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"Kill Haole Day"

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  • "Kill Haole Day"

    I've been doing a little reading about Hawaiian schools and such and I chanced to surf on a few disturbing local um, customs. "Slap a Jap?" Kill Haole Day? Is this for real? I've also been told that Hawaiian public schools in general are not very good. I am not too concerned with that as long as the kids are safe. I don't like generalizing but it's necessary to confront these issues. I'd like to hear a few opinions from any local parents.

  • #2
    Re: "Kill Haole Day"

    How about from a local teacher?

    It doesn't really exist anymore, and hasn't really been a "problem" since the eighties. I would guess that two thirds of students now have never even heard of "kill haole day," and most of those who have have only heard of it in a kind of legendary, "back in the day" way.

    The public schools need help, but depending on what you've heard, they are nowhere near as bad as people keep saying. What part of the island are you planning to move to?
    But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
    GrouchyTeacher.com

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    • #3
      Re: "Kill Haole Day"

      Thanks for responding. We're moving to Honolulu. I guessed that was the case but still decided to ask and doublecheck especially since I had the bad idea of telling my wife about it, lol. I saw a few references in the late nineties hate crime legislation and in some "haole" blogs - painful childhood memories etc. I am beginning to pick up some very colorful local expressions. Do you like beef? is precious. Difficult to get angry when you hear that. Being referred to as "haole" is something new and I'm still not sure what to think about it. As for Hawaiian schools being bad - I heard that from someone who lived there and still has family there. I am reading up on it but my main concern was safety.

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      • #4
        Re: "Kill Haole Day"

        Originally posted by reineke View Post
        Thanks for responding. We're moving to Honolulu. I guessed that was the case but still decided to ask and doublecheck especially since I had the bad idea of telling my wife about it, lol. I saw a few references in the late nineties hate crime legislation and in some "haole" blogs - painful childhood memories etc. I am beginning to pick up some very colorful local expressions. Do you like beef? is precious. Difficult to get angry when you hear that. Being referred to as "haole" is something new and I'm still not sure what to think about it. As for Hawaiian schools being bad - I heard that from someone who lived there and still has family there. I am reading up on it but my main concern was safety.
        Like everywhere else, there are cliques that run in the high schools in Hawai'i. If your kids are not high school age, they might do better, so long as they realize that they will be going to school with kids who think differently from them and who might sound a little different (even though they might be speaking "English"). In any case, assimilating into a new high school for any kid would be tough regardless where they were.

        Miulang

        P.S. and it's not "Do you like beef?" The correct expression is "You like beef?"
        "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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        • #5
          Re: "Kill Haole Day"

          Originally posted by reineke View Post
          I've been doing a little reading about Hawaiian schools and such and I chanced to surf on a few disturbing local um, customs. "Slap a Jap?" Kill Haole Day? Is this for real?
          I'm a product of the 70's. At that time "Kill Haole Day" at it's worst was throwing eggs or water balloons and rarely picking a fight with those who were not liked. Never heard of "slap a jap" until now. It wasn't that bad, but it paid to be vigilant as it was a day for various pranks.

          What it really boils down to is how well your kids make friends. Especially friends with those who are not like them.


          P.S. Have you run across the expression "tune your a$$"?

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          • #6
            Re: "Kill Haole Day"

            Originally posted by Miulang View Post
            P.S. and it's not "Do you like beef?" The correct expression is "You like beef?"
            ...and the speaker is NOT inviting you to their home to share a steak dinner.

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            • #7
              Re: "Kill Haole Day"

              Never heard of "slap a jap" either. I would guess it was further back, maybe right after WW2 and the animosity about the whole thing.

              "You like me lick you?" always made me laugh. At least with "You like beef?", you can misinterpret that as "Do you like eating beef?" "You like me lick you," sounds like a dirty proposition in a shady strip bar.

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              • #8
                Re: "Kill Haole Day"

                The pain of not fitting in, being accepted is universal.

                My kid will be three in April. I like to plan ahead lol. She's very good natured and outgoing. Is that necessarily a good thing? I don't know. She does not know it, but she's already been teased, along with her mom, for being what she is. Sigh. That's hardly the reason for moving, however, and I love the fact that Hawaii has such an interesting mixture of people(s). Rear end tuneup does not seem to be a Hawaiian expression. It has a bit of a fake "tough boy" feel to it. Given a choice, I'd prefer a Wiener schnitzel to Hawaiian "beef"

                For juicy expressions that would make a hardened war veteran blush, I'd recommend foreign languages, especially Hungarian and Serbo-Croatian. Spanish a distant third.

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                • #9
                  Re: "Kill Haole Day"

                  Originally posted by reineke View Post
                  The pain of not fitting in, being accepted is universal.

                  My kid will be three in April. I like to plan ahead lol. She's very good natured and outgoing. Is that necessarily a good thing? I don't know. She does not know it, but she's already been teased, along with her mom, for being what she is. Sigh. That's hardly the reason for moving, however, and I love the fact that Hawaii has such an interesting mixture of people(s). Rear end tuneup does not seem to be a Hawaiian expression. It has a bit of a fake "tough boy" feel to it. Given a choice, I'd prefer a Wiener schnitzel to Hawaiian "beef"

                  For juicy expressions that would make a hardened war veteran blush, I'd recommend foreign languages, especially Hungarian and Serbo-Croatian. Spanish a distant third.
                  Ah, the kid's still young. When she enters kindergarten or pre-k, she'll be making friends when they haven't learned to form cliques based on gender, ethnicity, demographics or what have you. your kid has good potential to grow up "local".
                  Twitter: LookMaICanWrite


                  flickr

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                  • #10
                    Re: "Kill Haole Day"

                    Originally posted by reineke View Post
                    The pain of not fitting in, being accepted is universal.

                    My kid will be three in April. I like to plan ahead lol. She's very good natured and outgoing. Is that necessarily a good thing? I don't know. She does not know it, but she's already been teased, along with her mom, for being what she is. Sigh. That's hardly the reason for moving, however, and I love the fact that Hawaii has such an interesting mixture of people(s). Rear end tuneup does not seem to be a Hawaiian expression. It has a bit of a fake "tough boy" feel to it. Given a choice, I'd prefer a Wiener schnitzel to Hawaiian "beef"

                    For juicy expressions that would make a hardened war veteran blush, I'd recommend foreign languages, especially Hungarian and Serbo-Croatian. Spanish a distant third.

                    When is your family set to move to the isles? Which isle will you make your home?

                    pax

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                    • #11
                      Re: "Kill Haole Day"

                      one major benefit of growing up "haole" (Hawaiian for round eye), is that you're a minority (kind of like everyone else). The rules for minorities are simply different. Since you're not clearly in a position of power, you're allowed to more openly discuss race. That lets racial issues into the open which tends to defuse them.

                      so in 1993 right after the modern day LA riots, I fly home to Honolulu from LA where I'm teaching at SC (in the heart of the action), and I get on the rental car shuttle bus and the tutu driving turns to me says, "eh, you from LA? eh, we get race here too, eh? but we discuss it, eh".

                      I'm thinking, that's right tutu, we discuss it..couldn't have said it better..

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                      • #12
                        Re: "Kill Haole Day"

                        Don't want to be rude and not answer the question. Being a bit of a city rat and in need of work I'm moving with my family to Honolulu. I don't think I need to specify the island on this forum unless I'm being tested I'll be coming first, followed a few months later by the rest of the family. Excited but not looking forward to separation or the whole moving/looking for apartments business. The date is not set, but probably sometime in February or a little later.

                        Tutu, eh? I'm learning new things every day (but that's already another thread).

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                        • #13
                          Re: "Kill Haole Day"

                          I think the question was what part of the island. Where you move to does make a difference. While Hawaii in general is quite a mix, you'll see different mixes in different neighborhood along with different attitudes towards haoles. But that's no different then any other place on the mainland. If I was planning to move to NY, you'd want to know if I was thinking of Manhattan or Harlem. It's possible you haven't decided yet, but it is something to keep in mind.

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                          • #14
                            Re: "Kill Haole Day"

                            Originally posted by reineke View Post
                            Don't want to be rude and not answer the question. Being a bit of a city rat and in need of work I'm moving with my family to Honolulu. I don't think I need to specify the island on this forum unless I'm being tested I'll be coming first, followed a few months later by the rest of the family. Excited but not looking forward to separation or the whole moving/looking for apartments business. The date is not set, but probably sometime in February or a little later.

                            Tutu, eh? I'm learning new things every day (but that's already another thread).
                            i should say that "moving to honolulu" pretty much narrows it down to which island.

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                            • #15
                              Re: "Kill Haole Day"

                              Don't worry about it.
                              Last edited by i-hungry; January 1, 2007, 12:47 PM.

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