Aloha in the desert - Hawaii News

These plastic lei, Obama style luaus are embarrassing. Mostly non-Hawaiians, mostly Asian immigrants, playing the whole Hawaiian wannabee charade.

Just like all those college Hawaii club luaus. Everyone puts on their fake lei, their bad hula and their plantation asian immigrant pidgin english and proclaim themselves Hawaiian for a day.

For what?

Just to act.

All part of the ubiquitous identity crisis that is contemporary Hawaii culture.

Celebrate your own actual ancestry folks. You look silly.

No offense of course. Just trying to help you get back to YOUR roots, not someone else's.

Poi wrote:

These plastic lei, Obama style luaus are embarrassing. Mostly non-Hawaiians, mostly Asian immigrants, playing the whole Hawaiian wannabee charade.
Just like all those college Hawaii club luaus. Everyone puts on their fake lei, their bad hula and their plantation asian immigrant pidgin english and proclaim themselves Hawaiian for a day.
For what?
Just to act.
All part of the ubiquitous identity crisis that is contemporary Hawaii culture.
Celebrate your own actual ancestry folks. You look silly.
No offense of course. Just trying to help you get back to YOUR roots, not someone else's.

Jeez, what a freakin pessimist.

veralani wrote:

<quoted text> Jeez, what a freakin pessimist.

No, just trying to help people get back in touch with their actual ancestry and not someone else's.

Are you in Texas?

Wouldn't you think it odd if everyone in Texas pretended to be an Indian? Wouldn't you wonder a little?

Are the Texas folks in the Middle East having Indian Pow Wows in the desert? Why not?

No need get huhu. Just pointing out the obvious.

Poi wrote:

These plastic lei, Obama style luaus are embarrassing. Mostly non-Hawaiians, mostly Asian immigrants, playing the whole Hawaiian wannabee charade.
Just like all those college Hawaii club luaus. Everyone puts on their fake lei, their bad hula and their plantation asian immigrant pidgin english and proclaim themselves Hawaiian for a day.
For what?
Just to act.
All part of the ubiquitous identity crisis that is contemporary Hawaii culture.
Celebrate your own actual ancestry folks. You look silly.
No offense of course. Just trying to help you get back to YOUR roots, not someone else's.

Hey Poi... Hawaii IS our roots, not someone elses.
Just because I'm from Hawaii but of Japanese and Chinese descent, I'm supposed to be culturally correct by celebrating the cherry blossom festival and chinese new year and nothing else?

My 2 Cents wrote:

<quoted text>
Hey Poi... Hawaii IS our roots, not someone elses.
Just because I'm from Hawaii but of Japanese and Chinese descent, I'm supposed to be culturally correct by celebrating the cherry blossom festival and chinese new year and nothing else?

Respect for indiginous cultures is honorable.

Pretending to be indiginous when you are not is identity theft. Its mostly not good for the actors and actresses who have lost their roots.

You'd be happier getting in touch with your Japanese and Chinese ancestry of your forefathers. There is much to be proud of in those cultures. Look it up and live it. It is you.

Poi wrote:

<quoted text>
Respect for indiginous cultures is honorable.
Pretending to be indiginous when you are not is identity theft. Its mostly not good for the actors and actresses who have lost their roots.
You'd be happier getting in touch with your Japanese and Chinese ancestry of your forefathers. There is much to be proud of in those cultures. Look it up and live it. It is you.

"Indigenous" is too often used as an honorable-sounding excuse for "ethnic purity" and living in the 15th century -- neither of which is desirable in 2009. If the soldiers want to have a desert luau, let them have it in peace.

you have to excuse poi. he/she/it is a retard.

You know I clicked on the comments for this story thinking there can't be anyone complaining about this. Guess I was wrong.

Poi, you have to be kidding me. People born and raised in Hawaii were quick to adopt the native culture there, mostly because when their ancestors got there the Native Hawaiians were only too willing to share their ways with them. It is at the essence of Hawaiian culture to be generous, to give without taking. Perhaps you should be too.

Wade wrote:

It is at the essence of Hawaiian culture to be generous, to give without taking. Perhaps you should be too.

The whalers and missionaries of the 1800s did not pretend to be Hawaiian. Twigg Smiths great grandfather didn't pretend to be Hawaiian when he stole the country. Not even 8th generation missionaries today pretend to be Hawaiian. But 1st generation immigrants from mostly Asia do.

No make sense.

Honoring is one thing. Stealing and impostor identity theft is another.

Poi wrote:

These plastic lei, Obama style luaus are embarrassing. Mostly non-Hawaiians, mostly Asian immigrants, playing the whole Hawaiian wannabee charade.
Just like all those college Hawaii club luaus. Everyone puts on their fake lei, their bad hula and their plantation asian immigrant pidgin english and proclaim themselves Hawaiian for a day.
For what?
Just to act.
All part of the ubiquitous identity crisis that is contemporary Hawaii culture.
Celebrate your own actual ancestry folks. You look silly.
No offense of course. Just trying to help you get back to YOUR roots, not someone else's.

Gee Poi.... who took a whiz in YOUR wheaties today???

Can't believe I'm reading this swill of comments. I'm Japanese, born and raised in Hawaii. My favorite "cultural" activity is the Chinese New Year celebrations in downtown Honolulu. So, for those who share Poi's point of view, all you "other" guys had better not be playing fireworks on New Year's because that's a Chinese & Japanese tradition. I've been to family gatherings where the kalua pig and lomi salmon on the buffet sat next to sushi, sashimi, chow funn, and kalbi. What's the matter with you all? We live in a unique habitat, with the ability to share diverse cultures. I am just as respectful of Hawaiian traditions and language as I am with traditions and languages of other cultures, including my own. I may not get them perfectly, but my life is more enriched for having learned a little more about the cultures of my friends. These comments should instead be about our friends and relatives far away, fighting for our freedom and wanting to share a little bit about our cultures with their teammates and the rest of the world. They should be of support & encouragement. Instead, because of people like Poi with culturally small minds, it has become a debate of lines drawn in the sand. Pitiful and shameful for All people of Hawaii!

HiloPango wrote:

Can't believe I'm reading this swill of comments. I'm Japanese, born and raised in Hawaii. My favorite "cultural" activity is the Chinese New Year celebrations in downtown Honolulu. So, for those who share Poi's point of view, all you "other" guys had better not be playing fireworks on New Year's because that's a Chinese & Japanese tradition. I've been to family gatherings where the kalua pig and lomi salmon on the buffet sat next to sushi, sashimi, chow funn, and kalbi. What's the matter with you all? We live in a unique habitat, with the ability to share diverse cultures. I am just as respectful of Hawaiian traditions and language as I am with traditions and languages of other cultures, including my own. I may not get them perfectly, but my life is more enriched for having learned a little more about the cultures of my friends. These comments should instead be about our friends and relatives far away, fighting for our freedom and wanting to share a little bit about our cultures with their teammates and the rest of the world. They should be of support & encouragement. Instead, because of people like Poi with culturally small minds, it has become a debate of lines drawn in the sand. Pitiful and shameful for All people of Hawaii!

This is all that touchy freely gobbledygook which attempts mostly to water down any Native Hawaiian Ethnicity, culture and sovereignty so that recent immigrants can become neo-fake-Hawaiians.

If you want to participate in various cultural activities for fun, go for it. Just don't present yourself as "Hawaiian", new, fake, modern or whatever.

This "Luaus", like the University/College ones, tend to be identity crisis in motion. They are people putting themselves out to the ignorant world as "Hawaiians" even though 90% aren't even one drop.

There is a difference between me eating sushi, or putting on a kimono for fun and actually acting like I am some new version of Japanese. I am not. Never will be. Don't want to be. I figure I leave being Japanese to the Japanese.

Identity crisis. That's Hawaii's contemporary immigrant culture.

Peace.

I wonder if, living in Oakland, Poi ever attended a Cinco de Mayo, St. Patty's Day or Kwanza celebration? His poor family doesn't get Christmas gifts cause Santa was German.

townie wrote:

I wonder if, living in Oakland, Poi ever attended a Cinco de Mayo, St. Patty's Day or Kwanza celebration? His poor family doesn't get Christmas gifts cause Santa was German.

Yes. All good fun.

But I don't ever pretend to be Mexican, Irish or Black.

Big diff

Poi should change the name to poi hua'a (sour poi).

OOOOH Poi, you so sour (HAH). I just thinking about the food... SPAM? At da luau? No waste the portagee steak!

-To give Poi credit he has presented a very reasonable set of rational comments. Like most issues it is a matter of seeing it from other people's viewpoint. It is difficult to comprehend why exactly the SB promotes this topic but reading between the lines it has a distinctly covert "statehood" agenda. Military aircraft and ships are being named after the concept of Hawaiian Aloha which as the term implies effectively is about peace, friendship, and community harmony irrespective of ethnicity. Just looking awhile ago at the death rate from the Vietnam era some 5.1 million, we hear much about the Holocaust of WW2, yet the Russians lost some 25 million people, the figures are enormous. Maybe the Peace Corps should be promoted by the SB and all militarism worldwide placed in the obsolete categorization for the keiki's sake and let us promote true Aloha instead they deserve a future safer world.

MakikiMan wrote:

<quoted text>
Gee Poi.... who took a whiz in YOUR wheaties today???

Nah, I think his poi is too sour.

Poi, sweetie, I am so proud of you!!! You did me, Jon and Haunani so much prouds! Hele on sistah! And, by the way, you nevah wen down to see mikey's funeral tho did you? They betta nevah dance one hula at those kine. Wen you gonna send me some sour dough poi from San Fran? So onoz!! If no can, get get me some sweetbread, sweetie.

Hugs!

ps no can use my hawn name so using my cali one

lili

Poi, i don't think they can understand how all this mockery is hurtful to native hawaiians since they are the beneficiaries of Hawaiian dispossession. Then, they try to insult you personally. WOW!
They take and take and take and take! and get mad at you for pointing it out. Good of you to speak up though.