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Its all about your attitude.
I am white, with freckles and was sitting by myself eating lunch at a McDonalds in Hilo a couple weeks ago at the next table was a mom with four little kids,dark complected. One of the little girls looked at me and said "Haole" I smiled back and said "Hawaiian haole" She laughed,I laughed, no big deal.
Mac nut
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Haole ha'oli! No can help, s'wat, bodda yu?
Haole is also an identifier and not always a negative term so it is also heard just to describe the person. "My haole neighbor" as opposed to the Filipino one or the Portugese one or the Japanese one. They use other races as identifiers and those folks don't seem terribly upset by it, but haoles seem so sensitive to being called haole. Seems if there wouldn't be such a reaction to it then it wouldn't get used negatively as much. I mean, being Tongan, Japanese, Haole or French is just what one is it is a lot like being a Ford, Chevy or Honda. It just is, embrace it and respect it.
I suppose the other answer to f*g haole would be "well, yes, that's how we get more haoles" which would probably confuse the heck out of the person who started the conversation.
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
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quote:
Originally posted by Hotzcatz
I suppose the other answer to f*g haole would be "well, yes, that's how we get more haoles" which would probably confuse the heck out of the person who started the conversation.
LOVE IT!
James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park
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Racism isn't a big problem. I haven't had any experience in the schools, but you know what kids are like - anything that's different can get a hard time at first.
Definitely take your shoes off! Or at least offer to. I'm amazed that they keep shoes on in most colder countries, a dirty habit if you ask me.
As for other cultural differences: prepared to be pleasantly surprised if anything is done on time. Don't stress it.
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the "human race" is the problem.
malia paha o lohe aku
perhaps they will hear
"a great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."
w. james
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I was just about to post this when I thought I'd better check to see if anyone had beat me to it. Jerry is exactly right and I'll add to it the fact that the Robinsons own a buuuunch of land on Kauai as well. Good job Jerry!
quote:
Originally posted by JerryCarr
quote:
Originally posted by Damon
If Hawaii is a State,
Then why are Haoles not allowed on the Hawaiian Island of Ni'ihau?
Ni'ihau is private property, and the Robertson clan who own it get to control who goes there. They also have an amazing amount of control over the lives of the Hawaiians who live there. Sounds like feudalism, but they keep it going.
Cheers,
Jerry
Blessings,
dave
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Blessings,
dave
"It doesn't mean that much to me.. to mean that much to you." Neil Young
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KathyH,
I know a white couple that lived on the island of Ni'ihau for six years. They moved away when she became pregnant, for obvious reasons. They now live on Moloka'i. I do know that the rules for the inhabitants of Ni'ihau are very exteme and the Robinsons are not very forgiving for any rule breakers.
Blessings,
dave
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Blessings,
dave
"It doesn't mean that much to me.. to mean that much to you." Neil Young
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I understand this fear as a parent. I have two boys in public school(blond haired, fair skinned). They have been the only haloes in their class and there aren't a lot in the whole school. They have never been in a fight. I meet the teachers and get to know as many people at the school as I can. I know a lot of haloes that put there kids in charter schools. The problem with that is that most charter schools only go to 7th or 8th grade. Then what do you do? Put them in high school with not a lot of friends? My theory is send them to school let the kids get to know them and make friends. Which is what they have done. I think by getting involved makes a difference.
Hopes this puts some of your fears at ease.
Jade
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I don't think it's racism as much as "localism", and it's not confined to Hawaii (even though cultural differences may magnify it).
Don't condescend with the attitude that locals are going to mug you. Aloha is generally returned once given.
[ ]
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For me, school (on the mainland) was a difficult time so it is important to address these issues because schoolkids are vulnerable. What I remember with the least fondness were all the social pressures. My brother and sister-in-law, who live on Oahu, homeschooled their kids. That is a challange in itself.
On the flip side I will say that as an adult living in Hawaii for the last 19 years, I have been all over the state, in all kinds of neighborhoods, and while I see ample evidence of unhappiness, class tension, even racial tension, I must say that if a skinny white nerd like me has avoided getting his butt kicked, it can't be all that bad.
What I see most is a very low standard for education particularly in more rural areas like Puna. People with less education tend to stick more with their own peer groups that not surprisingly are of similar racial background. They also are less financially secure, making them more resentful of change since it will probably be change for the worse for them.
There are three households that I think of as my immediate neighbors in Eden Roc. Two of them are husband/wife teams, I think with grown kids that are out on their own, who are building new houses. I would describe these four people as Haole. I don't know how far back they go in Hawaii except to say many years, and from things said, at least one of them may have grown up in Hawaii. They are all friendly. The third household is younger with elementary school aged kids. I know very little about them personally except to say that the husband is not haole. He is also intensly stand-offish and unfriendly, even paranoid. The wife seems to defer to him in all respects. The border of their property is festooned with no trespassing signs and even a small amount of barbed wire. He once accused me of trespassing on his property while I was clearing along the property line and has resisted my attempts to introduce myself. I can only speculate about their personal circumstances except to say that their house is definitely not new or large and based on a web search appears to be unpermitted. I also once saw him working at a retail establishment that later closed so I imagine that caused the family some financial grief.
Based on this example I might conclude that I was well received by the haole folks and not by the local folks. I think it is more accurate to say that the local folks in this admittedly inadequately sized sample had the least resources and were the most fearful of change. I also heard that they had wanted to buy the property before I bought it but didn't have the money in 2004 when properties were still cheap, while the other neighbors bought their property somewhat later after it had risen in cost. Again the economic angle is significant.
Last, I would say that haole can be used in either way. I have heard grandmothers lovingly describe their hapa haole grandkids, and I have heard the term said through clenched teeth. When refering to a male african-american youth, the term "black boy" might be accurate but it takes on a whole new meaning, one that everyone understands, when said youth is cornered and threatened by those of another race. so it is with the term haole.
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