04-23-2015, 05:29 PM
rainyjim - "I wouldn't expect to see such biased opinion coming out of the Smithsonian."
my impression as well ...though i was not entirely surprised.
found myself rolling my eyes at this generally familiar section:
"What is really at stake, however, is a conflict between two ways of knowing and being in the world. For many Native Hawaiians and other Indigenous peoples, sacredness is not merely a concept or label. It is a lived experience of oneness and connectedness with the natural and spiritual worlds. It is as common sense as believing in gravity.
...not to deny that spirituality can have value in all it's various forms or dismiss it's steady and prominent place in human history to present, but really... we are all pretty much shopping together here these decades at our stores of choice with all our modern conveniences in tow, beverages and snacks in hand. is there some lost population tucked away out there on the Big Island yet to be discovered by anthropologists, living from the land by traditional subsistence, carrying the mysterious traditions of magic? will we be able to understand them? (and no, Kalapana Seaview Estates does not quite count.)
actually i think it is quite common from the outside looking in to be seduced into the overly romantic appeal. something like - look kids, real live NATIVES. they are SO spiritual. isn't it fascinating! - can feel like being open minded and progressive, culturally sensitive. it's easy to exaggerate and get carried away with the esoteric from any side. in actuality it can end up a little reminiscent of the sentimentally idyllic "noble savage" concept of prejudice past.
my impression as well ...though i was not entirely surprised.
found myself rolling my eyes at this generally familiar section:
"What is really at stake, however, is a conflict between two ways of knowing and being in the world. For many Native Hawaiians and other Indigenous peoples, sacredness is not merely a concept or label. It is a lived experience of oneness and connectedness with the natural and spiritual worlds. It is as common sense as believing in gravity.
...not to deny that spirituality can have value in all it's various forms or dismiss it's steady and prominent place in human history to present, but really... we are all pretty much shopping together here these decades at our stores of choice with all our modern conveniences in tow, beverages and snacks in hand. is there some lost population tucked away out there on the Big Island yet to be discovered by anthropologists, living from the land by traditional subsistence, carrying the mysterious traditions of magic? will we be able to understand them? (and no, Kalapana Seaview Estates does not quite count.)
actually i think it is quite common from the outside looking in to be seduced into the overly romantic appeal. something like - look kids, real live NATIVES. they are SO spiritual. isn't it fascinating! - can feel like being open minded and progressive, culturally sensitive. it's easy to exaggerate and get carried away with the esoteric from any side. in actuality it can end up a little reminiscent of the sentimentally idyllic "noble savage" concept of prejudice past.