hiroindex

do you remember when zuckerburg bought hawaiian land in kauai? then filed lawsuits agasint families that lived their? that land BELONGS to the natives and its extremly harmful to the community.

at this very moment, hawaii is one of the most EXPENSIVE places to live on top of not having a liveable minimum wage ($10.10) this is why many children still live w/ their parents (+ having no space) in order to SURVIVE here, youd have to work full time for at least $15.50 (more links)

in this article it states that “The Living Wage Calculator from the MIT says that one adult in Honolulu needs to make $16.59 per hour for a living wage. If that is a couple with 2 children, each adult needs to make $17.70 per hour.”

everything is more EXPENSIVE; food, household appliances, clothing, etc bc everything is shipped there.

“the median price for a single family home in Hawaii was $885K. Condos are selling at a median of $454K.”

Tourism makes it impossible to keep up with the rising cost of living. It brings in revenue and with that, becomes the fake state’s priority. Tourism pushes native Hawaiians from their land and homes, puts locals at risk for covid19, directly harms the delicate environment and native species here, houseless folk (many whom are native Hawaiian) are being illegally swept to make room for tourists at beaches, and locals are being restricted and fined for using water on east Maui, all while hotels can use up all the resources no problem and our government approves a million dollar home construction for new part-time residents (when locals who have been here for generations are being thrown into poverty, barely staying afloat, losing businesses and even their homes). “Hawai’i has become the Blood Diamond of the Pacific. We are mined for our splendor, and our residents live the every day, complex consequences.” 

It’s absolutely VILE what is happening here. I hope yall know that Hawaiʻi was overthrown and occupied by the US military, and isn’t even legally a state! Hawaiʻi is not your vacation spot, so you better tell your family and friends to stay at home.

Here is a linktree by my friend with petitions to protect sacred, native Hawaiian land on Kauaʻi and Molokaʻi. Sign them.

Y’all gotta stop talking over us. Y’all gotta listen when we speak, y’all gotta boost our voices, y’all gotta stop brushing us off as insignificant because we are small in number. Stop trying to tell us what is and isn’t racism; y’all have not experienced racism a DAY in your life, you do not get to tell me if something is racist when I’m pushed aside for the color of my skin or the slant of my eyes. You don’t get to tell the Māori fans that the clones aren’t whitewashed, you don’t get to tell the black and Asian fans that Finn and Rose Tico weren’t shafted. And y’all don’t get to pretend that half of this crap doesn’t come from fandom racism, because y’all get mad every single fucking time there’s a non white character on screen.

And no. It is not all white Star Wars fans. You don’t need to remind me of that, I’m well aware and I’m not in the mood to hear “but not all white people!” You know what? It might not be all white people, but all POC are affected, so maybe rethink that argument if you were getting ready to type that into my replies. Not to mention, racism is embedded so deep within this fandom that if you are not using your platforms to spread the word, you are contributing. POC cannot be the only ones doing this. There aren’t enough of us, and you know why? Because every time y’all see a POC make valid points about fandom or in-show/in-movie racism, y’all ignore them and harass them out of the fandom. Y’all talk over then, tell them that they’re just being over dramatic, that no, they couldn’t possibly know what whitewashing is, because god forbid someone point out flaws in the media you’re interested in.

I don’t want to be the person sitting by getting accused of things that I wish would not be happening to anyone anywhere on this world. I care for other people. Because they are humans.

1. Research. This is the first one on the list and it’s really important because a lot of people forget it. Asking BIPOC invasive questions, demanding responses, things like “is this bad?”, all of that, toss it out the window. There are plenty of resources out there written by BIPOC who are freely giving up their time in order to educate others, and you should take advantage of those resources. Don’t demand energy from everyday BIPOC, it’s uncomfortable.

2. Keep an open mind and listen. Hear what we have to say instead of brushing it off as a “one off” thing. Realize that racism doesn’t just function as a separate entity, and that it’s engrained into society/how everything is perceived. Understanding how racism functions in society (and also knowing your role in the system) will automatically make you a better ally. When BIPOC are pointing out that something’s racist, listen to other BIPOC people, sit back and reflect on why it might be racist, stop ignoring it because it doesn’t directly affect you.

also, knowing your role means knowing that before anything, you need to listen to BIPOC voices before you speak. You need to know that your voice is not superior to BIPOC voices, and that most of the time, you will need to do the listening. More often than not, you will not be the one talking because it is not your time to talk. Step back when BIPOC are talking about racism, and use your privilege in order to boost our voices. 

3. Realize that all BIPOC are different. We have different opinions, different views, etc. etc. There will be instances where we disagree—that is normal because we are human beings, and white people need to stop using the “well, this person of color said xyz…”. Shit like “oh, my black friend says it’s ok to use the n-word”, or “oh, my Asian friend says it’s ok to pull my eyes back”? Throw that out the window too. It’s important to listen to singular voices, but it’s also important to realize that we will have differing opinions/views on a variety of topics.  

4. Unlearn your biases. This goes to the point above, but it’s big enough that it deserves its own separate thing. Most of us have biases, whether they’re unconscious or conscious, and in order to unlearn them, you need to acknowledge that you probably have some yourself even if you think you do not. Things like associating ethnic features with villainy, racial preferences (and yes, this actually does come from bias, which I might make a post about later because it is important), stereotypes, all of those come from bias. If you search up “examples of racial biases”, you can probably find lists to even check through, but you will also be confronted with them the more steps you actually take toward being a better ally. 

Another note about this, but if you feel attacked by my original post, then maybe it is a good time to check your biases and why you feel attacked by it. This also goes to the “not all white people” rhetoric; if the shoe fits, wear it, but you should know when something does or does not apply to you. 

5. Support BIPOC creators. And I don’t mean this like “follow a couple of BIPOC creators to fill your diversity quota and then never really think about that again”, I mean follow them, engage with their content, boost what they have to say, listen to their experiences, etc. etc. You need to go the full mile, especially if they are putting their knowledge out for free. That’s the bare minimum when it comes to supporting us, because we cannot do it alone. 

6. Challenge everyday racism and open up discussions. If your friends are being racist—especially when there are no BIPOC around to defend themselves, or if they are ganging up on one person—, you need to call them the fuck out. Don’t let it slide just because it’s your friends, don’t brush it under the rug just because “oh, it’s a one time thing and they’re not actually like that!” If they’re being racist, they have the capacity to continue to perpetuate that mindset and you need to call them out for it. There is a line between this and also white saviorsm (see point 2), so understanding the differences and when you should be talking is important.