Jul 23
Posted by jere in Letters | No Comments
YES, I AM CONCERNED ABOUT SECESSION, BUT MORE CONCERNED ABOUT RACIAL
DISCRIMINATION
The July 17 Star-Bulletin editorial on the new appointments to the Hawaii Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights correctly mentions that I am concerned that the Akaka Bill may lead to attempts by a “Re-organized” Hawaiian Government to secede from the United States. Yes, I am deeply concerned, as are many others, that the State of Hawaii could be torn apart. This is why:
This testimony was submitted to the United States Committee on Indian Affairs regarding S.310.
Aloha, and thank you for keeping the record open for further testimony on the Akaka Bill (S.310).
Much of the difficulty with this bill and its supporters is that they are starting from false premises. In his opening statement, Senator Dorgan wrote:
“It allows for the Native Hawaiian people to once again have an opportunity at self-governance and self-determination.”
Contrary to Senator Dorgan’s implication, the Native Hawaiian people have both self-governance and self-determination this very moment, only not as a separate racial group. Also contrary to Senator Dorgan’s implication, there has never been any race-based government in the entire history of the Hawaiian islands, including before western contact in 1778, and in fact, the Hawaiian Kingdom’s first constitution explicitly declared all people “of one blood”, and maintained itself without reference to race.
Jim wrote:
In all the heated debate about the Akaka bill, I think the
real issue has slipped by completely unnoticed. Where in our
Constitution, our laws or our traditions does it give the federal
government the right to confiscate nearly half of a sovereign state?
And what entitles it to do so without giving the owners (us) just
compensation for the billions of dollars we will be losing in land
values and lost revenues? I am quite certain that a similar seizure of
land by the federal government in the other 49 states would be
considered plain old-fashioned stealing and would lead to uncivil
disturbances and general unrest. Maybe Hawaii should take notice.
Other important considerations have been ignored. If we are
a democracy, why doesn’t the federal government hold hearings in Hawaii
to explain how this legislation would benefit Hawaii’s U.S. citizens and
residents?
If congress demonstrated that the Akaka bill would result in great good
fortune, it should be pleased to hold a referendum, which is certain get
the approval of our voters. This is what it did in 1959 and the
economic and social benefits were enormous. If the Akaka bill holds the
similar promise, the approval of the voters could again reach 90%.
And, if the Akaka bill is pono, the people of Hawaii will cherish the
memory of Senator Dan Akaka forever and ever. The end.
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Native Hawaiian “birthright” suspect
Jan 16
Posted by jere in Commentary, Letters | 6 Comments
In a January 12th response to a January 9th article I wrote for the Honolulu Advertiser, the leaders of OHA claimed, “Native Hawaiians are the indigenous people of Hawai’i, and have the right to thrive in their ancient homeland.” I find this sentiment frightening in its consequences, contrary to the ideas of freedom, and based on false premises.
What we today call “Native Hawaiians” did not spring from the mountains of Oahu, or the beaches of Maui. As exemplified by the quintessential example of Native Hawaiian culture, the Hokule’a (now voyaging to Micronesia), Hawaiians were voyagers, explorers, and colonists from other islands in the Pacific and beyond. Their “ancient homeland” can be arbitrarily placed anywhere between Hawaii and the path they took from Africa, depending on which date one chooses. As with every people who have ever travelled to Hawaii, “Native Hawaiians” came from somewhere else – we are all immigrants here, separated only by the amount of time since our ancestor’s original arrival. To assert some special, distinct status, based on a single drop of blood before an arbitrary point in time, over all of ones’ peers who have lived together side by side for over 200 years is simply abject racism.
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