Archive for December, 2007

B.J. Penn, famous ultimate fighter, beats up a police officer and then OHA makes him the star of a Kau Inoa commercial glorifying violence and racism.

Honolulu Advertiser says “Mixed-martial arts superstar B.J. “The Prodigy” Penn, 28, was sentenced today [December 11] to one year probation and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution for hitting a Honolulu police officer during a melee outside of Waikiki bar two years ago.”
Since the crime happened two years ago, OHA clearly knew about it when they chose him to be the star of a Kau Inoa commercial. The ad shows him throwing a rapid flurry of punches while background music features an ipu [gourd] being hit, slapped, and pounded (just as Penn hits, slaps, and pounds his sports opponents and that policeman).
Obviously there’s a message of strength and pride being sent to ethnic Hawaiians. Equally obviously there’s a message to the larger community that ethnic Hawaiians are quite capable of using violence to get what they want.
Mr. Penn laments that someday there might be no “pure” Hawaiians left — thus implying that 99% of ethnic Hawaiians are impure, having their genealogies stained by “outsiders.” He concludes: “Before anything, be proud to be Hawaiian.” That’s what Kau Inoa is — a racial registry. There is one thing and only one thing required to sign up — a drop of the magic blood. Individual accomplishment is irrelevant.
See transcript, complete analysis, and link to movie of the commercial, at
http://tinyurl.com/33j6qk

Kau Inoa TV/Radio ads featuring Malia Craver and Dennis Kamakahi

In late 2007 Malia Craver made two commercials for Kau Inoa. One was in Hawaiian language, using her prestige to ask ethnic Hawaiians to sign up on the racial separatist registry despite her previous speech to the United Nations urging love, forgiveness, and inter-racial unity. The other was in English, scolding Caucasians for coming to Hawaii in the 1800s and not helping ethnic Hawaiians (false), inferring that Hawaiians were not capable of managing their own affairs; even while she supports a program whose purpose is supposedly to foster self-reliance and self-determination. Transcripts and commentary on both commercials are provided on a webpage, along with an English translation of the Hawaiian ad. The commercial by Dennis Kamakahi gets straight to the point, saying that ethnic Hawaiians share one thing (and only one thing) in common — the blood. Therefore sign up for Kau Inoa (whose only requirement is to prove a genealogy including at least one drop of the magic blood). See:

http://tinyurl.com/ypev3b