Racism in Maui getting worse? (store, move to, title)
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My sister and I both are visiting Maui right now. I completely agree with the first post. We are locals from the big island born and raised. We are both fair skinned but not white. 9/10 people here were rude to us!! One local kanaka tried to fight with us in Hana because we were letting people cross the street on a one lane bridge. When we tried to tell her we were from the big island she thought we were calling her out, got out of her car left three of her kids in the car, in her, bare feet and started calling us out on the road. Then she spat at my sister flipped us off and tried to reverse into us. Beware the impatient locals (slow down its not the mainland) and she told us to go back to the mainland. lol idiot. Also at the car rental, the lady thought we were tourist so she was kind of nice, when we told her we were from BI she started to get a attitude and started being rude, same with the hotel lady and bartender we went to in Lahaina. Most people were rude and not genuine and no aloha like back home. The local haoles were also rude to us. One haole surfer snapped at us in Lahaina and told us to change our attitudes when we were drinking at a bar. Who started talking to us first, we were sitting there having a good time, he sat next to us and we told him we were BI locals and we've done most of the scenery things and have gone to a few beaches and we tried to ask him where else we should go, because we've seen it all before, if there were any secret spots that we didn't see yet. He totally flipped out and said change ur attitude there's a lot to do(good job defending ur island btw). Almost called my sister a ***** and said we were giving him a hard time when he was just having a beer and getting food to go. Hello u started talking to us. Most locals and all the haole local women look us up and down and roll their eyes. And the guys act like they're hungry. But there are good people here too!! We ate in Marriott and the locals there were super nice like back home. The service was great. If I had a choice to do it over again I would stay at a resort for most of the trip. Kula is beautiful great drive, nice scenery. I wouldn't drive through Hana, I've seen it all in the big island. It's just a dangerous and longer drive. . Lavander fields were beautiful and big beach was nice. Also Haleakala crater was a great drive and beautiful views. The drive around the east coast was also beautiful but dangerous.---- all in all I think this is my first and last trip to Maui..not what I expected, probably being from big island where everything's more open and welcoming. The vibe of the locals we've encountered were so negative! I'm sure there are some nice ones I work with a few, great people from Maui choke aloha. It's just personally not my style.
I have lived on Maui for years and am white, I will not say the other word they call us. It is the same as calling an African American the N word. I love Maui, but I do agree the way the white people are treated by the locals is horrible. I have never lived in a place that was so racist. But I also see the tourists here treat the locals horrible, they feel if they have money they are better. Locals do not like that at all and could be why all of us white people are lumped in the same category. I do find that if you are on this Island, treat the locals well, they are friendly and "old school". Say Aloha, smile, say thank you and please. Do not speed just because you are visiting. Your attitude toward the locals will take you a long way in the way they treat you. I get along well with everyone I come in contact with, but I still hate the racism on this Island.
I have lived on Maui for years and am white, I will not say the other word they call us. It is the same as calling an African American the N word.
Hopefully, you're not insinuating that calling someone a haole ("foreigner") is the same as calling an African American the "n word." A somewhat detailed analysis of the history and use of the term haole is included in Judy Rohrer's Ph.D dissertation, entitled "Haole Matters: An Interrogation of Whiteness in Hawaiʻi"... http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu...phd_4639_r.pdf
Quote:
Originally Posted by 77maui77
I love Maui, but I do agree the way the white people are treated by the locals is horrible. I have never lived in a place that was so racist. But I also see the tourists here treat the locals horrible, they feel if they have money they are better. Locals do not like that at all and could be why all of us white people are lumped in the same category. I do find that if you are on this Island, treat the locals well, they are friendly and "old school". Say Aloha, smile, say thank you and please. Do not speed just because you are visiting. Your attitude toward the locals will take you a long way in the way they treat you. I get along well with everyone I come in contact with, but I still hate the racism on this Island.
Most of the Maui locals can probably tell the difference between a "local haole" and a visitor. Here's a link to an article that analyzes the concept of the "local haole"... http://bodaciousluvbunny.tripod.com/...iles/haole.pdf
Hopefully, you're not insinuating that calling someone a haole ("foreigner") is the same as calling an African American the "n word." A somewhat detailed analysis of the history and use of the term haole is included in Judy Rohrer's Ph.D dissertation, entitled "Haole Matters: An Interrogation of Whiteness in Hawaiʻi"... http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu...phd_4639_r.pdf
Lets not kid ourselves - while I agree it is over the top to equate Haole with the "n word" - many people in Hawaii use it as an extremely derogatory or racist term. When someone says to you as you pass them by and they say, "what are you looking at haole", they aren't exactly conveying have a nice day.
Lets not kid ourselves - while I agree it is over the top to equate Haole with the "n word" - many people in Hawaii use it as an extremely derogatory or racist term. When someone says to you as you pass them by and they say, "what are you looking at haole", they aren't exactly conveying have a nice day.
For the term haole to be "extremely derogatory" it needs to be preceded by an appropriate adjective (e.g. "effin haole," "dumb haole," etc.). As for the racialization of "haole," I agree that some folks attempt to use it in a racist manner. Similarly, the relatively innocuous term "Hawaiian" can be extremely derogatory when preceded by certain adjectives, has also been racialized, and can be used by some folks in a racist manner. For instance, certain folks can occasionally kill two birds with one stone when they say, "That effin Hawaiian charged me $25 and still managed to lose my bag."
For the term haole to be "extremely derogatory" it needs to be preceded by an appropriate adjective (e.g. "effin haole," "dumb haole," etc.). As for the racialization of "haole," I agree that some folks attempt to use it in a racist manner. Similarly, the relatively innocuous term "Hawaiian" can be extremely derogatory when preceded by certain adjectives, has also been racialized, and can be used by some folks in a racist manner. For instance, certain folks can occasionally kill two birds with one stone when they say, "That effin Hawaiian charged me $25 and still managed to lose my bag."
I disagree, based on my experience in our society. A word can be, when coupled with a facial expression and/or certain intonation, be hurtful and maligning all by itself. I really don't think it "needs" to be preceded by an adjective. Take the word "dyke" for example. It has a much different connotation when a group of lesbians calls themselves "Dykes on Bikes" compared to when a guy gets bad service from, say, a lesbian bank teller and says, "thanks for the prompt service, dyke!" No adjective needed.
As for the Hawaiian example, I don't see how that is an apples to apples comparison. Am I to assume a haole is uttering that sentence? Which two birds are being killed?
I disagree, based on my experience in our society. A word can be, when coupled with a facial expression and/or certain intonation, be hurtful and maligning all by itself. I really don't think it "needs" to be preceded by an adjective. Take the word "dyke" for example. It has a much different connotation when a group of lesbians calls themselves "Dykes on Bikes" compared to when a guy gets bad service from, say, a lesbian bank teller and says, "thanks for the prompt service, dyke!" No adjective needed.
"Hurtful and "maligning" aren't the same as "extremely derogatory."
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustForYOu
As for the Hawaiian example, I don't see how that is an apples to apples comparison. Am I to assume a haole is uttering that sentence? Which two birds are being killed?
To get the "Hawaiian" example, it helps you have experience as a passenger or employee of "Hawaiian Airlines."
I grew up on Maui and I went to H.S. (Lahainaluna) when there was just a handful of us haoles back in the 70's. It was worse then than it is now. Lahainaluna is more diverse with a lot more haoles.
Let me tell you first hand that haole can be used as the N word. If they throw the F word in front of it, then there is no difference to me...."That effen Haole" or "Effen Haole, what you like scrap"
Lot of times it's used as reference "That one haole guy", which I grew to accept with no ill will.
I am a local haole. My wife is local, born and raised in Hawaii. My kids were born there, my brother married into a big Hawaiian family and I can say we've been accepted as local...BUT...there is always that one local who wants to give us stink eye.
"Hurtful and "maligning" aren't the same as "extremely derogatory."
To get the "Hawaiian" example, it helps you have experience as a passenger or employee of "Hawaiian Airlines."
For my own edification I looked it up. Here is my finding:
de·rog·a·to·ry
dəˈräɡəˌtôrē/
adjective
showing a critical or disrespectful attitude.
"she tells me I'm fat and is always making derogatory remarks"
synonyms: disparaging, denigratory, deprecatory, disrespectful, demeaning; critical, pejorative, negative, unfavorable, uncomplimentary, unflattering, insulting; offensive, personal, abusive, rude, nasty, mean, hurtful; defamatory, slanderous, libelous; informal:bitchy, catty
"a derogatory remark"
So here's a right back at ya! Have a for good measure.
Now that schoolwork is out of the way...
I don't know if racism is getting worse on Maui, which would be tough to quantify. For example, a previous post mentioned a woman getting out of the car and calling out another driver who was letting people pass in the crosswalk. What did she say? My point is that it's hard to say it's racism if one doesn't know what was said. Perhaps she was in a bad mood that day.
To me, in my experience, it's almost more like the locals here in Maui are adopting the attitude of the mainland. Far more rude, arrogant, and pushy than years ago. As "they" say, YMMV.
For my own edification I looked it up. Here is my finding:
de·rog·a·to·ry
dəˈräɡəˌtôrē/
adjective
showing a critical or disrespectful attitude.
"she tells me I'm fat and is always making derogatory remarks"
synonyms: disparaging, denigratory, deprecatory, disrespectful, demeaning; critical, pejorative, negative, unfavorable, uncomplimentary, unflattering, insulting; offensive, personal, abusive, rude, nasty, mean, hurtful; defamatory, slanderous, libelous; informal:bitchy, catty
"a derogatory remark"
So here's a right back at ya! Have a for good measure.
Now that schoolwork is out of the way...
Nice try, but you might need to go back to school. "Derogatory" is not the same as "extremely derogatory." Keep in mind that folks are discussing how "qualifiers" affect the impact of certain words.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustForYOu
I don't know if racism is getting worse on Maui, which would be tough to quantify. For example, a previous post mentioned a woman getting out of the car and calling out another driver who was letting people pass in the crosswalk. What did she say? My point is that it's hard to say it's racism if one doesn't know what was said. Perhaps she was in a bad mood that day.
To me, in my experience, it's almost more like the locals here in Maui are adopting the attitude of the mainland. Far more rude, arrogant, and pushy than years ago. As "they" say, YMMV.
Many of the folks on living on Maui nowadays came from the continental United States (or spent some time there) and probably imported the "mainland mentality." http://www.co.maui.hi.us/DocumentCenter/View/84676
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