Oh Man, Let the Finger Pointing Commence.

[Random]

Re: Oh Man, Let the Finger Pointing Commence.

LOL---do I have time to change it? Yeah...I think I do!

:::Where the heck did I get "Frank"??:::

Edit: done.

Oh, gee. I hope you're not thinking about Fasi unconsciously.

[LikaNui]

Re: Oh Man, Let the Finger Pointing Commence.

Oh, gee. I hope you're not thinking about Fasi unconsciously.

That would be better than thinking of him consciously.
I thought maybe she meant DeLima. Or, since she's from New York, maybe Sinatra. Then again, she's in California now, maybe even Hollywood, so perhaps it was "Frankly, my dear.... "
And with that, we're right back on topic!

[Keanu]

Re: Oh Man, Let the Finger Pointing Commence.

Oh my. Substitute the mentality of the Old South, the vernacular used there, and it is a perfect analogy.

"It's what we've always called them." (Said with precious affection.)

Oh well....after all, it's only a word.

This is Hawai'i, not "the old south" so save your analogies, they mean nothing to me.

I'm not all that concerned with your choice of word usage, either. Just observations. No demand to "bend to the whims."

Do what you want. Continue as you have always done. Whatever.

Just don't try to convince anyone with half a brain that it is nothing but an affectionate non-pejorative term.

That, Keanu, is truly insulting.

Hmm, how ironic that you feel the need to express what you find "insulting".

Fwiw, pickup a hawaiian dictionary and lookup the word's meaning for yourself.

[Lei K]

Re: Oh Man, Let the Finger Pointing Commence.

I'm with Keanu on this because I do not see a connection either.

My tutu and my mother's side of the family calls my husband their "haole boy" very lovingly. My middle son especially gets called their "haole" grandchild, also lovingly. I highly doubt my tutu, who writes my husband little love notes in our Christmas cards, looks down upon him like an old time southern person did a "n****r." Being looked down upon for no other reason than being born of her race is something she's VERY familiar with.

Do you know a lot of native Hawaiians that use haole as an insult?

By the way, speaking of a word that was very much used like the N word in a time not so long ago, lets not forget about how the word "kanaka" was used by the "haole" (their description of themselves, not mine) towards Hawaiians.

Please understand the true definition of haole. Also understand how Hawaiian people use the word towards their own fair skinned family members in a warm and loving way. Comparing haole to the N word is quite ridiculous. The N word was and is insulting in every context. The word haole has been in the Hawaiian vocabulary for a long time. Haole is a word that the white missionaries embraced to describe themselves. Did African Americans back in the day like being called n****r? So a word, a HAWAIIAN word, should not be used just because some (usually not Hawaiian) misuse it? I find that thought insulting.

All this political correctness is why people like Frank DeLima can't tell a damn joke anymore. Life on our islands used to be great, we used to be able to poke fun at eachother and laugh, no huhu. Now omgaaaaawd, do not call me a haole. Seriously, unless someone is using it as an insult then why get upset? You know, just as easily one of my "descriptions" can be used against me as an insult. Not just can be used, it HAS been used against me as an insult. But you know what, oh well, some people gonna be racist no matter what. Racist people come in all sorts of colors other than white. But on the most part, especially local kine, they like to joke, you know da dumb podagee jokes. I even say sometimes, "No can help, I get Podagee in me" and laugh. There's beauty in laughing about our differences, our quirks, and embracing that.

I get plenty descriptive terms, I'm a podagee, a kanaka, a cheap pake (lol) and damn proud. My keiki describe themselves as hapa-haole and have no shame. But maybe I'm living in a time that's lost forever and that's sad.

I don't know what else to say WORN, I like you, and hope you see where I'm coming from.

[ChicagoGuy75]

Re: Oh Man, I'LL POINT THE FINGER AT MYSELF.

Okay.....so this wasn't the best thread to start.LOL.

From nicknames and stuff alot of people use, I'll just go on the record and say that yes I am Japanese, yes I am also Native American, Polish and Danish.

My friends say hey Jap as a hello like a friendly rib but they would never say that when I am in certain company like other friends that are Japanese or in front of my parents, so the nicknames should really be used in certain company.

Alot of people I work with come from Texas and they say Chicago people are horrible drivers and rude. Anyone from Illinois knows if you travel to Wisconsin, you'll get a car horn beep, a middle finger and usually someone screaming, "Go home!!".

Me personally had nightmare experiences traveling thru Minnesota, and the deep south that involved getting guns pulled on me (also from cops) get strange looks to even that feeling it's time to leave.

My bad for starting this thread, just wanted to know what type or states people come from that you guys tend to think are just different, you might say.

[Kungpao]

Re: Oh Man, Let the Finger Pointing Commence.

You are where you come from.

LOL The Philippines? Pleasanton, California? Indianapolis, Indiana? or Easton, Pennsylvania?


Edit: Wow this thread got ugly...

[sinjin]

Re: Oh Man, Let the Finger Pointing Commence.

The NY Times tackled the issue in the Travel section just this past week. Of course, they were looking at international travel as opposed to domestic, but it looks like the era of the "Ugly American" tourist has been superceded by the "Ugly Chinese" tourist. My personal favorites were always the "Euro Trash". They Came, They Toured, They Offended

From your link regarding Chinese tourists- “They behave as they would at home — there is a lot of pushing and shoving." This is what I experienced while visiting sites in Rome two summers ago.

[WindwardOahuRN]

Re: Oh Man, Let the Finger Pointing Commence.

Edit: Wow this thread got ugly...

Not really. Just people expressing opinions.

And I do know that the word "haole" can be used with affection. Perhaps the analogy I used was a bit out of line. Sorry about that.

But after living here over seven years now I have seen it used with more than a bit of disdain and lately, seen it used less often by locals who I know were using it more frequently previously. I truly was taken aback when I heard more than one use the word "caucasian" where they definitely would have used the word "haole" in the past.

It's been kinda weird. One guy has an extremely heavy local accent and often speaks pidgin. He was referring to me---a question about something local came up and I had the answer and he laughed and said "even the caucasian girl knows!" In the years I have worked with him I have never heard him use that word---always "haole." I was never insulted because he never used a nasty modifier. I can only think that he used the word "caucasian" because he decided that the word "haole" might be interpreted as insulting and he didn't want it to be.

I know the official definition of haole, as per Hawaiian dictionaries. No need to look it up. And if that definition was the only one that was ever intended by the use of the word this discussion would never even have come to pass.

[sinjin]

Re: Oh Man, Let the Finger Pointing Commence.

Not to throw rocks at the beehive but -

This is just my observation. Generally speaking, determining whether an appellation is offensive is the prerogative of the group to which it is applied.

Did I mention that I treasure you guys?

[WindwardOahuRN]

Re: Oh Man, Let the Finger Pointing Commence.

Not to throw rocks at the beehive but -

This is just my observation. Generally speaking, determining whether an appellation is offensive is the prerogative of the group to which it is applied.

Exactly. But knowing that a group or even an individual might find a word offensive should, in my opinion, send up a red flag to sensitive individuals that perhaps it's not all that advisable to use that word. If a word is open to misinterpretation as to its intention maybe it would be kinder to choose another word so as to avoid the possibility of offense.

No need for constantly feeling like you are walking on eggs but maybe just a bit of thinking before speaking might be nice.

[1stwahine]

Re: Oh Man, Let the Finger Pointing Commence.

Eeeeek!!!!!! Wat Happen???

I wen moemoe...wake-up to dis?

Is it SAFE?

Ok...ok. New day.

Everybody Honi Honi.

I'm HAOLE too.

Wat? I am. My grandson and grand-daughter WHITE!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Only ting I get Big Nose!!!!heheheheh

Made ya LAUGH!

[WindwardOahuRN]

Re: Oh Man, Let the Finger Pointing Commence.

Eeeeek!!!!!! Wat Happen???


Only ting I get Big Nose!!!!heheheheh

Made ya LAUGH!

Yeah, you did.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Oh Man, Let the Finger Pointing Commence.

Haole in its original usage, and in the 19th century metamorphosis was an empowering term. It was about origin and roots, not skin color and prejudice. But because lines have umbrageously blurred over the years I find myself in a generation where a word that meant nothing to me carries such power, that we are resorting to using clinical terms like "Caucasian" as if its sterility is somehow socially superior and effective than that which is a beautiful Hawaiian word.

This does not advance our society, imo. The solution is to take the meaning back. Haole is a type of kamaaina, along with Kepani, Pukiki and Pake. Malihini is for the tourist and the transplant. Eventually a malihini becomes kamaaina, and that individual determines when as part of his/her self-identity.

I am letting you all know now that this is the context as I grew up with, learned and understand the word, and how I use the word.