Hate Crime?

[buzz1941]

Re: Hate Crime?

This incident has certainly hepped up Whitey. The deal is, every haole in the islands has been called a fackin haole at some time or another, and the fact is, the haoles have to take it and swallow because of white guilt. That's just the way it is.
My own father was called that as he was beaten unconscious by drunken Hawaiians at a UH football game. (His broken jaw and other injuries weren't enough for the city prosecutor to press charges.)
Shrug. He still prefers to live here rather than the Mainland. He just avoids drunken people at football games. Good advice for everyone.
But this recent incident is basically attempted murder. Maybe some sort of threshold is being reached.

[Got2HaVKaYaNoW]

Re: Hate Crime?

*only read some of the REPLY'S sorry..too long foa my maka's...but all I gotta say is, dat was STUPID.....stupid Hawaiians...there I said it.


You know I RARELY say those two words in the same sentence, stupid & hawaiian, but I think this one calls for it. I don't say it that often becuz Hawaiians should be smart, kind, freely giving aloha.


My 83 year old kupuna kane, after reading the newspaper article on this story, he slowly put the paper down, took off his glasses and said, "Auwe, Stupid Hawaiians beat up da haole"

That was classic,(not the incident, but how my papa reacted) he was actually sincere when he said it. Felt bad for the haole couple and felt bad for the stupid hawaiians.

Felt bad for the haole's cause they got lickens for no reason.

Felt bad for the stupid hawaiians, cuz, they've lost what it means to be Hawaiian.

[TuNnL]

Re: Hate Crime?

The media can highlight the racial tensions here while “staying neutral” and “remaining objective”. What is the media's goal when they show specials about ICE use? To get people off ICE. So why not focus on racial tensions out here?

Let’s not confuse “the media” with documentary filmmaker Edgy Lee. Two different animals entirely.

[buzz1941]

Re: Hate Crime?

It shows the ignorance of these kind of people.

Haoles? Or stupid people? Stupid people come in all flavors.

[na alii]

Re: Hate Crime?

I understand this because I was in Denver back in 1978 when this white caucasian woman slapped me in the face for bombing Pearl Harbor! She attacked me for doing something at a time when I wasn't even born! And I was wearing my U.S. Air Force dress uniform at the time! In this case I was the hunter and she was the hunted and she reacted not because of me but of who she felt I represented.

Reminds me of the case in Detroit where two haole guys bludgeoned Vincent Chin to death thinking he was a Japanese and blaming him for being out of work due to the autoworkers being layed off. Vincent Chin wasn't even Japanese but rather a Chinese American. It shows the ignorance of these kind of people.

[bbcmay]

Re: Hate Crime?

I also agree that this action shouldn't have happened to this white couple. That's unacceptable. However one has to understand the root cause of why it happened.

And no I don't believe you SHOULD suck it up either. Accepting is the first part of healing, dialog is the second part. What action takes part next will determine if there is any healing or opening up of any wounds.

How this case is handled addresses this racial tension and if done right the wounds can begin to heal, but done wrong, OMG! Talk about opening up Pandora's box.

Racial tension has gotten to this point...what are we as a society gonna do about it now? Deal with it or close that box and forget it like we've always done before. Like Buzz says, contents under pressure...

That is very true. Thanks for clearing up my confusion.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Hate Crime?

This can go as big or little as you want.
*Big* Some of my ancestors are of Russian Jewish decent. We had many relatives in concentration camps during WWII and you don't see me over there seeking retribution.
*Big* My great grand-mother was %100 cherokee indian and yet I am not angry at the Eurpoean Settlers who took land from them.
*Little* My father left my mother when she was pregnant with me and I was raised without a dad for the majority of my life. Recently I have been lucky enough to form a relationship with my biological father and I do not hold hostility with him for the decisions he made years ago. His wrong doing was to my mother, not directly at me.

I understand completely what you are saying and agree with you for the most part. Yes the fact remains that some Hawaiians still have hostile feelings over the 'white man's illegal push into Hawaii' but that still doesn't excuse this behavior. It feels as if you are saying, "Well I am white, and in Hawaii so if a native hawaiian who feels threatend by my presence chooses to lash out at me, I should just suck it up and take it"
"ACCEPTING" the fact that there are still people who are mad and are going to lash out, is just codoning this behavior to continue.

I also agree that this action shouldn't have happened to this white couple. That's unacceptable. However one has to understand the root cause of why it happened.

And no I don't believe you SHOULD suck it up either. Accepting is the first part of healing, dialog is the second part. What action takes part next will determine if there is any healing or opening up of any wounds.

How this case is handled addresses this racial tension and if done right the wounds can begin to heal, but done wrong, OMG! Talk about opening up Pandora's box.

Racial tension has gotten to this point...what are we as a society gonna do about it now? Deal with it or close that box and forget it like we've always done before. Like Buzz says, contents under pressure...

[buzz1941]

Re: Hate Crime?

This is a really naive comment made in ignorance of the underlying causes for such rage. No amount of "education" can sever the ingrained feelings that many Hawaiians have.

Warning: Contents Under Pressure

[bbcmay]

Re: Hate Crime?

This is a really naive comment made in ignorance of the underlying causes for such rage. No amount of "education" can sever the ingrained feelings that many Hawaiians have.

But what could it hurt? If a special about Racial Tensions in Hawaii aired on TV and 100,000 people watched but out of those people only one person decided to change their view of another race....wouldn't that be a good thing?
Don't you want to live in a world where things like this don't happen? Don't you want that for your children?
You never know that one person could get into a fender bender with you.

[bbcmay]

Re: Hate Crime?

This can go as big or little as you want.
*Big* Some of my ancestors are of Russian Jewish decent. We had many relatives in concentration camps during WWII and you don't see me over there seeking retribution.
*Big* My great grand-mother was %100 cherokee indian and yet I am not angry at the Eurpoean Settlers who took land from them.
*Little* My father left my mother when she was pregnant with me and I was raised without a dad for the majority of my life. Recently I have been lucky enough to form a relationship with my biological father and I do not hold hostility with him for the decisions he made years ago. His wrong doing was to my mother, not directly at me.

I understand completely what you are saying and agree with you for the most part. Yes the fact remains that some Hawaiians still have hostile feelings over the 'white man's illegal push into Hawaii' but that still doesn't excuse this behavior. It feels as if you are saying, "Well I am white, and in Hawaii so if a native hawaiian who feels threatend by my presence chooses to lash out at me, I should just suck it up and take it"
"ACCEPTING" the fact that there are still people who are mad and are going to lash out, is just codoning this behavior to continue.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Hate Crime?

I encounter people all the time who say, "Well back on the mainland we do it this way" to even "Well on Oahu we do it this way".

Thanks for that perspective, Craig; I have heard the first part in many threads and conversations, but I don't have enough experience with situations outside O`ahu to have realized that the second part likely applies far too often. Good point, and thank you for opening yet another of those little doors in my brain, marked "awareness."

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Hate Crime?

This is completely the opposite intentions of my comment. I have never once tried to 'change' anyone or anything in my time in Hawaii. The words "Well back on the mainland we do it this way" has never come out of my mouth. I meant that you can choose to 'accept' the fact that Hawaii has racial issues or you can try to educate the people who have these hostilites so that crimes like this don't happen again! There are racial tensions in all states but Hawaii is particulary tight lipped about it for fear of loosing tourism.

This is where intent and effect due to cause can get someone in a world of trouble.

What you Make of things implies creating or changing what's already out there.

What you Accept of things is implies a better acceptance of what's already out there.

What we should be looking at is not only the hostilities of what happened but the root cause of why it's happening.

When an animal is hunted down and cornered, one of two reactions occur and it's the classic "fight or flight" syndrome. Not to say this kid was hunted down but this haole couple represented the hunter by the mere fact that they were white.

I understand this because I was in Denver back in 1978 when this white caucasian woman slapped me in the face for bombing Pearl Harbor! She attacked me for doing something at a time when I wasn't even born! And I was wearing my U.S. Air Force dress uniform at the time! In this case I was the hunter and she was the hunted and she reacted not because of me but of who she felt I represented.

This haole couple represented the white man's illegal push into Hawaii and this Hawaiian family felt cornered and lashed out like a scared animal. This is why it happened.

But like a cornered animal, this Hawaiian family wouldn't have lashed out if the car that hit them wasn't owned by a "White man hunter"

What happened was not acceptable. Why it happened is the result of racial tension.

What needs to happen is defusion of this tension

How it happens is thru dialog and ACCEPTANCE of each other's culture.

You don't create peace by MAKING it what you want.

This is why your statement bothered me, it's so "Western Thinking" in a non Western world we call Hawaii.

[Keanu]

Re: Hate Crime?

I meant that you can choose to 'accept' the fact that Hawaii has racial issues or you can try to educate the people who have these hostilites so that crimes like this don't happen again!

This is a really naive comment made in ignorance of the underlying causes for such rage. No amount of "education" can sever the ingrained feelings that many Hawaiians have.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Hate Crime?

There are racial tensions in all states but Hawaii is particulary tight lipped about it for fear of loosing tourism.

I don't agree with this. I don't think we see racial tension in the same light as other states, nor do the majority of residents here have much loyalty/respect for tourism as our driving economic engine as you might think, considering how much Hawaii depends on it.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Hate Crime?

To think that all racial tension involves a caucasian is laughable. This case is particulary hurtful because of the fact that the husband served 2 tours in Iraq, a 23 year old woman was hit in the face by a 45 year old man, and their 3 year old was watching the whole thing. AGAIN, I can only hope that the justice system will prove me wrong and punish these two to the fullest extent.

I agree with this. It saddened and infuriated me that a young mother was punched out by a man in front of her small child! The particulars of fault, circumstances, ethnicity are extraneous details. That poor kid and that poor mom.

Watch this at your own risk: a female cop beaten by an ex-convict in front of his young daughter: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/108737/a_man_attacks_cop/

To me, this case touches on the same thing: beating on a smaller/weaker person because you can, in front of a child so impressionable that how can s/he not be scarred for it.