Not all sun, sand, and surf

The title of this post has two meanings. First of all, my days in Hawai'i haven't all been these glorious days spent hiking, jumping off cliffs and beaching - I have also had to help my grandpa paint his house. We just finished priming and (thankfully) are now ready to do the actual painting.

The second meaning - and by far the much more important meaning - concerns itself with the quality of life for Pacific Islanders on O'ahu (namely Native Hawai'ians). Earlier during my stay in O'ahu I was giving Josh a brief history of Hawai'i from what I remembered of the discussions and lessons from some of my classes: Hawai'i being settled by sailors from Tahiti, Cook "discovering" what was then known as the Sandwich Islands, United States businessmen pressing for the annexation of Hawai'i, and the overthrow of Queen Liliuokilani's monarchy. Then Josh asked my something like "what kind of effects did these things have?". I wasn't sure what to say other than "look around us". I have given this some thought and here is what I think:

One of the more stark consequences has been the displacement of Native Hawai'ian. This is especially evident while driving along the reservation-like Waianae Coast where the beaches are lined with tents that act as homes for those who can't afford the ridiculously high cost of living. Sure the location can't be beat, but these "homes" don't even have electricity or running water. They must use the one or two public restrooms located at the beach and there is no escape from the dry, sweltering heat except for those lucky enough to find a location in the shade. Thankfully the Waianae Coast is on the dry side of the island because those tents offer only minimal protection from stormy weather. Drug use, especially crystal meth, alcoholism and violence are extremely common - both common side effects of poverty.

(and I only use them as the example for purposes of example, this is true for many people worldwide) were living fine before Cook and would continue to do fine if he hadn't "discovered" the islands. In fact, Is it fair to blame Western explores, settlers, and empires? Not entirely but they must receive the blunt of the blame. It is hard for me to see people forced to the edges of their own land by nations who wrongfully claim the land to be theirs. These empires claim to be helping these so called "backwards" or "primitive" nations by Christianizing, civilizing , and commercializing them which is complete shit. Imperialism hurts more than it helps which I think is something that is hard to believe for a lot of people; many people think egocentrically (how can they live without cars, running water, the internet?). The truth is those amenities are not necessary because they have been fairing fine without them. It may seem like a struggle to us, but they are completely fine living how they have lived. In fact, Hawai'i was a thriving society until Western influence. Once contact with the Western world had been established, the population of Native Hawai'ians plummeted. Diseases were introduced, many were killed, and the resources were wasted.

would live on their rightful property instead of being forced out but a wealthier alien. would be It is hard to say what Hawai'i would be like today if it had never been colonized or had Western influence, but it is probably safe to say that problems would be intra-cultural or intra-societal and Hawai'ians would not be forced to the edge of their own nation by foreign greed. Hawai'ians would rule Hawai'i and Hawai'ians would make decisions for Hawai'ians.