Musings: Kapakahi Kine

Someone left this astute comment on a recent post that featured photographs of mostly white people blowing pu to protest global trade talks under way at a luxurious Kaanapali hotel:

Not that long ago, the protest would be about the resort in the background of that pu photo.

But now, thanks to the influence of the anti-GMO/anti-agriculture movement, tourism is the friend and farming is the enemy.

The latest offspring of the strange union between the anti-GMO/anti-ag/pro-tourism movement and some Hawaiian groups is Sunday's Aloha Aina Unity March. 

According to its Facebook page:

The Aloha ‘Āina Unity March is to express political views regarding issues that are impacting the management and use of land and natural resources in Hawaii. At the forefront of these issues are the construction of TMT on Mauna Kea, regulation of pesticide use on agricultural lands in rural communities throughout the state [never mind the studies showing urban areas have the highest pesticide levels] and mismanagement of agricultural lands across the State. 

By marching in Waikiki, the hub of the tourism industry, one goal we hope to achieve is to call attention to the fact that if our policy makers continue on this trend of over-development and exploitation of natural resources, Hawaii will undoubtedly lose its appeal as a picturesque tourist destination.

And maintaining and promoting Hawaii as “a picturesque tourist destination” is now compatible with the goals of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and the concept of aloha aina? When did that happen?

Another post exhorts:

The decision makers of this state have failed us. Let's organize unity among our lāhui and the various Hawaiian and environmental organizations in Hawai'i. Let's huli the system in 2016 and get aloha 'āina warriors in office. Pūpūkahi I Holomua!

Our long term goal is to build a pac with the various groups and endorse our own candidates next election. What we need to do is get our people in office.

Which people, exactly? Who do they have that's electable, or that didn't lose power in the Legislative shake up at the end of the last session?

But though they talk about politics and pacs, march organizers are careful to skirt the touchy issue of independence:

Steven Tayama: is there a reason why there is nothing about sovereignty on the flyer?


Aloha 'Āina Project: the march is about aloha aina unity


Steven Tayama: Thats great. Its not what I asked.



Aloha 'Āina Project: There are people on each side of the fence, we're just trying to unify people for aloha aina


Yeah, and don't keep bringing up all those pesky sticking points. 

In its story on how some opponents of the Thirty Meter Telescope are joining the protest, Civil Beat includes this quote from Lilikala Kameeleihiwa, University of Hawaii professor and director of the Hawaiian Studies Center:

“The land is our grandmother. Caring for the land, or malama aina, is “one of the basic tenets of Hawaiian philosophy and culture. If we don’t protect the land then we are not Hawaiian anymore. This is kind of a defining moment.”

So the expression of this defining moment is to march through Waikiki to warn the tourists that the Islands won't be such a great place for a vacay if a telescope goes up on Mauna Kea and the seed companies continue to operate?

Though flyers for the march play up the “protector” role, by marching through Waikiki the message is this: We're here to protect Hawaii for the tourists.

Yet it wasn't long ago that environmentalists were trying to protect Hawaii from a voracious visitor industry, which drives development and gentrification, gobbles up ag land and pushes locals out.

Ironically, one of the march supporters is the Sierra Club, which at one time was pestering the state to assess the impact of tourism on the Islands. But even though visitor numbers keep growing, and no assessment, much less mitigation, has been pursued, tourism is suddenly all-G and telescopes, even with an EIS, are all bad. 

Environmental groups now value tourism more highly than science and agriculture, both of which have a lighter footprint and provide advanced educational and employment opportunities that will never be achieved in the visitor industry.

Civil Beat doesn't even mention that this march is orchestrated by the anti-GMO movement, though it's clear from the list of sponsors that it's the dominant force. Yet the anti-GMO groups — Babes Against Biotech, Hawaii SEED, HAPA, SHAKA, Center for Food Safety — are so culturally tone deaf that they doctored a reviled stereotypical hapa-haole image for their organic cotton goody bag:

Is it just me, or has everything been turned on its head here?

A friend called yesterday, and noted that Kauai Councilman Gary Hooser used to be viewed as a progressive politician. He "got " progressive issues and was in a position, as Senate president [correction, majority leader], to advance them. But then he binged on ego, got derailed by the anti-GMO movement and lost credibility and influence.

So now Hawaii progressives are rudderless and deeply conflicted. Those out front claim they want to protect and promote agriculture, even as they work to destroy it. They claim they're aloha aina warriors even as they seek to protect a tourism industry that is environmentally destructive, totally unsustainable and deleterious to the Hawaiian culture.

They claim they're culturally sensitive even as they focus solely on a telescope and ignore homelessness, substance abuse, a skewed criminal justice system, a corrupt Office of Hawaiian Affairs, a dysfunctional Hawaiian Homelands system and all the other issues and structures that are bleeding Hawaiians pale.

But nevah mind all that. March organizers are preparing to bus in folks from Waianae and Nanakuli, just to make sure the event has a browner complexion than is otherwise likely.

You can also order a sign on line, to be assured you're delivering a pre-vetted and accepted message.

But be sure to "wear red." That way they know you're one of them.

Just don't be surprised, if and when the Waikiki tourists look up from their mai tais, beach towels and shopping bags, to hear them say, “So what's the problem? This is paradise.”