More on the V-Tech Murders
1) Pat Buchanan, again, is using a tragedy committed by an immigrant to promote his anti-immigration agenda.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/PatrickJBuchanan/2007/05/01/the_dark_side_of_diversity
In that article, he lists all the violent incidents committed by immigrants, then concludes that we should stop immigration.
This is idiotic!
For one thing, majority of the school shootings in the U.S. were committed by Caucasians BORN IN THE U.S.
The Oklahoma federal building was blown up by a Caucasian born in the U.S. Though he wasn't even from Oklahoma, he was from Buffalo, New York.
I got nothing against Caucasians born in the U.S. Many are wonderful people. But Pat Buchanan act as if they never committed any terrorism, as if only immigrants are capable of terrorism.
Did Buchanan bother to find out about immigrants saving lives?
A lot of the doctors & nurses in the U.S. are immigrants, many coming from India and the Philippines. A lot of native-born Americans would've been dead if it wasn't for those immigrant doctors & nurses.
Maybe some of those who were shot BUT NOT KILLED in the V-Tech incident were saved by immigrant paramedics, surgeons, nurses, doctors, etc.
And what if Buchanan got a heart attack, and was saved by an immigrant using CPR on him?
A lot of the soldiers risking their lives for America in the Middle East are immigrants! Why doesn't Buchanan not care about that?
Many cops, firefighters, lifeguards, ambulance drivers, etc are immigrants.
However, the Pat Buchanans and the Debbie Schlussel DONT CARE ABOUT VICTIMS OF TERRORISM!
They just wait for another terrorist incident committed by non-whites! Once it happens, they use that incident to promote the hatred of the non-white!
2) While the Gun Control Crowd love to focus on the V-Tech killings, they CHOOSE TO IGNORE an incident at Appalachian Law School.
http://www.uwire.com/content/topops012402002.html
Last week, a disgruntled student at Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, Va., went on a shooting spree. Peter Odighizuwa tragically shot six people, killing Dean Anthony Sutin, Associate Professor Thomas Blackwell, and student Angela Dales.
Most news reports pointed out that the situation ended when several students "confronted," "tackled," or "intervened." However, Tracy Bridges, Ted Besen, Todd Ross, and Mikael Gross did not merely "confront" Odighizuwa. Bridges and Gross separately ran to their cars to get their handguns once the shooting began. Bridges approached Odighizuwa with Besen's and Ross' aid. Gross was close behind. According to Bridges, "I aimed my gun at him, and Peter tossed his gun down." Bridges, Besen, and Gross had previously received police or military training.
In other words, it took armed civilians to stop an armed lunatic. That's reality! It may not be "politically correct" reality, but IT IS REALITY!
The answer to armed lunatics isn't disarming everyone else. The answer to armed lunatics is armed civilians.
Anyways, the article also cites liberal media bias against guns,
Unfortunately, the media did not point out that the "intervening" students were armed. A Lexis-Nexis search revealed 88 stories on the topic, of which only two mentioned that either Bridges or Gross were armed. A Westnews search exposed worse results. It revealed 112 stories, of which only two mentioned the armed students.
With media bias like this, it is no wonder that people fail to see the benefits of gun ownership. This was a very public shooting with a lot of media coverage. Even here, reporters rarely presented the positive side of firearms. Instead, they preferred to default to the politically correct story portraying guns as something only the bad guy uses.
Most US media outlets are run by anti-gun liberals. That is where many foreign media outlets get their US news from. This is why many foreign media folks view the US as a "trigger happy country". They don't even bother to investigate the other side of the story!
3) Many V-Tech students and professors cited Cho Seung-Hui's writings in a creative writing class as a sign that he was prone to violence.
Some see this as a sign that anyone who writes a violent story should be involuntary committed to a mental health institution.
This is over-reaction. The world is violent, so many of us write stories, songs, poems, etc with violence. But in most cases, we don't even bother to commit the violent acts.
If anyone who writes a violent story for a creative writing class gets involuntarily sent to therapy, that won't stop any violence. All it would do is that violence-prone people just won't write anything violent. They'll just keep it all inside.
Then when they finally lash out violently, everyone would say they didn't see it coming.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Virginia Tech murders
Virginia Tech murders
Like any other tragedy, the mass murder at Virginia Tech 2 weeks ago (4/16/07) has been exploited by the fanatics on the far right and far left!
1) Being that the killer, Cho Seung-hui, is a Korean immigrant, many right-wing fanatics have been using this opportunity to promote hatred of immigrants in general.
Salon's Andrew Leonard has discussed right-wing fanatic Debbie Schlussel's bigotry
http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2007/04/17/vtech_korea/print.html
"Pakis" is a racial term for Pakistanis. So Schlussel's 1st reaction to a mass murder was to blame a mostly Muslim ethnic group.
Nevermind that most school shootings in the U.S. were caused by Caucasians non-Muslims!
Schlussel doesn't care about victims of terrorism, she only uses terrorism to promote her bigotry.
And again, most school shootings in the U.S. were caused by Caucasians BORN IN THE U.S.
But does Schlussel comment on their white-ness? Nope! She justs uses terrorist incidents caused by non-whites to promote her bigotry!
By the way, the website which once had Schlussel's rants now has this to say
http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2007/04/who_is_the_asia.html
In other words, she can't even back up what she's saying, so she's covering up!
Debbie Schlussel is nothing more than a Jewish-female version of Don Imus.
Her columns are nothing but extremely shallow, extremley immature, extremely bigoted commentary on issues that require mature analysis.
Her website is www.debbieschlussel.com
Just don't expect to read mature analysis of serious topics there!
2) The Gun Control Crowd has also pimped the Virginia Tech tragedy to pomote a ban on guns.
Even worse, many foreign media outlines has bitched about the "American gun culture", showing their ignorance about America, guns, and crime.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_article.php?article_id=61090
Valid reason for wanting one? How about ---- protecting yourself from a large, violent person trying to beat the shit out of you?
What am I supposed to do in that situation - Sing "Give Peace A Chance"?
So is the freedom of speech and the freedom of religion. China allows almost no civil liberties and is one of the worst human right's violators. Why should we listen to them on this issue.
Nonsense! There's a federally mandated 5 day waiting period between the day you buy a gun and the day you finally pick up the gun from the store!
More nonsense from that article
And here is Neil Cavuto's response to all that nonsense!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,267961,00.html
Pablo's note: The nerve of El Universal to make my ancestor's home look idiotic! Blame American guns for crime in Mexico? It's the Mexicans that are shooting the guns in Mexcio! El Universal should spend more time focusing on why those Mexicans want to use guns to terrorize others!
Back to Cavuto's comments
And is Europe as safe as it claims?
Scotland bans gun, but has a higher crime rate than the U.S.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/blackstock6.html
(skipped paragraphs)
3) How do you stop a lunatic who already started shooting?
Sing "Give Peace A Chance"?
OR shoot back?
Shoot Back!
Yet, some at the University of Hawaii (my alma mater) don't want the campus to have armed guards?
Let's live in reality! People with bad intentions Exist! Guns already been invented, so it's too late to stop bad people from getting them!
So, if someone starts a random shooting at school, someone needs to fire back! By the time police arrive, it might be too late!
By the way, how would police stop an insane person shooting randomly at people? It aint by negotiation, it's by shooting at the shooter!
So, if police ain't around, security aint around, why not have regular citizens fire back?
After all, not every with huge muscles use them to bully others. In fact, some use them to protect the weaker ones!
Same is true with those with martial arts skills!
So do people really defend themselves with guns?
Check this out and find out
http://www.2asisters.org/armed_women.htm
By the way, despite all this talk of "American gun culture" and "Virginia's execssive leniency on guns", the Virginia Tech University already banned guns from it's campus BEFORE the shooting incident.
Though it had armed guards, obviously Cho Seung-hui started shooting when the security wasn't around!
Like any other tragedy, the mass murder at Virginia Tech 2 weeks ago (4/16/07) has been exploited by the fanatics on the far right and far left!
1) Being that the killer, Cho Seung-hui, is a Korean immigrant, many right-wing fanatics have been using this opportunity to promote hatred of immigrants in general.
Salon's Andrew Leonard has discussed right-wing fanatic Debbie Schlussel's bigotry
http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2007/04/17/vtech_korea/print.html
Conservative commentator Debbie Schlussel's first reaction to the news that an "Asian" was responsible for the Virginia Tech massacre was to declare that a "Paki" was likely responsible. After being confronted with irrefutable evidence of her nearly criminal idiocy, she amended her analysis: "Even if it does not turn out that the shooter is Muslim, this is a demonstration to Muslim jihadists all over that it is extremely easy to shoot and kill multiple American college students."
"Pakis" is a racial term for Pakistanis. So Schlussel's 1st reaction to a mass murder was to blame a mostly Muslim ethnic group.
Nevermind that most school shootings in the U.S. were caused by Caucasians non-Muslims!
Another fact provided by the Marmot's Hole: According to one report, Korea has more students studying abroad in the U.S. than any other country: 100,000. Debbie Schlussel thinks that the foreign residency of Cho Seung-hui is "yet another reason to stop letting in so many foreign students." But 99.999 percent of those 100,000 Koreans somehow managed not to engage in mass killing sprees
Schlussel doesn't care about victims of terrorism, she only uses terrorism to promote her bigotry.
And again, most school shootings in the U.S. were caused by Caucasians BORN IN THE U.S.
But does Schlussel comment on their white-ness? Nope! She justs uses terrorist incidents caused by non-whites to promote her bigotry!
By the way, the website which once had Schlussel's rants now has this to say
http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2007/04/who_is_the_asia.html
I've removed this entry, mostly because I am spending too much time monitoring the slimy comments from the Nazi-infested Media Matters for America cretins.Posted by Debbie at April 16, 2007 02:57 PM
In other words, she can't even back up what she's saying, so she's covering up!
Debbie Schlussel is nothing more than a Jewish-female version of Don Imus.
Her columns are nothing but extremely shallow, extremley immature, extremely bigoted commentary on issues that require mature analysis.
Her website is www.debbieschlussel.com
Just don't expect to read mature analysis of serious topics there!
2) The Gun Control Crowd has also pimped the Virginia Tech tragedy to pomote a ban on guns.
Even worse, many foreign media outlines has bitched about the "American gun culture", showing their ignorance about America, guns, and crime.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_article.php?article_id=61090
In Sweden, civilians can acquire firearm permits only if they have a hunting license or are members of a shooting club and have no criminal record. In Italy, people must have a valid reason for wanting one.
Valid reason for wanting one? How about ---- protecting yourself from a large, violent person trying to beat the shit out of you?
What am I supposed to do in that situation - Sing "Give Peace A Chance"?
Firearms are forbidden for private Chinese citizens.
So is the freedom of speech and the freedom of religion. China allows almost no civil liberties and is one of the worst human right's violators. Why should we listen to them on this issue.
If the guns are harder to get a hold of, fewer people will do it," said Michael Dent, a 65-year-old construction worker in London. "You can't walk up to a supermarket or shop and buy a gun like in the States."
Nonsense! There's a federally mandated 5 day waiting period between the day you buy a gun and the day you finally pick up the gun from the store!
More nonsense from that article
"Only the names change -- And the numbers," read a headline in the Times of London. "Why, we ask, do Americans continue to tolerate gun laws and a culture that seems to condemn thousands of innocents to death every year, when presumably, tougher restrictions, such as those in force in European countries, could at least reduce the number?"
The French daily Le Monde said the regularity of mass shootings across the Atlantic was a blotch on America's image.
"It would be unjust and especially false to reduce the United States to the image created, in a recurrent way, from the bursts of murderous fury that some isolated individuals succumb to. But acts like this are rare elsewhere, and tend to often disfigure the 'American dream,'" it said.
The French daily Le Monde said the regularity of mass shootings across the Atlantic was a blotch on America's image.
"It would be unjust and especially false to reduce the United States to the image created, in a recurrent way, from the bursts of murderous fury that some isolated individuals succumb to. But acts like this are rare elsewhere, and tend to often disfigure the 'American dream,'" it said.
And here is Neil Cavuto's response to all that nonsense!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,267961,00.html
Nothing heals like healing words… unless they're not entirely healing.
I call them condolences with a catch.
They are the ones that express sincere regret over what happened at Virginia Tech, but proceed to become a lecture, if not a hypocritical one.
Like this cover on The Economist: Pity for our losses at Virginia Tech… but an added pity that we Americans are clueless how to prevent them.
Germany's Der Spiegel relaying its sympathies to those affected by this American massacre, but quickly adding whether the United States, "Should be looking at why these kinds of horrible crimes happen so often."
I'd have asked the same of Der Spiegel, whose editors neglected to mention Germay's own brush with violence a few months ago, when an 18-year-old guy carrying three guns and pipe bombs opened fire at a high school in the German town of Emsdetten. And not a word about an April 2002 incident involving a 19-year-old man who killed 16 people at a high school in the German city of Erfurt.
Mexico's El Universal had the nerve to equate the Virginia Tech killings with its own increase in violence, saying easily available American guns are the reason.
Pablo's note: The nerve of El Universal to make my ancestor's home look idiotic! Blame American guns for crime in Mexico? It's the Mexicans that are shooting the guns in Mexcio! El Universal should spend more time focusing on why those Mexicans want to use guns to terrorize others!
Back to Cavuto's comments
Then French President Jacques Chirac expressing "horror and consternation" at this uniquely American tragedy, but not a peep about those violent French student protests or Muslim uprisings. Curious.
All I'm saying is you offer someone your sympathy, save them your lecture.
This is not the time. Yours is not the issue. Their pain is.
We try not to speak ill of the dead in this country, at least for a few days.
---
All I ask is you try not to make a soapbox out of them in your country, at least for one day.
And is Europe as safe as it claims?
Scotland bans gun, but has a higher crime rate than the U.S.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/blackstock6.html
A United Nations report has labeled Scotland the most violent country in the developed world, with people three times more likely to be assaulted than in America. England and Wales recorded the second highest number of violent assaults while Northern Ireland recorded the fewest.
(skipped paragraphs)
3 per cent of Scots had been victims of assault compared with 1.2 per cent in America and just 0.1 per cent in Japan, 0.2 per cent in Italy and 0.8 per cent in Austria. In England and Wales the figure was 2.8 per cent.
3) How do you stop a lunatic who already started shooting?
Sing "Give Peace A Chance"?
OR shoot back?
Shoot Back!
Yet, some at the University of Hawaii (my alma mater) don't want the campus to have armed guards?
Let's live in reality! People with bad intentions Exist! Guns already been invented, so it's too late to stop bad people from getting them!
So, if someone starts a random shooting at school, someone needs to fire back! By the time police arrive, it might be too late!
By the way, how would police stop an insane person shooting randomly at people? It aint by negotiation, it's by shooting at the shooter!
So, if police ain't around, security aint around, why not have regular citizens fire back?
After all, not every with huge muscles use them to bully others. In fact, some use them to protect the weaker ones!
Same is true with those with martial arts skills!
So do people really defend themselves with guns?
Check this out and find out
http://www.2asisters.org/armed_women.htm
By the way, despite all this talk of "American gun culture" and "Virginia's execssive leniency on guns", the Virginia Tech University already banned guns from it's campus BEFORE the shooting incident.
Though it had armed guards, obviously Cho Seung-hui started shooting when the security wasn't around!
Friday, April 13, 2007
Who are you calling a Ho?
Radio talk-show host Don Imus was having a conversation on his show about the recent NCAA women's college basketball championship game between Tennessee & Rutgers. ( Tennessee won that game).
Imus was comparing those 2 teams, their image, etc. Then Imus called the mostly African-American Rutgers team "nappy-headed hos".
That's where the controversy started!
Imus offended African-Americans and women by that comment!
I don't really know much about Don Imus, though it has been said that Imus had a long history of shallow, bigoted remarks.
1) Imus needs to grow up already! Imus is 67 years old! That means he should've been more mature than that before I was even born!
A mature adult shouldn't be making insulting remarks about how someone looks!
Even if Imus was just "joking", he's supposed to more mature than that!
2) Many have pointed-out that Don Imus "nappy-headed hos" comment is very similar to how many rappers describe women in their song.
Here's Snoop Dogg's comments on that issue
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1556803/20070410/id_0.jhtml
First of all, we ain't no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC going hard on black girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them [expletive] say we in the same league with them. . . . [Rappers] are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We're talking about ho's that's in the 'hood that ain't doing [expletive], that's trying to get a [expletive] for his money. These are two separate things.
I grew up as part of the hip-hop generation. When I was a teenager, gangsta rappers like Snoop Dogg, 2pac, Biggie, Westside Connection, EAZY-E, etc were very popular, and I was listening to their CD's
Also, booty music by 2 Live Crew, Uncle Luke, etc were popular at school dances and I was a big fan of their music.
It was obvious that those rappers weren't calling their moms, grandmas or daughters "bitches" or "hos". However, they bragged about having sex with "bitches and hos". They made songs like "Me & My Bitch" So they were basically referring to young women as "bitches".
It was also obvious that they were just joking around when they calling young women "bitches". However, that doesn't make it OK!
3) I also remembered during my freshman year, my friend was joking about a male classmate "hanging out with the bitches", and I thought that was funny. I then made similar jokes, writing in classmate yearbooks about "hanging out with the b******s"
Obviously, I wasn't going to refer to my female relatives or my favorite female teachers as "bitches"!
It wasn't like I believed women had "inferior status". I NEVER believed that men should rule over women. It was just my generation's version of using the words "chicks" or "babes", just with a more "gangsta" edge to it. However, it doesn't erase the fact that the use of the word "b*****" was totally innappropriate!
I can't be going along with jokes that irritate innocent people. (This show I matured a lot faster than Don Imus)
I admit I'm taking a big risk admitting all this on the Internet, since not everyone who knew me back then (and definitely no-one who 1st met me afterwards) knew I was joking with my friends like that!
So if anyone heard me joking around in that manner, and was offended, I sincerely apologize.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
What do you mean "it wasn't a hate crime"?
A lot of people in Hawaii is so in denial when it comes to racism in their islands!
I know, Hawaii has more inter-racial marriages than any other state in the US, but that doesn't erase the fact that racism exists in Hawaii.
Hawaii hasn't had any large racial riots like LA, Detroit, Miami and other mainland areas.
But that doesn't mean Hawaii doesn't have a racial conflict
Recently, a car driven by a white guy accidentally hit a car driven by a Native Hawaiian guy.The Native Hawaiian guy (Gerald D. Paakaula) was so angered about it, he confronted the white guy (Andrew Drussell), called him a "fucking haole". Gerald Paakaula and his son attacked Andrew and his wife, nearly killing them. All this happened in front of Druseell's 3-year old son!
http://honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070224/NEWS01/702240334/1001/NEWS
1) Some say racism wasn't involved! Give me a break!
Some say it has more to do with a car accident than racism.
All this reminds me of what happened in March 3, 1991 in Los Angeles.An African-American man named Rodney King was driving drunk in the freeways. The cops stopped him, and King argued with the cops. Then the cops (all white guys) beat up Rodney King, with harsh strikes to the head!
This incident was caught on videotape! This incident was seen as a sign that America was a racist country, a sign that European-Americans hate African-Americans so much that they would brutally attack them any chance they got!
(Some of the white cops involved were known to make racist comments about African-Americans and other non-whites)
The 4 white cops were found Not Guilty on April 29,1992 This caused a lot of anger which turned into a major riot in LA!
Yet, some European-Americans living in or near LA still denied that LA has racial tensions!
Notice the similarities with the recent Hawaii incident. A car out of control! The person driving that car being severely beaten up by those with racist attitudes! People living in that area denying the incident was a sign that their area has serious racial tensions!
2) The word haole is controversial in Hawaii.
Haole is Hawaiian for foreigner. The 1st foreigners to come to Hawaii where of European ancestry. So the word haole became commonly used to refer to white people! For some reason, it's almost never used to refer to Asians, non-Hawaiian Pacific Islanders or African-Americans!
Some white people in Hawaii would occassionally refer to themselves as "haoles" So that word isn't always racist!
However, if you're a white person being attacked by non-whites calling you a "fucking haole", obviously you would consider that racist!
It's just like how the word "Asian" isn't a racist word by itself. But sometimes, a non-Asian attacking an Asian would say "you fucking Asian" Now that would be racist!
Reverend Alapaki Kim said the following
http://www.starbulletin.com/2007/02/26/editorial/letters.html
The racial epithet in Hawaiian for a white person is "Elelu Kea," which is referenced to cockroach nymphs that are white or cockroaches that have molted their exuviae and therefore appear white and dirty until the new cuticula hardens. Obviously, due to the distastefulness of this epithet, one never hears it.
Reverend Kim, get real!
If the word "elelu kea" was on Paakaula's mind when he attacked Drussell, of course he would've called him a "fucking elelu kea" before attacking him!
The only reason why we rarely hear the word "elelu kea" being used is that not many people know that word! If everyone in Hawaii knew it, obviously we'd hear it more often!
3) Another lame comment in Star Bulletin's letters section, this time by Kristi Sue-Ako
http://www.starbulletin.com/2007/03/01/editorial/letters.html
If the recent assault incident at Waikele was a hate crime, then the accused would have a lot more people to beat up.
A racist isn't going to attack everyone of the hated race! They'll attack when the opportunity is right.
I never met Gerald Paakaula, but his publicized behavior follows a pattern common among racists!
They might some anger/distrust/etc towards a certain race but hold it in! That is until they snap.
Chances are pretty high that Paakaula didn't like white people but never acted on it, until Drussell's car hit his car.Then Paakaula's mind was thinking "that's it, I'm teaching those f'in haoles a lesson, I'm gonna send a message to all haoles in Hawaii" Then he attacked!
4) Lee Cataluna (an editorialist who is part-Hawaiian, part-Portuguese) considers any discussion about Native Hawaiians attacking Caucasians as "racist" against Native Hawaiians!
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Mar/04/ln/FP703040364.html
Obviously, not all Native Hawaiians hate all Caucasians. In fact, a lot of Native Hawaiians have Caucasian friends and even Caucasian spouses!
However, some Native Hawaiians still feel hostility towards white people. They are angry that the white man took their ancestor's land, and tried to eliminate their culture. They hear their grandparent's tell stories of being brutalized by white teachers for speaking Hawaiian! They hear about how the missionaries discouraging Native Hawaiian cultural rituals! And they feel that even today, some Euro-Americans still don't show their culture respect!
To say that there are no anti-white Hawaiian racists is to be dishonest! It is well known that white kids in areas like Waianae, Nanakuli, Waimanalo, etc get bullied. Not every Native Hawaiian in those areas bully Caucasians, but more than enough to show a pattern.
We might as well admit that are some conflicts going on!
5) Even USA Today is discussing the incident involving Paakaula beating up Drussell, as well as other racial issues in Hawaii.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-06-hawaii-cover_N.htm?csp=34
Somewhere in that article mentions one of the least reported issues of Hawaii!
Hawaii's unemployment rate was 2% in December, the USA's lowest. The hot economy is attracting poorly educated immigrants who can have problems fitting in. Groups of young Micronesians from Western Pacific islands such as Chuk sometimes fight with other groups in low-income Honolulu neighborhoods, police reports say.
The Micronesians only came to Hawaii in large numbers within the last 15 years. Many of them are still in culture shock when they come here! And many local people are in culture shock when they notice a lot of Micronesians move into their communities! Unfortunately, some local people of Hawaii don't respect Micronesians, and stereotype them as "uneducated", "ignorant", "uncivilized" and "criminals".
I remember hearing from this one Marshallese guy saying that he was bullied by Samoans and that him & his friends got into fights with Chuukese and Asians. He was also upset that people say there is "too many Micronesians". However, that Marshallese guy has made fun of other cultures as well, so he is no angel.
The USA Today article failed to mention that even Asian immigrants have trouble fitting in. Some Filipino and Vietnamese immigrants have formed gangs to defend themselves against Polynesian gangs.
I also remember this one Chinese guy, born to immigrant parents and growing up in urban Honolulu, saying that he "hated Polynesians", and mentioned that he was slapped and robbed by a Samoan gangsta, and threatened at work by a Native Hawaiian guy. He was also upset that many Hawaiians and Samoans make fun of how Chinese language is spoken!
So the racial conflict in Hawaii isn't just Hawaiians vs Caucasians!
6) Therefore, the people of Hawaii need to stop being in denial!
We got to acknowledge that not everyone wants to get along in Hawaii.
Yes, Hawaii has been more successful in integrating many cultures, has a high percentage of inter-racial marriages, and never had the deadly racial riots that other places in the world has.
But can we admit we're not always perfect?
A lot of people in Hawaii is so in denial when it comes to racism in their islands!
I know, Hawaii has more inter-racial marriages than any other state in the US, but that doesn't erase the fact that racism exists in Hawaii.
Hawaii hasn't had any large racial riots like LA, Detroit, Miami and other mainland areas.
But that doesn't mean Hawaii doesn't have a racial conflict
Recently, a car driven by a white guy accidentally hit a car driven by a Native Hawaiian guy.The Native Hawaiian guy (Gerald D. Paakaula) was so angered about it, he confronted the white guy (Andrew Drussell), called him a "fucking haole". Gerald Paakaula and his son attacked Andrew and his wife, nearly killing them. All this happened in front of Druseell's 3-year old son!
http://honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070224/NEWS01/702240334/1001/NEWS
1) Some say racism wasn't involved! Give me a break!
Some say it has more to do with a car accident than racism.
All this reminds me of what happened in March 3, 1991 in Los Angeles.An African-American man named Rodney King was driving drunk in the freeways. The cops stopped him, and King argued with the cops. Then the cops (all white guys) beat up Rodney King, with harsh strikes to the head!
This incident was caught on videotape! This incident was seen as a sign that America was a racist country, a sign that European-Americans hate African-Americans so much that they would brutally attack them any chance they got!
(Some of the white cops involved were known to make racist comments about African-Americans and other non-whites)
The 4 white cops were found Not Guilty on April 29,1992 This caused a lot of anger which turned into a major riot in LA!
Yet, some European-Americans living in or near LA still denied that LA has racial tensions!
Notice the similarities with the recent Hawaii incident. A car out of control! The person driving that car being severely beaten up by those with racist attitudes! People living in that area denying the incident was a sign that their area has serious racial tensions!
2) The word haole is controversial in Hawaii.
Haole is Hawaiian for foreigner. The 1st foreigners to come to Hawaii where of European ancestry. So the word haole became commonly used to refer to white people! For some reason, it's almost never used to refer to Asians, non-Hawaiian Pacific Islanders or African-Americans!
Some white people in Hawaii would occassionally refer to themselves as "haoles" So that word isn't always racist!
However, if you're a white person being attacked by non-whites calling you a "fucking haole", obviously you would consider that racist!
It's just like how the word "Asian" isn't a racist word by itself. But sometimes, a non-Asian attacking an Asian would say "you fucking Asian" Now that would be racist!
Reverend Alapaki Kim said the following
http://www.starbulletin.com/2007/02/26/editorial/letters.html
The racial epithet in Hawaiian for a white person is "Elelu Kea," which is referenced to cockroach nymphs that are white or cockroaches that have molted their exuviae and therefore appear white and dirty until the new cuticula hardens. Obviously, due to the distastefulness of this epithet, one never hears it.
Reverend Kim, get real!
If the word "elelu kea" was on Paakaula's mind when he attacked Drussell, of course he would've called him a "fucking elelu kea" before attacking him!
The only reason why we rarely hear the word "elelu kea" being used is that not many people know that word! If everyone in Hawaii knew it, obviously we'd hear it more often!
3) Another lame comment in Star Bulletin's letters section, this time by Kristi Sue-Ako
http://www.starbulletin.com/2007/03/01/editorial/letters.html
If the recent assault incident at Waikele was a hate crime, then the accused would have a lot more people to beat up.
A racist isn't going to attack everyone of the hated race! They'll attack when the opportunity is right.
I never met Gerald Paakaula, but his publicized behavior follows a pattern common among racists!
They might some anger/distrust/etc towards a certain race but hold it in! That is until they snap.
Chances are pretty high that Paakaula didn't like white people but never acted on it, until Drussell's car hit his car.Then Paakaula's mind was thinking "that's it, I'm teaching those f'in haoles a lesson, I'm gonna send a message to all haoles in Hawaii" Then he attacked!
4) Lee Cataluna (an editorialist who is part-Hawaiian, part-Portuguese) considers any discussion about Native Hawaiians attacking Caucasians as "racist" against Native Hawaiians!
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Mar/04/ln/FP703040364.html
Obviously, not all Native Hawaiians hate all Caucasians. In fact, a lot of Native Hawaiians have Caucasian friends and even Caucasian spouses!
However, some Native Hawaiians still feel hostility towards white people. They are angry that the white man took their ancestor's land, and tried to eliminate their culture. They hear their grandparent's tell stories of being brutalized by white teachers for speaking Hawaiian! They hear about how the missionaries discouraging Native Hawaiian cultural rituals! And they feel that even today, some Euro-Americans still don't show their culture respect!
To say that there are no anti-white Hawaiian racists is to be dishonest! It is well known that white kids in areas like Waianae, Nanakuli, Waimanalo, etc get bullied. Not every Native Hawaiian in those areas bully Caucasians, but more than enough to show a pattern.
We might as well admit that are some conflicts going on!
5) Even USA Today is discussing the incident involving Paakaula beating up Drussell, as well as other racial issues in Hawaii.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-06-hawaii-cover_N.htm?csp=34
Somewhere in that article mentions one of the least reported issues of Hawaii!
Hawaii's unemployment rate was 2% in December, the USA's lowest. The hot economy is attracting poorly educated immigrants who can have problems fitting in. Groups of young Micronesians from Western Pacific islands such as Chuk sometimes fight with other groups in low-income Honolulu neighborhoods, police reports say.
The Micronesians only came to Hawaii in large numbers within the last 15 years. Many of them are still in culture shock when they come here! And many local people are in culture shock when they notice a lot of Micronesians move into their communities! Unfortunately, some local people of Hawaii don't respect Micronesians, and stereotype them as "uneducated", "ignorant", "uncivilized" and "criminals".
I remember hearing from this one Marshallese guy saying that he was bullied by Samoans and that him & his friends got into fights with Chuukese and Asians. He was also upset that people say there is "too many Micronesians". However, that Marshallese guy has made fun of other cultures as well, so he is no angel.
The USA Today article failed to mention that even Asian immigrants have trouble fitting in. Some Filipino and Vietnamese immigrants have formed gangs to defend themselves against Polynesian gangs.
I also remember this one Chinese guy, born to immigrant parents and growing up in urban Honolulu, saying that he "hated Polynesians", and mentioned that he was slapped and robbed by a Samoan gangsta, and threatened at work by a Native Hawaiian guy. He was also upset that many Hawaiians and Samoans make fun of how Chinese language is spoken!
So the racial conflict in Hawaii isn't just Hawaiians vs Caucasians!
6) Therefore, the people of Hawaii need to stop being in denial!
We got to acknowledge that not everyone wants to get along in Hawaii.
Yes, Hawaii has been more successful in integrating many cultures, has a high percentage of inter-racial marriages, and never had the deadly racial riots that other places in the world has.
But can we admit we're not always perfect?
Friday, March 09, 2007
The Life & Death of the Notorious BIG
10 years ago today, the rapper Notorious BIG, (aka Biggie, aka Biggie Smalls) was murdered. He was leaving party in LA when he was shot in a drive-by shooting. The killer has never been caught by police!
Biggie's death came 6 months after the death of another rapper, 2pac (aka Tupac Shakur). 2pac and Biggie didn't get along, and 2pac made insulting Biggie. Some thought Biggie was responsible for 2pac's death, and that Biggie was killed in retaliation!
(for my commentary on 2pac, go to http://pablothemadtiger.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html)
1) I still remember the first time I heard of the Notorious BIG. It was in the summer of 1994, between my 7th & 8th grade years. I first saw the video for "Juicy"The song was about Biggie's dream of being a rapper, living in public housing, his trouble with the law, and how he was trying to live a more positive and successful life! The video illustrated that even better than the song itself!
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/notoriousbig/juicy.html
That song was part of Biggie's 1st album "Ready to Die". It also had another song "Everyday Struggles", another song about how hard it was for someone in the ghetto to survive, and that getting in trouble with the law isn't glamorous at all!
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/notoriousbig/everydaystruggle.html
I also remembered the song "Big Poppa" which was his 1st mainstream hit! It was a more happy song, about living a life of luxury and being a stud. Every guy my age loved that song because we wanted to live that Big Poppa lifestyle!
http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Notorious-B-I-G/Big-Poppa.html
2) That song also had a beat that was popular with West Coast rappers at the time. Though Biggie was from the East Coast, and most of his songs used East Coast beats, he used a West Coast beat for "Big Poppa" because 1) West Coast rappers were the most popular that time, 2) he wanted to have fans in both the East & West coast!
However, Biggie had problems with 2pac (who was born in New York, but moved to California as a teenager) and it was seen as a "East Coast vs West Coast" war!
However, 2pac did make songs with East Coast rappers like Naughty By Nature, Method Man, Redman and the Outlawz.And Biggie made songs with West Coast rapper Too Short (the Word is Filled ..), and made a solo hit "Going Back to Cali" (another song with a West Coast beat), which he stated he loved to visit California!
3) While Biggie had some serious songs, he also had some funny stuff as well. Just go to the following website and you'll find some interesting stuff!
http://www.azlyrics.com/n/notorious.html
4) "Ready to Die" was Biggie's 1st album. "Life After Death" came out 2 weeks after he was killed.
The other 2 albums listed, "Born Again" & "Duets: The Final Chapter" had mostly stuff that Biggie made, but wasn't planned for release. However, the fans wanted more stuff, so Bad Boy Records released them.
Most of the stuff wasn't as great as his 1st 2 albums!You could also find more stuff with Biggie on Puff Daddy's (aka Puffy, now known as Diddy) album "No Way Out"!
Puffy and Biggie were good friends, so they made a lot of songs together! "No Way Out" came out a few months after Biggie's death, and you'll find some great stuff there!
5) I remembered when I 1st found out Biggie was dead.
It was early in the morning, and I just got up. I was still tired!
I could hear my mom's radio (usually tuned to KSSK, which mostly played slow songs).
The hosts Perry & Price were talking about 2pac & Biggie's feud, and I was wondering why were they talking about it, since that radio station didn't play rap music! I was wondering if Biggie was being questioned by police about it!
Then about a 1/2 hour later( when I was finally wide awake!) , the TV news mentioned Biggie was killed!
Then it finally hit me! That was why Perry & Price were talking about it!
10 years ago today, the rapper Notorious BIG, (aka Biggie, aka Biggie Smalls) was murdered. He was leaving party in LA when he was shot in a drive-by shooting. The killer has never been caught by police!
Biggie's death came 6 months after the death of another rapper, 2pac (aka Tupac Shakur). 2pac and Biggie didn't get along, and 2pac made insulting Biggie. Some thought Biggie was responsible for 2pac's death, and that Biggie was killed in retaliation!
(for my commentary on 2pac, go to http://pablothemadtiger.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html)
1) I still remember the first time I heard of the Notorious BIG. It was in the summer of 1994, between my 7th & 8th grade years. I first saw the video for "Juicy"The song was about Biggie's dream of being a rapper, living in public housing, his trouble with the law, and how he was trying to live a more positive and successful life! The video illustrated that even better than the song itself!
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/notoriousbig/juicy.html
That song was part of Biggie's 1st album "Ready to Die". It also had another song "Everyday Struggles", another song about how hard it was for someone in the ghetto to survive, and that getting in trouble with the law isn't glamorous at all!
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/notoriousbig/everydaystruggle.html
I also remembered the song "Big Poppa" which was his 1st mainstream hit! It was a more happy song, about living a life of luxury and being a stud. Every guy my age loved that song because we wanted to live that Big Poppa lifestyle!
http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Notorious-B-I-G/Big-Poppa.html
2) That song also had a beat that was popular with West Coast rappers at the time. Though Biggie was from the East Coast, and most of his songs used East Coast beats, he used a West Coast beat for "Big Poppa" because 1) West Coast rappers were the most popular that time, 2) he wanted to have fans in both the East & West coast!
However, Biggie had problems with 2pac (who was born in New York, but moved to California as a teenager) and it was seen as a "East Coast vs West Coast" war!
However, 2pac did make songs with East Coast rappers like Naughty By Nature, Method Man, Redman and the Outlawz.And Biggie made songs with West Coast rapper Too Short (the Word is Filled ..), and made a solo hit "Going Back to Cali" (another song with a West Coast beat), which he stated he loved to visit California!
3) While Biggie had some serious songs, he also had some funny stuff as well. Just go to the following website and you'll find some interesting stuff!
http://www.azlyrics.com/n/notorious.html
4) "Ready to Die" was Biggie's 1st album. "Life After Death" came out 2 weeks after he was killed.
The other 2 albums listed, "Born Again" & "Duets: The Final Chapter" had mostly stuff that Biggie made, but wasn't planned for release. However, the fans wanted more stuff, so Bad Boy Records released them.
Most of the stuff wasn't as great as his 1st 2 albums!You could also find more stuff with Biggie on Puff Daddy's (aka Puffy, now known as Diddy) album "No Way Out"!
Puffy and Biggie were good friends, so they made a lot of songs together! "No Way Out" came out a few months after Biggie's death, and you'll find some great stuff there!
5) I remembered when I 1st found out Biggie was dead.
It was early in the morning, and I just got up. I was still tired!
I could hear my mom's radio (usually tuned to KSSK, which mostly played slow songs).
The hosts Perry & Price were talking about 2pac & Biggie's feud, and I was wondering why were they talking about it, since that radio station didn't play rap music! I was wondering if Biggie was being questioned by police about it!
Then about a 1/2 hour later( when I was finally wide awake!) , the TV news mentioned Biggie was killed!
Then it finally hit me! That was why Perry & Price were talking about it!
Monday, February 19, 2007
In memory of Danielle DeMatta
I have known Danielle DeMatta from this one pre-school that I occassionally work at as a substitute teacher.
She was a part-time aide, working in the afternoons, with the youngest of pre-schoolers.
I have only known her for 2 months, and already she has gone. She was only 22 years old.
She was a very nice person and she loved working with the kids.
Based on the few conversations I had with her, she was a Kamehameha grad, lived in Hawaii Kai, and loved music by 98 Degrees and NSYNC!
--
The circumstances surrounding Danielle's death was shocking, and caught me & many of her co-workers by surprise.For more info on it, go to http://starbulletin.com/2007/02/15/news/briefs.html, (you'll need to scroll down to find it) or http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Feb/15/ln/FP702150372.html
--
Condolences to her family & friends, and may Danielle DeMatta rest in peace in heaven!
I have known Danielle DeMatta from this one pre-school that I occassionally work at as a substitute teacher.
She was a part-time aide, working in the afternoons, with the youngest of pre-schoolers.
I have only known her for 2 months, and already she has gone. She was only 22 years old.
She was a very nice person and she loved working with the kids.
Based on the few conversations I had with her, she was a Kamehameha grad, lived in Hawaii Kai, and loved music by 98 Degrees and NSYNC!
--
The circumstances surrounding Danielle's death was shocking, and caught me & many of her co-workers by surprise.For more info on it, go to http://starbulletin.com/2007/02/15/news/briefs.html, (you'll need to scroll down to find it) or http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Feb/15/ln/FP702150372.html
--
Condolences to her family & friends, and may Danielle DeMatta rest in peace in heaven!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Minimum Wage
Congress wants to raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25
That just sounds so great - those working for minimum wage will have an easier time paying for neccessities right?
Not really.
Look at it this way, employers will have to pay the workers more. But the money to pay for that is NOT going to come out of nowhere! Prices are going to be raised in order to pay the workers more!
So, with the minimum wage increasing from $5.15 to $7.25, that means everything that once cost $5.15 will now cost $7.25
And that won't even erase the struggles of those on minimum wage!
In some cases, employees might even lay off workers or cut their hours! Why? Because they can't afford to pay the higher wages!
Congress wants to raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25
That just sounds so great - those working for minimum wage will have an easier time paying for neccessities right?
Not really.
Look at it this way, employers will have to pay the workers more. But the money to pay for that is NOT going to come out of nowhere! Prices are going to be raised in order to pay the workers more!
So, with the minimum wage increasing from $5.15 to $7.25, that means everything that once cost $5.15 will now cost $7.25
And that won't even erase the struggles of those on minimum wage!
In some cases, employees might even lay off workers or cut their hours! Why? Because they can't afford to pay the higher wages!
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