Here’s an essay in honour of St. Patrick’s Day

http://tinyurl.com/yaes57z

The essay explores two topics:

(1) King Kauikeaouli Kamehameha III chose St. Patrick’s Day for his “official” birthday, much as modern monarchs declare an official birthdate for national celebrations even though it is not their true date of birth. Details are provided about Kauikeaouli and the fact that nobody knew his actual birthdate.

(2) Kelly Slater and Greg Long, surfers from Florida and California, are Caucasians who won Hawaii’s most prestigious surfing competition, the Eddie Aikau, on the most recent two occasions when it was held, 2002 and 2009. The competition is held rarely, only when waves are at least 30 feet high at Waimea Bay. An article in “Irish America Magazine” published March 13, 2010 celebrates Irishmen who are leaders in the modern revival of surfing. But a resolution which passed the State of Hawaii House of Representatives last week, on the same day it was introduced and without testimony or hearings, singles out “Polynesian tribal surfers” as a class to be honored, while excluding all others who lack a drop of Hawaiian native blood. Sure and begorrah, the Irish lads deserve a mention; or else the leprechauns will take away the pot of gold at the end of all those Hawaiian rainbows.

The movie “Avatar” fits the pattern of the “White Messiah” syndrome. Both of those are clearly relevant to an understanding of the politics of the Hawaiian independence movement and also the Akaka bill. A webpage contains an analysis of those conceptual interconnections plus five published articles moving from a general description of concepts to a specific Hawaiian application of the movie’s viewpoint. The webpage is at
http://tinyurl.com/yk7a4tc

The article published in a California newspaper (The Sacramento Bee) actually relies on the plot of “Avatar” to explain “indigenous” Hawaiian opposition to the placement of telescopes on Mauna Kea. The article raises the question whether ethnic Hawaiian protesters and their allies might be justified in using violence to defend Hawaii’s environment and ethnic Hawaiian religious/cultural values, as the indigenous Na’vi and their Caucasian Earthling allies used violence to defeat the bulldozing of Pandora’s rainforest to harvest unobtainium to satisfy Earth’s needs.

Honolulu Advertiser, Sunday March 14, 2010, Letter to editor

I am a combat veteran from the Vietnam era, who served with the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, in 1969. My active duty began as a reservist attached to the Hawai’i National Guard’s 29th Brigade in 1968. At that time, Neil Abercrombie was a demonstrator against us, calling us names that was truly not Hawai’i.

Abercrombie and I have huge differences of both moral and economic issues. We are on opposite sides on national defense, as he voted against the Patriot Act in 2002. He supports same-sex marriage and testified in support of civil unions. He supports abortion, where I believe that life begins at conception. He supported the comprehensive health care bill pending in Congress, destroying the best health care system in the world.

I could forgive him for our many differences except for one, the Akaka bill. He believes in the racial separation of Hawai’i’s people without allowing for a plebiscite. His position is not pono. Hawai’i was and is a blend of many races and cultures. Hawai’i is of one people and Abercrombie wants us to be separated by race.

Governor? I don’t think so.

Jimmy Kuroiwa
Honolulu