There are people who come to Hawaii. They roll in the white sands and they dive through the oceanic blue waves. And they think that they love Hawaii.
No, you don't love Hawaii. You don't even know Hawaii enough to love Hawaii. So don't tell me that you love Hawaii. You insult the words 'love' and 'Hawaii' in the same sentence by telling me that you love Hawaii. It's not that you shouldn't utter these words. Do so, by all means. Just know that you will never love Hawaii as much as I do.
Hawaiians feel violated when tourists came to only enjoy but are not doing their part to invest and preserve what we have held sacred for centuries. People visiting Hawaii can’t just assume that Hawaii belongs to them just because they can pay for it financially. You cannot afford the Aloha spirit, my friend. We give it to you despite you being able to afford it, because my Hawaiian heart is so big. Never forget that. You cannot demand the Aloha Spirit bow down to you just because you swiped your plastic off the of the ass-crack of the credit-card machine. No, I don't care how much you pronounce love for Hawaii, you don't have equal rights to it as much as Hawaiin natives do, as I do.
Many come as conservationists to further their own careers. You want to preach your sermons and tell me how I should love my Hawaii. You may know all that about environmental science, but don't assume that you love Hawaii as much as I do. Don't go there, my friend. You don't want to go there.
Generations of my ancestors died in Hawaii. The Hawaiian spirit was a part of their blood. It was a part of their spirit. It was who they were. How could you, who has just come in your air-conditioned jet-liner on your two week vacation understand how they felt? How my people feel. How I feel? How dare you assume that you love Hawaii the way I do? How dare you insult what I feel for my Hawaii by daring to assume that you feel the same as I do about my Hawaii?
Please don't.
Here is what you may do:
Come. Respect. Even enjoy Hawaii. Respectfully. Be willing to invest back in at least what you took out. You are welcome to. Don't disturb the peace and leave this sacred space as you have found it, in the minimum. Invest in sustainable development of this sacred land and the spirit that makes it Hawaii. That spirit goes a lot deeper than you will see with the most expensive polarised glasses.
But never assume that you are one of us. You will never be.
Don't be foolish enough to imagine and assume that the spirit of my ancestors will haunt you as they haunt me. Do you remain awake, troubled at night because of feeling their ache and pain of what Hawaii has become? Do you feel the guilt churning in your blood stream? Do you feel the responsibility grip you in your bones?
If you don't feel all those things, my friend, don't assume that you feel for Hawaii as I do.
So come and visit this beautiful land. Come to Hawaii, my friend. You are welcome to. Welcome to come and enjoy and be tourists. Wash yourselves in the waterfalls. Bathe yourself in the sands. Heal your hearts and go home to where ever you came from. Take Hawaii and the Aloha Spirit back in your hearts. Us Hawaiians over-flow with the Aloha Spirit. We have so much that we give it away with a smile on our face. Such is our culture. Such is the heart of our people.
But you will never be one of us untill your family and your ancestors give many many lifetimes of their labor and love and blood to this sacred land called Hawaii. Know that! Never forget that. It is not that cheap to call yourself a true Hawaiian--one that loves this land and it's people and the culture with his heart and soul.
No, you don't love Hawaii. You don't even know Hawaii enough to love Hawaii. So don't tell me that you love Hawaii. You insult the words 'love' and 'Hawaii' in the same sentence by telling me that you love Hawaii. It's not that you shouldn't utter these words. Do so, by all means. Just know that you will never love Hawaii as much as I do.
Hawaiians feel violated when tourists came to only enjoy but are not doing their part to invest and preserve what we have held sacred for centuries. People visiting Hawaii can’t just assume that Hawaii belongs to them just because they can pay for it financially. You cannot afford the Aloha spirit, my friend. We give it to you despite you being able to afford it, because my Hawaiian heart is so big. Never forget that. You cannot demand the Aloha Spirit bow down to you just because you swiped your plastic off the of the ass-crack of the credit-card machine. No, I don't care how much you pronounce love for Hawaii, you don't have equal rights to it as much as Hawaiin natives do, as I do.
Many come as conservationists to further their own careers. You want to preach your sermons and tell me how I should love my Hawaii. You may know all that about environmental science, but don't assume that you love Hawaii as much as I do. Don't go there, my friend. You don't want to go there.
Generations of my ancestors died in Hawaii. The Hawaiian spirit was a part of their blood. It was a part of their spirit. It was who they were. How could you, who has just come in your air-conditioned jet-liner on your two week vacation understand how they felt? How my people feel. How I feel? How dare you assume that you love Hawaii the way I do? How dare you insult what I feel for my Hawaii by daring to assume that you feel the same as I do about my Hawaii?
Please don't.
Here is what you may do:
Come. Respect. Even enjoy Hawaii. Respectfully. Be willing to invest back in at least what you took out. You are welcome to. Don't disturb the peace and leave this sacred space as you have found it, in the minimum. Invest in sustainable development of this sacred land and the spirit that makes it Hawaii. That spirit goes a lot deeper than you will see with the most expensive polarised glasses.
But never assume that you are one of us. You will never be.
Don't be foolish enough to imagine and assume that the spirit of my ancestors will haunt you as they haunt me. Do you remain awake, troubled at night because of feeling their ache and pain of what Hawaii has become? Do you feel the guilt churning in your blood stream? Do you feel the responsibility grip you in your bones?
If you don't feel all those things, my friend, don't assume that you feel for Hawaii as I do.
So come and visit this beautiful land. Come to Hawaii, my friend. You are welcome to. Welcome to come and enjoy and be tourists. Wash yourselves in the waterfalls. Bathe yourself in the sands. Heal your hearts and go home to where ever you came from. Take Hawaii and the Aloha Spirit back in your hearts. Us Hawaiians over-flow with the Aloha Spirit. We have so much that we give it away with a smile on our face. Such is our culture. Such is the heart of our people.
But you will never be one of us untill your family and your ancestors give many many lifetimes of their labor and love and blood to this sacred land called Hawaii. Know that! Never forget that. It is not that cheap to call yourself a true Hawaiian--one that loves this land and it's people and the culture with his heart and soul.
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