White clouds drift in, obscure the
expanse of blue, turn gray, then black, temperature drops, thunder
rumbles, lightning flashes above mountain ranges hundreds of
miles distant, dark fingers of rain soak sand and cinders, quench the
desert's thirst. Dust settles. Birds sing. Thunder rumbles, departs.
I'm still off-island, enjoying a very
different landscape and fresh creative pursuits, while keeping a
finger on the pulse of Kauai, the Islands.
I'll occasionally be sharing guest
posts written by some of my Kauai friends, such as this piece by “Mongo,”
which touches on the touchy issues of race, culture and rapid socioeconomic change while offering one of those oft-demanded and elusive “solutions”
to the many challenges that confront us:
I love hapa children. Everywhere you
look, you see beautiful mixtures in all kinds of combinations. Not to
say that some won't grow up to be sociopaths, but when they're kids,
it's all good. And whether it's by in vitro fertilization or plain
ol' fornicating between the races, I say we have at it.
Back in the good old days, before indoor
plumbing, people would be dragged through the streets, shot and hung
for the miscegenation that thousands of us practice on Kauai every day. Though now days, they would
only do it in select parts of Poipu or Princeville...Only joking,
you folks, no get excited...I know you only discriminate against the
poor and the middle class, not other races... Only joking. I keed, I keed.
What is going to happen on Kauai? I
know some of you find it hard to believe, not having quite crossed
the drawbridge, but those of us born and raised are going through sticker
shock as we watch the island change and it is causing some
resentment.
What is my solution? Interclass
breeding. Exogamy. The newcomers have to start marrying the yardmen and house
cleaners. Nothing says welcome to Kauai like having your grand
child's baby luau at your beachfront home in Hanalei! Not to mention all the benefits of instant family
on Kauai. And the extended ohana, which by extension becomes your extended family.
Ho, aunty, can stay over?
Ho, aunty, can stay over?
Couldn't find your last blog on Coco Palms. But I wonder if local people know about the Waters Fund. See the links below.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2007/02/19/story9.html?page=2
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2007/03/19/story8.html
Housing costs on Kauai have always been high. The perceived "evil" Big-Ag plantations helped many of their workers to buy homes. That era is gone.
ReplyDeleteHousing cost can go down....in weeks. All our loving Council has to do is, with a STROKE of a pen, allow more density. Allow more units on zoned and Ag land, cheez, the "AG" in Wailua/Kapaa/Kilauea, ain't real Ag anyway. Let the small farmers have a choice, farm or let them have their Ag parcels have greater density....perhaps, put a "sale cap" of say $200K per raw land unit if you are allowed greater density. This alone would add a few hundred units.
As far as being a Haole goes, if you are white and your family has been here for generations, you are a Haole....have a kid with a local and your kid's a local, your family is local...but you still be one Haole.
Mongo is hilarious! Please post more! This person Can make a point without the name calling, shrill and strident animosity, or downright nastiness. More, more, please! At least weekly!
ReplyDelete"Born and raised" is not an accomplishment. Especially when some punk 18 year old starts yelling at a visitor saying he was born and raised. Really? I remember when your kook dad moved here in like, '95. He was basically invisible for 10 years, and now your a heavy local?
ReplyDeleteBorn and raised is so much more about your responsibility, not your right. I was "born and raised" but my haole dad sure wasn't... nor was my beautiful mom. We should be way more concerned about what we are doing with the time spent on the island, then how much time we have spent.
Reminds me of a stand up comic I heard a while back who said the way to solve the world's problems was through sex. Lots of it, everybody should be doin' it with everybody till everyone is all the same color.
ReplyDeleteExcellent and spot on comment @ 9:42 AM
So well said 9:42.
ReplyDeleteMongo sad phrase "born and raised" causing heartburn. Mongo not claim it is accomplishment, more like condition. Mongo's point: Kauai subject to forces of market and capitalism (and right to travel guaranteed by Constitution) and skyrocketing home prices forcing Mongo's family and friends to move or work several jobs to make ends meet. Mongo just pawn in game of life.
ReplyDelete..right, people who are the same color never fight have their other differences. Religion, for one. People in Ireland (same color, last I checked) have been killing each other for about 500 years over that one. So you better make everyone has the same religion - or outlaw religion altogether - while you're at it. And then there's the ever-challenging class\economic differences - better make sure everyone gets the same amount of money too...That's been tried a few times too...
ReplyDeleteMongo watch "In the Name of the Father". Make Mongo sad about Ireland. Mongo not consider religious fanatics. Mongo believe relationship with God personal and not anyone else's business.
ReplyDeleteI was born and raised in Laguna Beach. I was priced out of owning a house there myself before I even began my first profession. I can't remember any resentment and that might be because I don't also remember a single person, let alone a constant drumbeat, saying I had some sort of birthright to live there. Instead, I was expected and prepared, by my parents, to forge my own unique and independent path. I believe that a couple decades on the Bay Area Coast and a couple decades on Kauai has been far better than Laguna.
ReplyDeleteAs for the first poster here. Someone else tried that expose six months ago. Being a real estate investor and losing your shirt in 2006-7 just puts you in the company of hundreds of thousands of other investors at the time.
Pete Antonson
Thank you. Excellent and spot on comment @ 9:42 AM. This is a blog site so the author is free to post anything she wants and it is good of her to allow discourse over her topics of choice. Sometimes the tone of this page, while sometimes educating and enlightening, can really go over the edge. Locals hating on haoles does absolutely nothing to help the cause of those who have lived here a long time. In fact, it will only increase the gap between those new residents you seem to hold in contempt. When it comes time to "compromise" or work "together", how far do you think this attitude is going to go in creating an environment where both parties are represented? It is impossible to stop progress - sad to say. So how best to be at the table when future decisions are made? Yelling "you're not one of us!" is going to distance you from the process. Fighting through aloha will provide best results. Otherwise, druggy locals, crazy hatred taken out on newcomers,etc will just amp up the efforts to remove the source. Call them haoles or whatever you want, but it is still person to person in these big decisions. You become not a "local", but just some angry non participant. Pride in heritage is a great thing - thinking you are going to get entitlements in any way, shape, or form is unrealistic. Some of those haoles are black, Asian,etc - it seems ok to call whites out, but in reality, it is a form of bigotry. Poor taste.
ReplyDelete