09-14-2013, 01:25 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Rene
Hawaiians believe that relatives that have passed on are reincarnated as Sharks. It's a high form of disrespect to catch, hurt or even exploit sharks in Hawaiian culture. Exploitation includes shark cage dive tours. It would be easy to just jump on you for this but I thought I'd share the cultural symbolism of these animals with you. Knowing this now, I hope you can see why so many Hawaiians feel outraged about this issue. I just wish someone had shared this with you sooner so you could more clearly understand "what's the big deal?".
I only know what I have read, but I have read several times that there were conditions under which Hawaiians killed sharks, so while this may be the truth, it is not the whole truth as I understand it. It is a human foible that we will emphasize certain parts of the truth when it suits us.