Printed in the University of Hawaii Ka Leo O Hawaii; September 2000
Trask Book Hypocritical
Pablo Wegesend
Hayashi's note: The following is an open letter to Dr. Haunani-Kay Trask -- a social science professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, who is part white and part Native Hawaiian. In spite of this, she despises white people in general. The word haole (pronounced HAH-o-lay) is Native Hawaiian for "foreigner" or "white person," and it's usually not supposed to be derogatory at all, though Trask always means it to be when she says it. The term kanaka maoli (pronounced kuh-naw-KUH maw-OHH-lee) is Native Hawaiian for . . . well, "Native Hawaiian." Pono ole (poh-noh OH-LAY)means "bad."
Dear Trask,
I have recently read your book From A Native Daughter(1998
updated version) and there are things in there that need to be
questioned. I am not going to deny that Western contact has caused
problems for the kanaka maoli or that kanaka maolis are constantly
stereotyped by non-kanaka maolis. I am not going to deny that the kanaka
maoli culture has been pimped by the mainland and foreign businesses. What
I am going to question is your constant attack on the non-kanaka maolis as
if we are born to be evil imperialists. Your attacks have caused nothing
but division between the kanaka maoli and the non-kanaka maoli, and that does
not help your cause one bit. Before you start calling me a racist, answer
this question. Who is the one who puts race, ethnicity and ancestry before
humanity and the individual? YOU ARE! Who is the one who expects special
treatment just because he or she happens to have ancestors who were here before
1778? YOU ARE!
PART 1:
In your book, you talked about Joey Carter's letter, in which he
complained about being harrased for "being a haole". You responded by
saying "Hawaiians could benefit from one less haole", and said that it
will even be better if thousands of haoles "go home". Well, let me ask
you a few questions.
1) You have a haole last name. (Any idiot can tell Trask is not a Hawaiian
last name) Maybe because YOU ARE PART HAOLE! Don't your statements
about the haoles sound like self-hate? (You probably thought no one would
bring this up, didn't you?)
2) Do you think it is OK for Hawaiian teens to beat up a 14-year-old
"haole" boy from the mainland for the sins of someone who died long time
ago (meaning the overthrowers [of the Hawaiian Monarchy in 1893]), when he (the 14-year-old) NEVER WANTED TO
MOVE TO HAWAII IN THE FIRST PLACE? Remember, he is only 14 yrs old; he had
no choice to move.
3) Do you believe that all "haoles" should be beaten in retaliation against
all the disgraces the white colonizers have done? If yes, then would it be
OK for the "haoles" to go after every kanaka maoli for every beating a
"haole" suffered at the hands of a kanaka maoli? Wouldn't it be hypocrosy
and racism if you treat those two situations differently?
4)Would you support any legislation that will kick every "haole" out
of Hawaii?
5)You felt Joey Carter was excusing himself from white America's
oppression and power. Do you believe that everyone of European descent
is biologically programmed to dominate and exploit everyone else?
PART 2
On p.132, in the last paragraph, you state that all non-kanaka
maolis in Hawaii are "uninvited guests"
1)The majority of non-kanaka maolis are disconnected from their ancestors' respective
homelands. (This shouldn't be a surprise to you!) They grew up in Hawaii
and feel a spiritual connection to it because of that. ( Again, no
surprise to anyone with common sense!) Why should they feel like uninvited
guests?
2) You seem to believe that the kanaka maolis should have special rights
because their ancestors came first? Well, did the Nene goose, the
I'o and other native Hawaiian animals of a thousand years ago invite the
Polynesians from Tahiti and the Marquesas to come to the islands? How
would you fell if those animals called you an "uninvited guest", a
"colonizer" and a "haole" (remember, that word meant "foreigner") just
because of what your ancestors did long time ago?
3) Would support any legislation that will kick every non-kanaka maoli
out of Hawaii?
a) would that cause massive disobedience from non-kanaka maolis?
4)On page 192, you mentioned that your student organization has made
allies with the non-kanaka maoli students. Didn't your statements
prevent your student organiztion from gaining more allies?
PART 3
On page 91-92, it seemed like you believed that the kanaka maolis
should only help other kanaka maolis and not support any help for anyone
else in Hawaii.
1) If that is your attitude, then why should people of other ethnicities
help the kanaka maolis? You encourage a factionalist attitude among
those of your ethnicity, so why shouldn't other ethnic groups encourage a factionalist
attitude among themselves? Should the "haoles in power" at UH [the University of Hawaii] have that same exact factionalist attitude?
2) In the same paragraph, you seem to be against kanaka maolis being in
the "colonial state legislature"(that quote is my interpretation). Well,
who should be representing the mostly kanaka maoli districts in the
legislature (where the real power is, not OHA [the Office of Hawaiian Affairs]) for the time being?
3)Would you encourage the same factionalist attiude among the kanaka
maolis in public housing projects in Honolulu, which are now having
the "uplift the community" programs? Remember, those communities also have
large number of immigrants from Third World countries.
PART 4
You support free tuition for kanaka maolis. Again, I have questions.
1) Wouldn't that raise everyone else's tuition? Would your student cronies
protest against everyone else's tuitions being increased while the kanaka maoli get full-on tuition waivers?
2) Full-on tuition waivers for the kanaka maoli puts race, ethnicity and
ancestry before humanity and individuality. That is the true definition of
racism. Would you support full tuition waivers for ethnic Germans in
Germany? (remember, King Kamehameha I united the islands in the late 1700's;
Germany wasn't even united until 1870) Can't you feel sympathy for
them? Their country was occupied by foreign armies several times in the
1900's!
PART 5
You seem to think that every single person that criticizes you is a
"racist, anti-Hawaiian" if he or she's a non-kanaka maoli, and a "sell-out" if he or she is a kanaka maoli.
1)Did you know most people don't believe your accusations?
2)Do you think I should be scared of those verbal scare tactics that you
constantly yell out?
3)Can you please admit that your accusations of your critics as
racists or sellouts is just a way to scare people from crticizing you?
4) Do you think you can abuse our compassion and trick us the same way Pol
Pot and Idi Amin did? Both have led the oppressed people who were under
foreign occupation and used scare tactics against all opponents. How can
we be assured that you won't go in the same direction?
PART 6
Now that I am done questioning, if you want to call me a racist
for questioning you, I suggest that we take a lie detector test
together. It would also help if you ask any kanaka maoli that know me
personally if I am a "racist."
A public-school Hawaiian language instructor ( I know the school
where he teaches, but I won't mention where) said that, though coloniztion has hurt the kanaka maolis in many ways, he forgives former U.S. President William
McKinley and the 1893 overthrowers for the pono ole things they have
done. He said, "Only through forgiveness will the Hawaiian people move
forward."
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