Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 4, 1 ʻApelila 2007 — Is the pot boiling? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Is the pot boiling?

Arecent USA Today article entitled, "Racial tensions are simmering in Hawai'i's melting pot" raises serious questions about the stability of relationships among Hawai'i's ethnie groups, particularly between Native Hawaiians and Caucasians, or haole. The reporter quotes several people who give their views on whether there is real depth to the so-called "aloha spirit," and why these eruptions take plaee from time to time. The people interviewed in the article tended to agree that there is, indeed, a degree of tension in the community stemming in part from the overthrow of 1893 to the modern pressures brought about by tourism development and population expansion. We all ean agree that those tensions exist, and their origins have been examined many times in the past, and they are no worse than anywhere else in the country. But that overly examined subject was not, in my view, the real purpose of the article. We all know that the "pot ain't boiling." I believe that the true purpose of the article is to arouse public reaction, here and across the mainland, against the Akaka Bill now pending in Congress and against other government and private programs favoring Native Hawaiians, such as Kamehameha Schools, the Deparment of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) and education and heahh entitlements authorized by Congress. The article clearly plays to the ideology of ultra-conserva-tive Americans who seek to destroy any social programs that assist minority ethnie groups to climb out of the poverty pits they are in, and seeks to persuade others to that reactionary view. These are the same groups that keep pushing to overturn affirmative action programs. The people promoting the article and fanning this ideological discussion are hoping - and expecting - that those who see the world as they do will write thousands, if not millions, of letters to their congressional representatives urging them to oppose passage of the Akaka Bill and

to repeal those federal laws that assist Native Hawaiians to obtain education for their children, heahh care for themselves and a decent roof over their heads. In addition, the article quietly reminds eonservative ideologists that they must file amicus briefs in the U. S. Supreme Court supporting the petition filed by the student who attempted to get into Kamehameha Schools and lost his appeal in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. It is not a coincidence that the article was written just as the U. S. Supreme Court is being petitioned to overturn the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals' decision upholding Kamehameha's admission policy and Congress is considering the Akaka Bill. I am reliably informed that the reporter was initially sent here to report on the Kamehameha Schools policy and benefits forNative Hawaiians, such as DHHL leases. He had already begun those interviews when the incident occurred at Waikele between a Native Hawaiian father and son, and a military eouple. The article and its judicial and legislative contexts are too closely tied together to lead to any other conclusion than that it was an obvious ploy to arouse opposition across the eountry to the cause of Hawaiian justice. The reporter's heart must have skipped with delight. Bingo! Here was an event that he could use to stir up the juices of any opponents of affirmative action. The racial implications provided a marvelous framework to arouse people against Native Hawaiians. He must have thought, "I ean really pump people up by showing the undercurrent of racial animosity and that it is really getting heated." Another non-coincidence occurred on March 21, 2007, in the U. S. House of Representatives. The House Minority Leader's office issued instructions to all House Republicans to oppose a measure that had eome to the House floor providing funding for Native Hawaiian housing on DHHL lands. The minority leader's message eame at the last moment, even while Congressman Abercrombie was thanking the Republicans for not taking a partisan stance against the measure. The neo conservative opposition is beginning to rise again. All of whieh goes to show you that you have to look beyond the surface in order to see what is really obvious. E

— LEO 'ELELE ■ TRUSTEE MESSAGES

Walter M. Heen TrustEE, O'ahu