Defend Hawaii?

I just moved to Hawaii from the mainland a few weeks ago. One of the first local trends I noticed was this logo plastered on bumpers, shirts, hats, basically everywhere. [atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c54cc71a52bc.png[/atsimg]

I will admit, I knew absolutely nothing about the history of Hawaii or it's unlawful inception into the United States before I moved here. I'm kind of ashamed of this, because it really is a big deal. I still have a lot to learn about the history of this beautiful island nation, and I don't know if I will ever really understand, being a haole myself. Here's a pretty decent introduction to Hawaii's statehood, for those who may be curious.www.hawaii-nation.org...

the indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands to the United States, either through their monarchy or through a plebiscite or referendum.

And a good video.

Back to the "Defend Hawaii" logo. From the clothing company's website: www.defendhawaii.com...

Hawaii’s Royalty Streetwear Company. To Defend Hawaii, is to defend the spirit of aloha. It is the resolve, accomplishment and state of mind, that is perpetuated through our culture and traditions. So that generations to come will live in our footprint. No where on God’s green earth can mirror the unconditional acceptance and support we show to family and strangers alike. It is our duty to preserve this spirit. To Defend Hawaii is to defend aloha; by any means necessary.

As I said, I'm beginning to understand why there is an undertone of hostility toward the mainland here. It's probably justified. However, the people I see sporting this logo in it's various forms are the same people who are eating at the 50 McDonald's restaurants in Hawaii, the 28 Kentucky Fried Chicken's, (side note, I was appalled at the number of fast food places when I got here. They're everywhere!) shopping at the huge Kmarts, working dead end jobs, doing drugs, and generally embracing the American way. If people here really wanted to defend Hawaii, wouldn't they stop supporting these places? Wouldn't they stop smoking meth, get a job, run for city council positions, start petitions, be active in their communities? Isn't there something they could do besides sporting the trendy street-wear and acting like they give a crap about their nation? Hawaii would be much better off without the influence of the US lifestyle. Downtown Honolulu is undergoing a Los Angelization on a scale that actually rivals Los Angeles. Tent cities are everywhere, everything is covered in graffiti, food prices are astronomical, bordering on price gouging (10$ for a gallon of milk, 8$ for a loaf of bread). At the grocery stores I see countless local families stocking up on non-food like potato chips and candy and sodas. And they talk about defending Hawaii?! Is there anyone on ATS who is actually from Hawaii that can shed some light on this situation for me? I don't mean to offend anyone with this. But moving to the most isolated spot on the planet and being inundated with fast food and Starbucks was really frustrating. The blame for this problem should not solely rest on the Hawaiian people. It's just as much the fault of America as a whole. But the solution should be a local issue, and slapping a bumper sticker on your car is not helping.

reply to post by ZeroReady


I believe you raise some very interesting points that many Hawaiians have not asked even themselves. But I believe that fast food culture is an important tool of oppression, and you can see it rear it's ugly head in many, many colonized, oppressed cultures. Food is something that was abundant for Hawaiians, and they had a culture of feasting and plenty before colonization. This has been perverted by the propagation of very unhealthy foods like Spam that keep Hawaiians obese and crippled with diabetes and dying young. You don't see many old Hawaiians in the Hawaiian Islands.

You are apparently on Oahu, the most urbanized of all the Islands. The outer islands are still natural and wild for the most part and Hawaiians fight like hell to keep them that way.

Is it just the "big island" that is like this? What about the rest of the chain?

reply to post by ZeroReady


Very interesting topic.

Hawaiian's apparently hate "white people" because of our bringing it into the union.

It is very similar to how the Native American's on the mainland thought about us.

And native Hawaiian's are pretty much in the same boat without the reservation's though.

The "Defend Hawaii" banners/flyers might also have something to do with Pearl Harbor.

I've been to Australia three times overflying Hawaii but I would love to visit there too.

As to the fast-food, alcohol, and drugs?

The same as the Native American's I would say except that this would be excusing their doing it.

Keeping ones ethnic roots would be linked to their elders keeping them alive and strong.

This is very similar to alot of Native American cultures and their current dilemma. When the U.S. came in they Americanized the State without any regard actually for the culture of the people who were already there thus making it very hard if not near impossible for them to keep their traditional way of life.

Are you really going to go out and fish all day for dinner when there's a Mc'ds right in front of you? They are still proud of their heritage and like to embrace it but as younger generations are born into this new lifestyle their identlity is slowly being regulated to the history books.

One could argue that this is just what will happen everywhere eventually as the world becomes more populated and globalized and I don't believe there is much they can do about it. Times change and people will change along with it.

The fact is that they will never go back to what they were before.

except ther are no true 100% hawaiians left,they are somoans.

reply to post by sonofliberty1776


I'm on Oahu, not The Big Island. I've heard that the rest of the islands aren't quite as Americanized, due to the tourism industry maintaining a foothold mostly on Oahu. Not sure when I'll be able to visit the rest of them because of the prohibitively high cost of air travel between the islands. Over 100$ for a ticket, and the ferry that was almost up and running some years back was shut down due to poor budgeting and justifiable environmental concerns.

I've certainly noticed the similarities to the plight of Native Americans. Coming from Washington, I've seen first hand what our culture has done to those people. I used to surf up at Neah Bay, and the poverty forced on the natives there is heartbreaking. It's frightening to see what our way of life does to people who aren't born into it.

reply to post by antoinemarionette


Wow you're right, now that I think about it. I haven't seen any old Hawaiians. God what's happening here? They're killing us with Spam!

If they resent being a state so much, why don't they secede?
Apparently they believe the assets outweigh the deficits?

reply to post by ladyinwaiting


I would love to see a state secede from the union in the 21st century. It would be a truly amazing thing. However I think the main reason Hawaii can't/wont is because of the 50,000 or so US military personnel stationed here.

Originally posted by stormofnight
except ther are no true 100% hawaiians left,they are somoans.

That's ridiculous.

reply to post by ZeroReady


Yeah, Oahu is definitely way over-commercialized and over-developed. I once had to spend a couple of months there for training, and it was a different world compared to the Big Island. They sport the "Defend Hawaii" logos on Big Island, but I think it is a bit more applicable here. You should really try to see the other islands if you can, it may change your perspective.

My wife and I lived on Oahu for a 12 month period in '05-'06. We both worked in a large restaurant with a pretty even split of "mainland" americans and locals. I never saw the bumper sticker in question so maybe it is a new thing, but in general the Hawaiian pride is strong and loud among locals.

That being said, I made alot of friends in Honolulu but some of the best of them were locals. In general they have some resentment to haoles(foreigners-whites) coming over and taking jobs but they know tourism is their cash cow, and even the hardest Hawaiian bad ass would lighten up after hanging out with you for over a Heineken(their preffered beer!).

The only reason we left the island was a job offer here in the states too good to pass up. We do miss our paradise. This cold, dark Northern California water is a different world.

We've been to almost every island in Hawaii- the place is very special.

reply to post by ZeroReady
Wow, that's insane! I never realized any of that.

As to the following snippet from your post, I can only assume they must be dumping fluoride into their drinking water as well, to keep them at bay... as well.

However, the people I see sporting this logo in it's various forms are the same people who are eating at the 50 McDonald's restaurants in Hawaii, the 28 Kentucky Fried Chicken's, (side note, I was appalled at the number of fast food places when I got here. They're everywhere!) shopping at the huge Kmarts, working dead end jobs, doing drugs, and generally embracing the American way. If people here really wanted to defend Hawaii, wouldn't they stop supporting these places? Wouldn't they stop smoking meth, get a job, run for city council positions, start petitions, be active in their communities? Isn't there something they could do besides sporting the trendy street-wear and acting like they give a crap about their nation?

reply to post by ZeroReady


That's right! They are killing people off in this and other cultures with poison food like Spam. Introducing foods like these, along with deep fried foods, foods with chemical preservatives, msg, and fast food chains actually kills people. They contract diseases and die early deaths.

If you look at the history of colonization in the western hemisphere, you will see this repeated over and over again, ad nauseum!

reply to post by antoinemarionette


This is very true. Food subsidies in third world countries are detrimental, both to the health of the native cultures by inundating them with processed, carbohydrate-rich, and generally more expensive food stuffs.

I remember reading an anthropology book dealing with food displacement that touched specifically on spam in Hawai'i as an example. My first experience with it was eating at a "Hawai'ian BBQ" restaurant in LA - I was shocked to see Spam on the menu.

Regarding the OP's scorn of the locals lack of motivation: it's no different than any other occupational situation. The people are confronted with a displaced economic and social situation, eating chips and soda is cheaper, the work available to them (in that they have to live within the system) is wage slavery, and they are kept in a perpetual loop of oppression. Based on the video and what I've read, I would have to say that Hawai'i seems like the Puerto Rico of the Pacific that happened to "achieve" Statehood.

Again, I only contemplated these possibilities before. I knew very little about the story of the Queen and the sugar and pineapple interests (including Dole, if I'm not mistaken). I appreciate the OP for bringing this up - this is really new information for me and a completely new way of looking at Hawai'i. S and F.

EDIT: I thought I would also mention a legal story that I hope that book in the video talks about. There was a court case back in the 90s that dealt with a Hawai'ian news anchor who was fired because he had too much of a "Hawai'ian accent". The judge ruled that he could not sue the news company for prejudicial firing because it was their discretion to have a clearly comprehensible newscast. Yet, what about speaking English with a Hawai'ian accent in Hawai'i would be difficult to comprehend. It was totally race-motivated and prejudicial of non-standard accent.

Stumbled across this awhile back. Gives a pretty good rundown of how Hawaii was absorbed into the union:



PS - The narrator's voice makes me want to take a pickaxe to my own ears.

Yeah. Good luck and try to "Defend Hawaii" and its sell-outs from the U.S. imperialist invaders. For example, look what happened to the Philippines when the Americans "left" and you get the U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay covered in ash from and by the wrath of Mount Pinatubo. Symbolically, it is supposed to be a good thing for the Filipinos to be "independent" from the Americans but the Islands have been infiltrated with more corruption than ever before both in the political and military.