Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 9, 1 September 2000 — Injustices [ARTICLE]

Injustices

Steeped in the belief that white opportunists were virtuous promoters of progress, Burgess, Twigg-Smith and Ken Oonklin circumvent the fact that their eeonomie success today is predicated on the theft of Hawaiian property. President Grover Cleveland said of the overthrow, "This was an act of war initiated against an independent and sovereign people" by the United States of America. Isn't it amazing that the Conklins, Burgesses and Twigg-Smiths never begin their deceptive theories from this premise? Democracy is described by Webster as "a form of govemment for the people by the will of a majority of the people." What happened to inalienahle Hawaiian rights, freedom of ehoiee and freedom of religion, all guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution? Burgess, Twigg-Smith and Conklin are advocates for the continued subjugation of the Hawaiian people and relegation to a secondary status. They are classic examples of racial supremists, self-servingly smug in the behef that white conservatism still mles. Racial discord is on the rise in this country, fostered and perpetrated by such advocates, and it bodes ill for all Americans. Ameiiea must purge itself of past injustices or risk being considered a suppressor of human rights by millions of its own citizens. Rod Ferreira Kamuela