Hawaii not immune to racism, experts say

First!

Here's my comment: Hang on, this thread is gonna get uglier than the HSF in a contrary sea...

I'm in...but you knew I would be!

oh boy.... another one that's gonna get heated. I'll bring my kevlar vest.

Oh, this oughta be good...

COVERT/OVERT, NO DIFFERENCE.
Hawaii has been and continues to be in a key nationwide/global position to lead by Example, when it comes to culutural diversity and how it is praticed everday, not just in January(Dr. King's Birthday) and Feburary(African American History month) like the rest of the Nation.
Every Overt and Cover reference, slur, horrific incident, and subtle action/comment or reaction that harbors a racist prejudged opinion or feeling of someone or a race of people, takes humanity back several steps.
As the article mentions, "The Experts Say" Hawaii is not immune to Racism, well we should all actively reflect on each other's diverse history on a regular basis, and become not only much more sensitive to words and actions, but also and more importantly strongly consider what it would be like to walk in the historical shoes of a particular indigenous group, and feel the pain of hate, malice, and total EVIL that are the corner stones of Racism, and see how one feels and deals with it Overtly or Covertly.
Break the cowardly cycle of the "Good Ole Boy" system, be courageous like Dr. King and refuse to be in the group that reaps the benefits, and stand up for what is right, even if it means being excluded, outcasted, or laying down one's life for the better of Humanity.
Slavery continues to exist in the form of "People who dare not be, in the right with Two or Three".

Sincerely,
Efrem Williams
efrem.f.williams@iraq.centcom. mil

Translator wrote:

First!
Here's my comment: Hang on, this thread is gonna get uglier than the HSF in a contrary sea...

Do you normally choose a open forum to show your ignorance?

The phrase, "the pot calling the kettle black," that Ms. Barbee-Wooten is so offended about is an idiom on hypocrisy, and not a literal reference to one's skin color in this context. Perhaps she needs to learn these subtle nuances of the english language before trying to turn something like this into a race issue. And she's a civil rights attorney? Attorney? Consider the full paragraph she quoted as racially offensive, and keep "hypocrisy" in mind when reading it. There's nothing there about racism. LOL
Just like up here in Michigan... why does it always have to be about race? And who are the ones who perpetuate the call of racism, often when it is nonexistent. They want it to be about race so they can harp on it. That inferiority complex is old. Get over it. In this case, it has nothing to do with race, but more to do with education and a simple class on idioms. Ms. Barbee-Wooten, reread the whole article to which you are referring, and you'll understand the context of that phrase.

For a place called the melting pot, this is one of the most RACIST place in State in the Union. The mis-use of the word "Jew" is in a lot of conversation. Just listen to daily conversations, "Portagee, Chinaman, Jap or Nip, and the worst abused term F* or Pilau Haole,"

Dirk Digger's posting is 100% correct!

Listen to how the young kids think nothing of the N-word used in rap music.

Perhaps I should clarify what I'm saying in more simple terms, before people jump onto the wrong boat.
The Board of Regents and UH President McClain could not take the position of firing Mr. Frazier with cause due to poor leadership and job performance. That would be hypocritical. They, along with Chancellor Hinshaw, ultimately have oversight, and yet failed in this capacity to insure that Mr. Frazier properly did his job. Thus, they cannot, as the "pot" in this case, call the "kettle black," since both sides have been "blackened by soot" by the same fire. Idiom.

Get ready for the wars! This will go to 10,000 posts!

Call me chink,dumb Hawaiian, Jew, wetback,pohtagee, Olopop . At the end of the day it doesn't determine how well I do in life. Some people are too sensitive or they have a Poor-Me-Victim complex. Some people are deliberately cruel and contentedly stupid about the things they say. Mostly, Americans are now flies living in a Politically Correct web. Everything we say and do is under scrutiny so new laws can be written to keep us "frozen".

Some idioms are funny and accurate. We've lost a lot of good local humor because of this PC stuff. It used to be okay if you made fun of me and I made fun of you. We could laugh and share the same waves without hard feelings. Those days are gone.

Just shows what we are dealing with. Pot calling the kettle black is not and has never been a racial statement. Look it up, google it!!!
B-W's reaction is a typical Al Sharpton reaction. If the word black is said...it must mean the person is referring to something racial.
BS

W
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makaspaka wrote:

Call me chink,dumb Hawaiian, Jew, wetback,pohtagee, Olopop . At the end of the day it doesn't determine how well I do in life. Some people are too sensitive or they have a Poor-Me-Victim complex. Some people are deliberately cruel and contentedly stupid about the things they say. Mostly, Americans are now flies living in a Politically Correct web. Everything we say and do is under scrutiny so new laws can be written to keep us "frozen".
Some idioms are funny and accurate. We've lost a lot of good local humor because of this PC stuff. It used to be okay if you made fun of me and I made fun of you. We could laugh and share the same waves without hard feelings. Those days are gone.

what is olopop? new one on me.

Well this is by far the most racist place I've experienced. All part of that "myth of aloha" And that comes from someone who used to live in Chicago.

The nastiness comes out in how people react to it. Call my husband a haole and he'll ignore you in a 'whatever' kind of way. Call the guy down the street a Mook and the next thing you know you're getting your face stitched up (or worse) at Queens. Or god forbid be a white military family on the leeward side - you can get the crap beat out of you by a father and son.

I remember having a conversation a few years ago with a black friend of mine who commented that at least she felt invisible here rather than some of the overt animosity that she saw towards a lot of the white folks - she gave me a 'now you know a little bit of how it feels' speech.

Local people go on and on about institutional and generational racism but I have never experienced direct overt racism and name calling directed AT ME or any I know from any other group here.

I moved here from South Carolina. I grew up in North Carolina and this is the most racist place I have ever been in my life. All of this Hawaiian love and lets get along is a joke!!My daughter has been called the N word at school and is constantly subjected to racist attitudes. I really feel for the Hawaiian kids because if they ever leave "paradise" they are going to be in trouble.

It is popolo backwards. Popolo is Hawaiian for black (the color). I kind of laughed when I saw that....

My post will just be ignored, as is usual!
Before this uppitty-up Ms. Barbee-Wooten struts her stuff more on her bandwagon, she should do some indepth research into Hawaii's History.
Honolulu, Hawaii use to be called the "melting pot of all races". Even as a young'in, I grew up with other kid of different races but WE didn't see the difference.
It was all the transplanted races that came here and brought their own racism with them that created this problem.
You come here with your racism as a chip on your shoulder and when you can't get your way you start yelling racial-discrimination.
You start screaming "wheres the so-called Aloha Spirit"?
Well, you were too busy wanting your own way you trampled on the "Aloha Spirit" that was staring you square in the face.
I'm proud to be of Hawaiian anchestry, with family that dates back in time, but you'll not get any "Aloha Spirit" from me until you shed your racial-discrimination chip attitude from your shoulder.
Excuse me for breathing YOUR air!

What does being African American have to due with racism? I thought Racism had to do with ALL races. Does a lack of racism ONLY mean African Americans? The African American Population does not necesarily mean that there would be a African American in the legislature or Judge based on the size of the Population.(0ther than Military who are NOT residents usualy of the state of Hawaii). There probably are not many Bulgarians or Tibetans either but they are not complaining Racism. Be carefull Mrs Barbee-Wooten your racism towards everyone EXCEPT African Americans is showing! Hawaii is full of Haole, Phillipino, Papolo, Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Guamanian, Koreans and about a thousand other Races.

There is no doubt that racism exists here in Hawaii. I am local, born and raised here, but have white skin. I have faced numerous examples of racism here. There was the time in Zippy when the man in line in front of me was wearing a "Kill Haole Day" t-shirt. Then, as a student at college, there were plenty of examples of the Hawaii kids hurling racist remarks toward caucasians on the mainland. There was another time as a freshman where my friends and I tried to get into a party hosted by a group of kids from Hawaii. All of them were let in, but I was stopped at the door, where I was forced to answer questions about Hawaii (like what is the state bird, sing Hawai'i Pono'i, etc.) before they would let me in. Then there was the time when I walked into a room of Hawaii students and was given stink eye until my roommate said, "It's okay, he's from Hawaii." These are college-aged kids with such strong feelings of prejudice against haole. These are just a few examples of how local people, whether they are actually in Hawaii, or on the mainland, act in an overtly racist way. These are not including the "f*&% haole" remarks and the assumptions about where I'm from based upon my skin color. I'm not trying to equate this to the racism felt by African-Americans, I'm just saying that this idea that Hawaii is so open and loving may not be so true all of the time.

The Real Story About Race in Hawaii

Racial discrimination in Hawaii is more likely to be aimed at native Hawaiians and Filipinos as well as African Americans. My daughter found this out when she was job hunting over the holidays. Many negative comments about Samoans and Filipinos were made in her presence during the interview process. Here's a surprise, my daughter is African American.