Monday, June 18, 2007
Mau Mauing Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Although their apologists are denying it, this was an transparent attempt to intimidate those whose views differ with the OHA, Kam School and Center for Hawaii Studies Party Line. As Ken Conklin describes the events at the Grassroot Institutes's office on June 8:
"On Friday June 8, 2007 a group of ethnic Hawaiian organizations and individuals staged a protest against the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii in front of the building where its office is located. The event had the outward appearance of a 1960s-era street demonstration by "little people" using guerilla street-theatre tactics (prayer and folk songs) to protest at the headquarters of a powerful corporation or government agency.
But in fact it was a form of intimidation by a group of extremely wealthy and powerful race-based institutions complaining that a small local think-tank dares to challenge their "right" to exercise racial exclusion and their demand to expand their already-existing racial supremacy by establishing a race-based government.
Some of the protesters entered the building where GRIH has its office, and distributed notices to all the other tenants in the building informing them of the reason for the protest. The notices also may have had the effect of disrupting the activities of those other tenants and perhaps causing them to suggest to building management that it might be wise to ask GRIH to move out for fear of similar incidents in the future. The people leading the protest have many long years of experience as environmental and anti-military protesters and as political strategists, so it would not be unreasonable to suppose that they intended to cause trouble with the neighbors. The protest leaders also have previous experience taking over and occupying administrative offices, including the President's Office at the University of Hawaii.
The immediate excuse for the "protest" was an e-mail that had been sent a couple weeks previously from attorney David Rosen to two friends, one of whom was GRIH chair Richard Rowland, asking whether Rowland was aware of any potential clients for a new lawsuit Rosen was planning against Kamehameha Schools' admissions policy. That e-mail was forwarded by Rowland to some of his friends, and found its way to a large number of Kamehameha alumni and Hawaiian activists who were angry and outraged that another lawsuit was apparently getting started. Kamehameha had just settled a similar lawsuit at the last possible moment while the Supreme Court Justices were considering whether to accept the lawsuit for a review of the 9th Circuit Court's 8-7 decision upholding the admissions policy. The "Hawaiian community" had breathed a sigh of relief that its racially exclusionary policies had survived the latest legal challenge, and now they were once again faced with the possibility of another challenge."
Ken Conklin also provides some emails and blog posts from organizer Ikaika Hussey stating the purpose of the demonstration. In one email Hussey makes a "demand" of Grassroot Institute to end its lawsuits against the Kamehameha Schools. Someone should inform Hussey that Hawaii is not yet a racist kingdom and that in a free society he has no right to issue such "demands."
Grassroot Institute president Dick Rowland issued the following statement:
"On Friday, June 8, Hawaii's own SS (Speech Suppression) Corps picketed the King Street building housing our office. It seems they have decided they are not comfortable with our calls for more public debate and discussion regarding discrimination for or against individuals based on the accident of race or ancestry instead of that earned and displayed through character or merit.
Apparently they want to shut us up. Never mind that Native Hawaiian entitlements issues are contentious in our U.S. courts, government, and press. They want to muzzle us. Further, they tap government money to fund their endeavors. The call for the gathering came from the University of Hawaii e-mail system. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, also a state agency, makes a habit of attacking us using government funds. They travel to Washington D.C. to lobby on your dime. The Governor does as well."
Dick Rowland also provides a link to a PDF file on the letter the "people of the sidewalk" circulated to the other tenants of the building that houses Grassroot's offices. As this ad hominem rant demonstrates, the "people of the sidewalk" have no interest in a civil debate or discussion on the issues of the Kam School policies or Hawaiian sovereignty in general. For if they did all they would have to do is invite a Grassroot representative to OHA's weekly TV dog and pony show. But, they won't. Civil debate is not what they're about.
As Ikaika Hussey himself describes his preferred manner of "discourse:"
"At about 11:30, a delegation of about 12 students and teachers went upstairs to speak with the Grassroot staff, and ask them to explain why they are attacking our rights. A student informs us that just as we were getting to their office floor, he saw someone quickly leave the office with a stack of boxes. By the time the delegation got to the office, it was completely vacated...Jon Osorio made the excellent point that we (the lahui Hawaii) move in the open, in the light of the day, without fear or shame, while the Grassroot types move in the shadows, as if they are ashamed and afraid of confrontation."
Actually it is Osorio and Hussey who are doing all they can to push "Grassroot types" into the shadows by their tactics of "confrontation." It is sad, but not surprising, to find university professors and grad students behaving in such an anti-intellectual way.
# posted by Grant Jones @ 3:58 PM 
