What about discrimination against other minorities? (university, offices, places)

[Lucario]

Originally Posted by Bandalero

What I am about say here applies to life on the island of Oahu only because that's my only frame of reference on this matter, but I can say what follows here with a degree of confidence, and it applies as far back as the mid-eighties. The racial undercurrent between locals of Polynesian persuasion (i.e., Hawaiians, Samoans, Tongans, etc.) and Mainland transplants is at its zenith with blacks or "popolos".

I have seen this phenomenon firsthand myself in many-many fist fights at public beaches or shopping malls here on Oahu, and I've been told this outright by a number of locals over the years in backyard barbeques and luaus. In part, it stems from the general arrogance and cockiness that often attends younger black males in American society (something that is reviled in Hawaiian culture), but it also relates in some measure (and this next part may seem a bit far-fetched) to the fact that blacks on Oahu are here (nine out of ten times) as "military", which many locals resent. Take it or leave it, but that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Good Luck!

Interesting take on this. I spent a year in grad school at UH during the '90s, and I must say that the vast majority of my experiences in the state were positive in general. I am neither arrogant nor cocky, and I don't know why you say that black males are that way. Stereotyping perhaps? I had a large number of local friends and connections before I had come to Oahu, and I spent lots of time in Waimanalo and Laie with them. I never once had a problem. The only places I had problems were shopping malls and in Waikiki. I used to sort of play the ethnic chameleon because I do have sort of a local look, being medium brown, heavyset and somewhat mixed in appearance. People who did not know me were not always sure "what" I was, and I dressed local and could get by fairly well in pidgin. But there were also times, especially when I was out with my wife, when I played the mainlander/tourist role, and we then would get asked if we were tourists or military. I came to the Islands with an open mind, not judgmental or making assumptions about the local culture, and as a result I did very well. My wife did not have as good a time, and it had nothing to do with how she thought or how she acted. It was simply impossible for the locals whom she met to understand her, and I will say that in her case it was them who treated her badly and stereotyped her. She had a job where she lasted one day, partly because she was disrespected by the other women there and partly because the male supervisor was intimidated and uncomfortable with her combination of assertive demeanor and academic background. She was also followed by police and stopped while on foot in our own neighborhood as she searched for a garage sale that had been publicized. The HPD got an earful from me on that one. So I have seen enough, and heard enough, both from mainland minorities and locals, to know that discrimination against non-haole, non-local people is blatant and real in Hawaii. I would have liked to stay or return, but my wife never wants to set foot there again. Not that I blame her.

Originally Posted by PacificFlights

Yeah, blacks and hispanics are discriminated againt on Hawaii. Most likely it will be whites doing the discrimination from what I've seen. Even with "locals" discrimination againt minorities, most minorities are use to it (if they lived on the mainland) so unless it's really bad, it just roles off them as they are so use to it already. I also found minorites on Hawaii have a better grasp of racial discrimination versus plain old dissapproval because of something they did. Whites ***** so much about the discrimination against them because they just are not use to it and they can't accept they did something to warrent dissaproval so it has to be because of race.

There is lots of discrimination by locals against blacks and Hispanics in Hawaii - many AJA landlords, for instance, will refuse to rent to them. They say this openly. Even when trying to get housing at UH I saw this firsthand. Many whites who get anti-haole feeling are stunned because they have never experienced this type of bias, and it throws them. I always tell them, "Welcome to being a minority."

Originally Posted by Mar0

At the bars on Kauai (and there aren't many...), papolo guys ALWAYS get the girls...

That's because we're the best looking guys..........

Oh damn, what was all that I was writing about us not all being cocky and arrogant?

[Afishwithabike]

Originally Posted by tferriday

Hello,

If whites are referred to as "haoles" and say that most Hawaiians discriminate against them,

"Haole" was the Hawaiian word for "foreigners" so technically these days anyone who isn't Hawaiian is "haole". However, the word haole now is used to refer to a white person. Haole isn't anything like the "N" word used against blacks. Not even close. It's not a racial epithet at all. It's not derogatory in and of itself. Now if someone calls you a "F***!%! Haole" or something along those lines then it's a personal attack.

I have friends at work who self-identify themselves as haole. And when they want to describe someone else who is white, they use the word haole. It's the modifier, the adjective that precedes the word haole that matters. If someone wanted to use haole as something negative then he'd need to use an adjective before it, and most often that modifier is the word is something that sounds like "frickin".

[jqp07]

I'd say that a good number of Hawai'i residents have preconceived positive/negative stereotypes associated with each racial group, and that these stereotypes are often used (in a potentially offensive way) as a source of humor and multicultural understanding. It may be taken for granted that the subject of the joke treat it in a light-hearted manner. However, intentional negative discrimination is, at least in my experience a rare occurrence (except in certain areas) that is usually first triggered by other factors (not that they are a justification for the discrimination). Negative stereotypes associated with regional location (mainlanders/haoles/Waianae/Kalihi/Kahala) and occupation (military/federal/state) are much more commonly seen.

If I had to say what I thought the biggest source of conflict was, it would be a perception that people from the mainland look down upon locals, don't integrate with or understand locals, and receive preferential treatment because of their "mainland education". Sadly, because the "mainlander" stereotype is often associated with Whites and Blacks, they are often treated according to this "mainlander" stereotype until they "prove" themselves as being local (which can be as simple as picking up local mannerisms or local ways of thinking).

Interestingly, being from the mainland is a good way to quickly prove yourself as a skillful and well-educated individual with certain companies that favor the mainland style of business (giving you an edge), while other companies strongly prefer local workers who "fit-in" better with "entrenched" employees who have developed strong connections to their peers. So in business and formal environments, you can find a great deal of discrimination.

As a quick illustration of my point, while working for one unnamed local company, I recall a mainland vendor snubbing one of the senior administrators (who admittedly speaks with a local accent), telling him that he wasn't "professional" and was both "small-time" and "not ready to play with the big boys".

At the same company, when a mainland employee was hired on, he was treated like a miracle worker by upper management and at the same time was excluded from the small working groups because of his mainland mannerisms and attitude (which were neither negative nor unfounded) which distinctly marked him as an outsider.

So.... Yeah. That's my take on the matter.

[ZhugeLiang]

Originally Posted by Lucario

In Many whites who get anti-haole feeling are stunned because they have never experienced this type of bias, and it throws them. I always tell them, "Welcome to being a minority."

This never happens in mainland cities.

[Lucario]

Originally Posted by ZhugeLiang

This never happens in mainland cities.

What mainland city has a nonwhite majority where said nonwhites control economics, government, law enforcement, etc and have the power to discriminate systematically against whites?

What city? I'll tell you. There is none.

[John719]

Originally Posted by Lucario

What mainland city has a nonwhite majority where said nonwhites control economics, government, law enforcement, etc and have the power to discriminate systematically against whites?

What city? I'll tell you. There is none.

AAAAAAAAAAAAA, you've never been to Oakland, El Paso, Las Cruces, Fresno, Stockton, Modesto, San Jose, Redwood City, East Palo Alto; there's many many cities in the mainland where whites are not the majority. I'm half white (German & Irish) and half Mexican, look white. I grew up in San Jose, CA. My high school was 50% Vietnamese, 25% Mexican, 10% Black, 10% Filipino & Pacific Islander and 5% other, 17 kids, yes 17 of the other being White. And that is a school of over 900!

So, I think whites from the West, Southwest & maybe parts of the East coast are fully aware of anti-white racism.

[Lucario]

Originally Posted by John719

AAAAAAAAAAAAA, you've never been to Oakland, El Paso, Las Cruces, Fresno, Stockton, Modesto, San Jose, Redwood City, East Palo Alto; there's many many cities in the mainland where whites are not the majority. I'm half white (German & Irish) and half Mexican, look white. I grew up in San Jose, CA. My high school was 50% Vietnamese, 25% Mexican, 10% Black, 10% Filipino & Pacific Islander and 5% other, 17 kids, yes 17 of the other being White. And that is a school of over 900!

So, I think whites from the West, Southwest & maybe parts of the East coast are fully aware of anti-white racism.

I have been to Oakland, San Jose, EPA. You're not reading my post. I never said that whites could not experience racism on the Mainland. Sure, you might have had some people disrespect you in high school. Happens to all kinds of people. But you being white or at least related to white people should understand that you are not an obvious minority anywhere you go. I said whites are not a minority that is discriminated against in all aspects of life on the Mainland, and I stick by that. You cannot tell me that in San Jose whites are still not the dominant ethnic group in terms of politics and economics.

I believe a white person could buy a home, for example, in any "desirable" neighborhood in those areas that you mentioned above. I believe a white person is not going to be considered a suspect because of what he or she looks like. I believe a white person will not be made to feel different or inferior because he or she is a minority, with all the baggage that has been lumped on minorities.

Blacks and Latinos, and to some lesser extent, whites, do face discrimination in Hawaii.

[John719]

Originally Posted by Lucario

I have been to Oakland, San Jose, EPA. You're not reading my post. I never said that whites could not experience racism on the Mainland. Sure, you might have had some people disrespect you in high school. Happens to all kinds of people. But you being white or at least related to white people should understand that you are not an obvious minority anywhere you go. I said whites are not a minority that is discriminated against in all aspects of life on the Mainland, and I stick by that. You cannot tell me that in San Jose whites are still not the dominant ethnic group in terms of politics and economics.

I believe a white person could buy a home, for example, in any "desirable" neighborhood in those areas that you mentioned above. I believe a white person is not going to be considered a suspect because of what he or she looks like. I believe a white person will not be made to feel different or inferior because he or she is a minority, with all the baggage that has been lumped on minorities.

Blacks and Latinos, and to some lesser extent, whites, do face discrimination in Hawaii.

I think we both agree on one thing that hasn't been said and is between the lines. Whites in general have an attitude of "ENTITLEMENT" and when they come to Hawaii and that is not a factor this shocks them.

I do disagree with you that whites do not feel racism in the mainland by either housing discrimination, police or employment. I have felt all three and in diffirent cities in the mainland and becuase I was perceived as a white.

[kmcd23]

I am disappointed in the turn this thread is taking. Talk about stereotyping! Young black men being labeled. Whites being labeled. And heaven forbid someone actually be discriminated upon based on a stereotype! OF COURSE they did something to deserve it, and are just too arrogant/entitled to know it. Nope, this thread totally doesn't prove that stereotyping begets discrimination, therefore having no basis in the person's attitude, actions, or character.

[mogon]

Originally Posted by Lucario

...whites, do face discrimination in Hawaii.

Absolutely. Consider:

Office of the Governor

U.S. Congressperson Neil Abercrombie - 1st District of Hawaii

Ed Case - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Office of the President :: University of Hawaii System