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The unlightened ones if they liked it or not. No this is were you have the glorified view of western culture. They knew and didn't care. This is an example colonialistic thinking, that unfortunately still kinda exists today. huh?
Last edited by hawaiian by heart; 10-27-2014 at 11:59 AM..
You should get some history books and read about the extreme brutality that occurred pre-European. And I mean extreme brutality. That is the deep and rich traditions that can't be ignored - you've brought it up a lot about Hawaiian brutality - but now you choose to ignore it because it is convenient. That is weak. Or just kind? It is what it is.
Things didn't calm down until the 1800's due to Western contact. It had nothing to do with the people who lived in Hawaii. Read your history.
It is marketing. Very good marketing.
The "aloha spirit" has existed in times of war and in times of extreme brutality; however, some folks needed to be hit over the head to get it. Review the history of the Kānāwai Māmalahoe ("Law of the Splintered Paddle"). Here's a link to a PDF of it… https://www.hawaii.edu/uhelp/files/L...eredPaddle.pdf
Try being a contractor over here. Doesn't take long to come to the conclusion that the 'Aloha Spirit', when referred to as a reason for keeping bid prices down, is just a bunch of BS. Whenever I hear 'Where's your Aloha Spirit?', my first reaction is, 'Just what are you trying to screw me out of?'
Hey JJ, there are always people who will try to manipulate the system for their own benefit. That doesn't mean the principle of Aloha isn't real or isn't valuable. You can still have Aloha in your heart when you say no.
When you think about it, Aloha is a form of the Golden rule... to treat others as you'd like to be treated. And that's why it starts with you... to be kind, to be friendly, to be understanding. That's the way I like to be treated, so that's the way I treat others.
You know everytime the brutal kanaka maoli past is brought up, i can't help but get offended. Not because it wasn't violent? It was. But bringing up what is compared to in history as Hawai'is stone ages or midevil times to justify or ignore current stuff is kinda off. Further, every advanced society had a bloody past.
I agree with you! We should learn from history but judge people of today by their actions, not the actions of their ancestors.
You should get some history books and read about the extreme brutality that occurred pre-European. And I mean extreme brutality. That is the deep and rich traditions that can't be ignored - you've brought it up a lot about Hawaiian brutality - but now you choose to ignore it because it is convenient. That is weak. Or just kind? It is what it is.
And it's not what it's not...
The warfare between chiefs and the vertical brutality that was a part of the feudal rule of ancient Hawai'i had nothing to do with the day to day interactions of normal people to each other. They treated each other with love and kindness. See Jonah's references for more on that.
And even after the Europeans came and turned the culture upside down, Aloha Spirit was still the cultural norm. Mark Twain commented on it several time in 1886 in "Letters From Hawai'i."
Ironically, Aloha Spirit is pretty much the polar opposite of cynicism, because experts tell us that cynicism is based in frustration and bitter disappointment. Cynicism is expressed as a sour or suspicious outlook on life, whereas Aloha is based in love and mutual respect and being having with the flow of life. Cynicism has been described as the "death rattle of the soul," while Aloha has been described as "a warm breeze of compassion and love.
I know why one would choose Aloha over cynicism for a tourism marketing campaign. That's pretty obvious to me. But why would one choose cynicism over Aloha for their lifestyle? This is an unfathomable mystery to me.
And that's what OP was getting at when he asked how to bring Aloha Spirit into an environment that is not aligned with it. And I say... be it... live it... manifest it... put it out and you get it back. Not always, not every single time, but the cumulative effect is soooooo much better than the alternative.
Location: not sure, but there's a hell of a lot of water around here!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OpenD
I trust Jonah's version of Hawaiian history over yours.
"Aloha - to learn what is not said, to see what cannot be seen & to know the unknowable."
~ Queen Lili‘uokalani
Care to decipher that?
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