or stickers expressing how they want everyone to leave "their" island.

Well if that is what you see, then that is very mild compared to the way things use to be when I lived there. In fact that is an improvement in my opinion. Some of the signs I saw when living there was brutal. No offense to anyone reading this, but some of the signs I saw was Japanese only apartment. Germain kids were greeted the the High Hilter sign on kill Haole day at the public schools. Need I go on I think you get the point. Things have really improve in regards to race relations on the Islands compared to years before. Yes tourist are needed, you are welcome to visit the Island, but many locals and I don't speak for all, feel that more people living on the Island add to the frustration and it changes their way of living. People are fearful of it turning into the mainland. Many prefer the old way of life and don't want a lot of changes. Most of the distain really goes back to Captain Cook and the missionaries days. The Hawaiians welcome Cook and greeted him with leis, their kindness was taken as weakness and Cooks and his men took advantage and much pain followed by them showing what is called the "Aloha spirit". Some Hawaiians feel like all they have left is just the names of streets, much has been taken from them. People are really not greeted the same way they were in the past or like you saw on a movie. I always tell people that talk about moving to Hawaii that visiting there is not the same as living there,they might as well prepare for culture shock, that is probably what a lot of people who are posting may be experiencing, especially if you are new to the Islands. Many of you may have come here for a reason, some have come to find out more about yourselves. Once you have a better understanding of the Island culture you will learn to appreciate it more. The Island people are some of the most beautiful people in the world. It just take a while to get to know them and gain their trust. It take a person showing them respect, I don't think that is asking for too much.

[manoagirl]

BUT……….. Three doors away from me there is a local family that has large parties about once a month in their back yard. I’ve never been invited. Nor have my other neighbors, who are all haole.

Why did you want to be invited? It could be just that they don't think you have things in common and has nothing to do with your race. I would smile and compliment them on the music. Never go empty handed if you should decide to speak to them first. Something along the lines of Hi I am your neighbor and you just wanted to say hello. (Keep it brief) Bring along a 6 pack of beer this always helps especially if you know they have parties once a month. I am sure that if you brought beer over they would think you were cool that would be the way to break the ice!!! Maybe after having a few beers a few times you would get invited to come over to the party.

[HankDfrmSD]

Originally Posted by manoagirl

BUT……….. Three doors away from me there is a local family that has large parties about once a month in their back yard. I’ve never been invited. Nor have my other neighbors, who are all haole.

Why did you want to be invited?

I didn't say I wanted to be invited. I just said I haven't been. It was an observation, not a complaint.

Hank

[Calico Salsa]

Aloha Hank,
Wonderful post with a very picturesque view of your life - thank you for sharing that with us. I just want to respond to your statement:

Originally Posted by HankDfrmSD

BUT……….. Three doors away from me there is a local family that has large parties about once a month in their back yard. I’ve never been invited. Nor have my other neighbors, who are all haole.

We can't truly speak to your observation without knowing more. Since you brought it up, I'd love to explore this with you. My questions would be:
- Have you invited the family to any of your gatherings? Or to dinner with you if you don't have parties?
- Do you know them by name? Or any or all of your neighbors and their children by name?

We all have our circles of friends and acquaintances, and not everyone is included in any of those circles automatically. For some people, just because you are a neighbor does not mean that you are a friend, or that you will be invited to their parties. I am sure you have friends that you include and invite to some activities, but not others. You may be like the rest of us and don't invite every person you know to whatever you do.

When I first moved to my neighborhood, everyone knew each other but they didn't all get together. For a long time I didn't know anyone except the people directly next to me. But I smiled and greeted people, and waved to them as they drove past. At first I got puzzled looks, then later smiles and waves back, and now they initiate too. I am the one who started holding a neighborhood party, and people responded, and now some of them have hosted as well.

With all that said, I don't expect every neighbor to invite me to their parties. With some, we are neighbors, but not friends. In truth if either of us moved we would probably not contact the other. With others, we have become friends, and we do socialize. That only developed because one of us started, and one or both persisted in developing that relationship.

Any relationship is two-way, and sometimes it is best to initiate the relationship you want to have. It would be easy to observe that a neighbor had big parties and don't invite you or other neighbors, and to start drawing conclusions. But those conclusions are not likely to be fully correct without more information. If we just observe and don't act, we'll never know.

How about if you throw a neighborhood party, and invite all those neighbors, and then let us know what happens?

[Ghostgecko]

There are racist people everywhere. Man, in South Florida, these hispanics....SEE! (Just kidding!) But seriously, I have found that extending your hand, saying hello, being friendly, and not put-offish, which DOES NOT fly in Hawaii will often lead to friendships. I don't get mad when the construction workers that hang out in my bar, (all Hispanic) don't invite me in to play pool, but one night I was tossing back a beer and they approached me. "No security tonight, eh" I was like no. and they invited me for a drink. Give people a chance.

Remember the ad with (LDS did it) where a man was being chased around, and he got scared only to find out the guy was trying to hand him a wallet he dropped...?) Don't live in paranoia forever man, seriously!

Try saying hello to your neighbors. I admired the Hawaiian spirit of Ohana, when I worked with some before I left, they invited me to their party. My buddy who lived in Kaneohe right next to Zippy's told me his neighbors invited him all the time. Try saying HI!