1.) 4th of July in Kailua
This past weekend was the 4th of July weekend. In preparation for the holiday, the Kailua Chamber of Commerce placed a thousand mini-flags in a grassy area on Kailua Road.
Kailua has probably the highest concentration of European-Americans on Oahu. Not to say everyone there fits the profile, but it has a lot more than most communities in Hawaii.
So, therefore, displays of American patriotism wouldn't be surprising there.
However, it is still on an island that was once part of an independent nation of Hawaii, a nation that was annexed by the USA without the elected consent of the islands' residents.
Somebody took out all the American flags on the grassy area and replaced it with Hawaiian flags. The head of the Kailua Chamber of Commerce, Micheal Fry, retaliated by removing the Hawaiian flags. The American flags were reinstalled on the grassy area. Hawaiian flags were later added.
https://www.khon2.com/local-news/dozens-gathered-in-to-protest-4th-of-july-american-flag-display-along-kailua-road/
The Kailua Chamber of Commerce hoped that the flag display would inspire unity and draw people to Kailua for the holiday since the parade and fireworks show were canceled. Instead, the flags have been a source of controversy since they were first put up.
https://www.khon2.com/local-news/1000-american-flags-in-kailua-back-up-after-it-was-removed-vandalized/
UH Assistant Professor of Indigenous and Native Hawaiian Politics Jamaica Osorio Ph.D., said that the flag is a symbol of oppression.
“I do stand by the fact that there is no just place for the American flag,” she said. “Celebrating these kinds of symbols is tantamount to celebrating the mass murder and cultural genocide of millions of native people and the ongoing theft of land.”
To many Native Hawaiians, Osorio said that the American Independence Day is a day of mourning.
“The 4th of July also marks the day in 1894 when the (white men) who conspired with the U.S. to remove the queen and declare themselves the government in Hawaii.”
Osorio said the flag display is even more insensitive given the renewed uprising for black liberation.
My thoughts take on a more nuanced approach.
I don't automatically assume that people who put up 4th of July decorations are "Alt-Right", "racists", or insensitive to the indigenous peoples.
Just like I don't automatically assume that people who display a Japanese flag support the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Though I do think we do need to tone down the 4th of July celebrations in Hawaii.
I stopped going to the 4th of July celebrations a few years ago.
Yes, I do respect the spirit of declaring independence from a colonial empire, but I also view it hypocritical that a nation that celebrates the spirit of declaring independence from a colonial empire has itself turned into a colonial empire.
As I noted in previous blog posts, our education system has tended to brainwash our students into accepting the fact that Hawaii is a part of the USA.
I noted this issue on my blog post from 2018
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2018/05/personal-evolution-on-my-thoughts-on-us.html
With thousands of students brainwashed by our educational system into accepting that Hawaii is a part of the USA, I would advise being patient with those who celebrate the 4th of July.
Some activists assume that all they have is a hammer and therefore everything should be treated like a nail.
Some situations are more suitable for a screwdriver that smoothly put things in! I prefer to just state that Hawaii should become independent again, explain my reasons, and try to be patient as possible with those who express skepticism. I was once a skeptic and I know the hammer & nail approach wouldn't work.
2.) Affordable housing in Kailua
Being that Hawaii has a high cost of living, unemployment is increasing, and there's not enough shelter space for the homeless, you would assume that there should be enthusiasm for more affordable housing to be built.
But too many people have a NIMBY (not in my backyard) attitude to anything that even makes a slight change to their community. They always predict more traffic, whine about the "change in the character of the community", yadda, yadda, yadda.
This happens in nearly community in Hawaii, it just so happens that the latest controversy over this is happening in Kailua.
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/07/04/hawaii-news/kailua-neighborhood-board-opposes-affordable-housing-plan/
and“The character of our town will dramatically change,” board member Levani Lipton said just before the vote.Fellow board member Gary Weller added, “I’m very distraught that we’re letting Kailua become like the other side of the island.”
Kelly Aylward, the board member who abstained, said the project is an opportunity to provide 73 families with an affordable place to live in a community that lacks affordable housing. However, she said issues with the plan led her to withhold her vote.Much of the criticism toward the project is that it isn’t appropriate for the nearly 1-acre site occupied by seven single-family residences and zoned for homes up to two stories.Some opponents have raised concerns about negative impacts from the project on traffic, views, property values, shadows, sunlight reflections, tradewinds and migratory birds.
I say BUILD THOSE affordable units!
The hell with the complaints about "character of the community", "property values", traffics, views and more!
People need to accept that they can't expect their neighborhood to be 100% the same as it was when they first moved in!
And more importantly, I detect elitism, snobbery, and class-based bigotry anytime anyone objects to affordable housing units nearby.
It's like they don't want to live by people of a lower economic status.
That's what this crap about “I’m very distraught that we’re letting Kailua become like the other side of the island.” sounds like as if having a few more low-income residents will turn their community into Kalihi or Waianae.
Suck it up haters! Learn to accept some changes in your community, especially when it has benefits to the greater society!
2.) The closing of Saint John the Baptist Catholic School (SJBCS) in Kalihi
This is a small Catholic school in Kalihi that is largely hidden from public view.
It is so hidden from public view that I didn't even know its existence while I was growing up in Kalihi. Though to be fair, I grew up on the opposite side of Kalihi.
SJBCS is hidden somewhere behind Fern Elementary School (a public school) and going there requires going through some backstreets.
That school had elementary & middle school grade levels. No high school, most students will continue on to other private schools for their high school education.
I have been on the campus for 2 days as a substitute teacher with Kelly Services back in 2017.
It has a very tiny campus. So tiny that the class I was subbing for was the only 8th grade class on campus. There was no cafeteria, the students eat lunch in their classrooms. The campus consisted of a U-shaped building for classrooms, an outside court for basketball/volleyball, and a church. That's about it.
The funniest memory there was when the students were supposed to be doing their classwork, one student kept looking at me, even when I moved around the class. I'm like "why is he looking at me". Then I knew why! He was drawing a picture of me.
Like other small private schools, this one has been dealing with declining enrollment and rising expenses. This trend has been magnified by the coronavirus crisis which caused increasing unemployment.
The school has shut down at the end of last month. A sad ending for something that meant a lot for the students and alumni of the school.
learn more at
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/06/16/kalihis-saint-john-baptist-school-close-after-years/
3.) Gyms reopened.
Last month, gyms in Hawaii were allowed to reopen with social distancing guidelines.
The Nuuanu YMCA is where I go for gym.
My apartment is too small for fitness equipment or even basic weights, so I had to go for 3 months without lifting weights during the coronavirus crisis.
Due to the social distancing guidelines, members have to make reservations to use the facility. The reservation is for one 90 minute block per day.
90 minutes isn't enough time to do what I usually do at the YMCA,
I usually start with a 30-minute session on the elliptical cross trainer, then about an hour or 2 on the weights, then another 30-minute session on the elliptical cross-trainer. Then back to the locker room for a shower and changing clothes.
But the locker room & showers are still closed.
And even then, there's only so much I can do in 90 minutes.
Yes, I understand that 90 minutes is better than nothing.
But I'll definitely appreciate the longer sessions when they become available.
4.) Public libraries and limited service
Hawaii State Public Library System does offer limited services at this time.
You can request a book and reserve a time to pick it up.
At the Hawaii State Library, there's a staff member sitting on a table outside to give you the book you reserved. Learn more at https://www.librarieshawaii.org/2020/05/23/library-take-out/
People can also reserve time to use the computer in the library. There are only available for 60 minutes, and it is suggested they only be used for essentials (ie, writing resumes, job applications, checking emails, filing for government benefits, etc.)
From more information, check out https://www.librarieshawaii.org/2020/06/16/computer-time-at-the-library/
