Hawaii Government Demands Cartoon be Censored

American Thinker ^ | January 30, 2008 | Andrew Walden

[ECM]

A government department of the State of Hawaii is demanding the retraction of a political cartoon published Jan. 18 on the satirical web site http://www.zeroshibai.com/ The demands come in response to images and text ridiculing the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' Kau Inoa campaign as "Cow Inoa." Kau Inoa, Hawaiian for "place your name" is building a roll of Hawaiians to participate in a Hawaiian tribal government. Haunani Apoliona, writing in her capacity as "Chairperson, Board of Trustees, Office of Hawaiian Affairs" (OHA) in a Jan. 24 statement demands: "The cartoon should be pulled and the secret author publicly identified."

Apoliona -- and OHA -- apparently believe the First Amendment has been repealed and government now has the right to censor local media. The saving grace is OHA's inability to enforce this demand. OHA is a Department of the State of Hawaii created by a 1978 amendment to the State Constitution and funded by legislative appropriation. It has an elected Board of Trustees not subject to appointment by the state's Republican Governor or Democrat-controlled Legislature.

Apoliona's response to the cartoon indicates she is speaking in her capacity as OHA Chair, not as a private citizen. In addition to signing the letter with her government title, and sending it to Hawaii Reporter from her OHA email address, Apoliona's statements indicating she is speaking as a representative of her department include:

*"OHA and all those raised in Hawaii don't find it funny at all."

*"The Office of Hawaiian Affairs will continue to fight to better the conditions of Native Hawaiians."

Disturbingly, Kua also indicates that OHA believes it can determine what is and is not a "legitimate" news organization.

[This Just In]

You stated that you spent a lot of time in Hawaii between ‘05-’07. I am assuming you did not live there full time during this period.

As a Hawaiian born and raised on the island of O’ahu, would like address a couple of issues.

Not all of the public schools are “horrible”, though I would say that most of them are. Your description and the so called history behind “Kill Haole Day” is new to me. It is true that in a lot of the public schools, the students generally know about “Kill Haole Day”, which is the last day of the school year. I attended public school throughout, and although the student body is aware of this designated day, I’ve rarely seen an incident involving violence. This day is not “celebrated”, but merely recognized. Furthermore, if a student is caught attacking another student, they are disciplined. Your description is inaccurate, although the sentiment expressed is fair.

“But I did not feel like I was in America...”

I should hope not. Tourist don’t spent thousands of dollars to visit Hawaii only to feel as though they travelled over an ocean to visit their back yard. There is free enterprise, a democratic government in place, paved streets, military bases, and law enforcement, churches of diverse beliefs, etc.

Unfortunately, the liberal government has ruined the state. They, along with Hawaiian activists have helped to keep the native population uneducated. It is a tragedy.

My grandparents and great grandparents, let alone my parents, did not share the same sentiments these activists espouse.

Hawaii is not the paradise it used to be, which is why I cannot bring myself to live there any longer. It is too painful to watch it dissolve further into the socialist/communist sinkhole it has become.

[tom h]

You sound like a nice, well-reasoned fellow, and I was not meaning to insult your Hawaiian heritage with my tome. And clearly you did not take it that way. Thank you. For years now I have been confidently able to assume that Freepers, by and large, regardless of race/creed/color, are reasonable.

But the "Kill Haole" day is real. It even has its own link at Wikipedia. And here are some quotes about it from online media:

"Kill Haole Day is an annual ritual in Hawaiian public schools in which any haoles, or Caucasians, that dare to come to school are beat up by non-haole locals. Traditionally, this day is observed on the last day of classes. ... Public school administrators claim that the traditional beat downs given out on the last day of classes have subsided in recent years, but that could be window dressing as teachers have been known to literally walk away from racial violence."

"Growing up in Hawai'i, being part Hawaiian myself, I never had to face any of the prejudices some locals show toward haoles. I never even realized that haoles were picked on in school. I always thought "Kill Haole Day" was an exaggeration. I went to Kamehameha, so we never saw that, because we were all part Hawaiian. But, while here in Florida, I met a haole guy who went to high school in Hawai'i while his dad was stationed at Barber's Point, and he said he used to get beat up all the time."

"At my elementary school, the last day of school was called "Kill Haole Day." It was when kids of the non-white races, who were in the majority, would pick on white kids -- call them names, throw rotten eggs at them, beat them up."

"A hate crimes bill could open up the state to lawsuits because of the practice known as "kill haole day" in Hawaii public schools, a Republican state representative says. Rep. Jim Rath (R, Kona) questioned advocates of the bill (Senate Bill 605, SD1) about a provision that would allow lawsuits for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or harassment based on race and other factors. Rath suggested that "kill haole day" is a long-standing tradition in some schools and unless the state is able to completely eliminate "kill haole day," it would open the state up to liability."

[This Just In]

I took no offence by your post, although I wanted to address details you had mentioned which may very well be misconstrued.

Incidentally, the definition of ‘haole’ is, in general, foreigner. Obviously, it can be used in a derogatory manner.

You stated Kill Haole is ‘celebrated’. Not so. And I must express strong disagreement to the term, “annual ritual...”, which was stated in one of the quotes. Furthermore, if you’ll notice the hyperbole; “...in which any haoles, or Caucasians, that dare to come to school are beat up by non-haole locals.” Any? These examples are anecdotal, and as I have mentioned previously, I only witnessed one or two occasions while growing up where a haole was assaulted. What is important to note is that I attended “country” schools. Any individual out there that’s ever lived in Hawaii will understand what I mean when I say, “country”. These are schools whose student body consist of mainly non-white individuals, and thus increases the incidents of racial conflict/violence between white and non-white students. One would naturally assume that with all that is being said, I would surely have witnessed far more incidents of violence, and yet I have not.

Another factor that needs to be considered is what school these individuals attended. If you attended a public school which was located in a wealthy neighborhood, the chances of racial violence is far less likely.

tom h, you said, “’Kill Haole’day is real” I did not deny that it is real. I wanted to point out the misinformation that was expressed in your post.

I must mentioned that I do not question any individuals experiences in these incidents, and I know that although I had the great fortune of not having to witness many assaults, I know they occur. But personal experience doesn't automatically mean that your encounter or opinion represents a complete and well rounded view.

For the record, censoring the cartoon is asinine. And besides, it’s very funny.

TJI