Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 11, 1 November 2000 — Racism [ARTICLE]

Racism

Terms like "aloha for all" and "aloha spirit" by Ken Conklin ( Advertiser , Sept. 9) are pure "shibai" and exemplify the slick art of "spin doctoring." The reason that Conklin ean never be Hawaiian or Hawaiian at heart is because he has never suffered the pain, humiliation and rage of a people forced to become a part of a culture against their will. I ean remember my grandmother talking with other kupuna about the theft of their kingdom by "haoles." This is

ingrained in the psyche of Hawaiians and nothing or no one ean heal that pain, unless the perpetrators atone for their acts. The forming of OHA, the Apology Bill, the recent reconciliation efforts by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Akaka Bill began that process of atonement. Conklin's attempt to negate past crimes with the disingenuous use of feel-good phrases is like saying, "now that we've stolen all we could as racists, let's end racism." These terms are meaningless unless the genocide over the past 107 years stops. Should pseudo-constitutionalists TwigSmith, Rice, Goemans and Burgess succeed, the heralded "melting pot" will further exacerbate into a cauldron of hate and racial division, the likes of whieh this state will never recover from. Rod Ferreira Kamuela Dear Mr. Ota and other chair members: First of all, Mr. Ota, you didn't and don't deserve the rude tantrums of some Hawaiians. Not all of us Hawaiians are like that. Some of us work for a living. How do we keep those people out of office? We need to return the pride back into being Hawaiian, and getting rid of people like Mililani Trask, is a step in the

right direction. You are an honorable man who deserves our respect for if anything, just having to deal with rude and obnoxious people like Mililani Trask and her welfare Hawaiians. Mueh Alohas. J.C. Pahi Via the lnternet