>it had never occurred to
> me that black people could be racist against white people
>in a country in which they were a minority.
When my family moved to Hawaii in 1961, only 10% of the population was
Caucasian, and most of those were sequestered on military bases. There were
only three Caucasian families in our plantation town. But who were they?
The #1 Boss, the #2 Boss, and the doctor. (The #3 Boss was married to a
drop-dead-gorgeous Philippina, so he was "different.") Houses went with
jobs in ascending distance from the plant and offices.... Etc.
Yes there was prejudice and discrimination against the white minority. It
was a colonial plantation culture of white bosses and dark workers - no
surprise. My brother and sister had to go to elite private schools (not my
parent's preference) because classes in the country schools were taught in
pidgin, and they did not understand pidgin until much later. My sister went
to the same school as Obama (obligatory Obama content). Of course, the
impression was that they were to snooty to go to the local school.... Etc.
Things have changed a lot. First, from my generation on, everyone started
marrying everyone, so there were a lot of hapa (half = mixed-race) children.
Second, half of the Western US States seem to have moved to Hawaii, so the
Caucasian population is now 40%, mostly not born nor acculturated there, and
Hawaii has become a suburb of California. But my mother-in-law still cares
and can tell you the ethnicity of everyone she knows, and a lot of the
people in her neighborhood she does not know. She can't complain too much,
however, since all of her children and grandchildren married Caucasians.
Aloha,
Michael Rowe, Haole
|