Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 10, 1 October 2001 — Racial stereotypes [ARTICLE]

Racial stereotypes

Racial profiling and myths about the Hawaiian people have got to stop. Hawaiians are an educated and industrious people. Many myths are accepted as fact because they have been repeated over and over. Hawaiians are not accustomed to "tooting their own horn!" They know who they are and feel comfortable with their accomplishments. Hawaiians have been rudely taken advantage of in their own homeIand. The Hawaiian concept of aloha has been used and abused by many people. Hawaiians, as a people, have been expected to give while others take. The missionary dogma of needing to help the poor natives still exists. This is why when Hawaiians work hard and succeed everyone cries "unfair!" When Hawaiians do business the American way and are successful, they are criticized; and if they are too successful, they are indicted.

Media coverage is so slanted that we do not know whose ball is in whose court; moreover, the rules are made up and changed as the game continues. The propaganda has got to stop. Hawaiians are still being exploited. Change is only being forced upon Hawaiians and Hawaiian institutions. So mueh for aloha. Hawai'i is the homeland of the Hawaiians. We have a responsibility to protect our inheritance for the generations to follow. To do less is unacceptable. Carolyn Peters Wai'anae