This is my fifth posting since last week on the stand-off between "the Hawaiians" and Governor David Ige (here with kupuna Napua McShane Burke) about building the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea:
- A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR HAWAIIANS: A Star-Advertiser poll had recently indicated that 95% of Yes/No votes on this issue sided with "Yes, its time/overdue to begin construction." I suggested that the timing was ideal for a progressive "Hawaiian" leader to emerge with a solution that would benefit Hawaiians, all stakeholders, astronomers and the State of Hawaii. This modern-day King Kamehameha could thus unite all Hawaiians, but not only for themselves, but to include the entire State of Hawaii and scientific world. Protests tend to be selfish in objective to only help the griper. Why can't there be an explication to advance everyone?
- REFLECTIONS FROM PURGATORY: Now four days into the protest/protector activity on Mauna Kea, the Star Advertiser had a follow-up poll, showing that 96% of the state population indicated that Governor Ige was too lenient or doing just about right. When was the last time you got any kind of political matter so one-sided?
- PRINCE LOT HULA FESTIVAL: Forty-two years of the Prince Lot festival, and who knew that he was the last King Kamehameha, #5?
- UKULELE FESTIVAL, MOMOSAN AND MARCH OF THE PROTECTORS: Having been in the midst of this march in Waikiki, my thoughts were:
Frankly, I think it would be a heck of a lot more productive if they found a cause to promote something good instead of again preventing something from happening. After going around the world a few times, I'm distressed that while amazing progress is surging in parts of the globe, Hawaii is in this self-imposed rut.
So here we are, eleven days into this affair, and the Mauna Kea protectors have made definite progress, solidifying their intent to totally stop construction. While those 95%/96% support for TMT polls seem extraordinarily high, previous surveys have generally indicated that more than three-quarters of the state likewise feel the same. A little more than a year ago Mason-Dixon Polling & Research indicated that support for TMT among Native Hawaiians stood at 70%.
So why is the State and County stymied in this legally approved project? Thus far, $450 million of the $1.4 billion budget have already been spent. If TMT is killed, this just adds to the death of the Superferry, geothermal development on the Big Island and wind farms on Molokai. How did this ever happen, but the Honolulu Rail Transit now will most probably be completed, although the termination of this earlier effort by Councilwoman Rene Mansho in 1992 means that Hawaii residents will this time pay for most of it.
Regarding TMT, if it never begins construction, that will mean a slow spiral to obscurity for what today is the primary space view site in the Northern Hemisphere. Again, the continued vaporization of "good" jobs for the next generation.
The protestors are now getting the support of prominent politicians like Bernie Sanders and actors like Duane The Rock Johnson. Which led me to speculate on potential candidates for King Kamehameha the sixth. The Rock has been announced to play the role of King Kamehameha I, and his presence yesterday no doubt was a publicity stunt for him. He had earlier, of course, been panned by Hawaiian leaders for this honor, mostly for being Samoan and not Native Hawaiian. Heck, he went to McKinley High School, like me. How much more local can you get?
To quote from Healani Sonoda-Pale, a spokesperson for Ka Lahui Hawaii Political Action Committee:
I am an Indigenous Hawaiian who has Samoan ancestry. I don’t get these things confused. The Rock is NOT a descendant of Hāloa. Only Hawaiians, such as Kamehameha, trace our genealogy back to Hāloa. The Rock is not Hawaiian, he has no kuleana (entitlement and responsibility) to our stories.
So who is Haloa? A Hawaiian mythological figure who was born of Hawaiian gods, and is the ancestor of the Hawaiian people. Frankly, I miss the relevancy.
In any case, could Duane The Rock Johnson serve a role in forming a partnership to build TMT with the majority of Native Hawaiians? Sure he can. He might need to step back about becoming Kamehameha I on the screen, but thus gain more valuable respect as King Kamehameha VI.
Another individual who has bravely entered the controversy is part-Hawaiian Samuel Wilder King II, one of the leaders of Imua TMT. Samuel Wilder King was the eleventh Territorial Governor of Hawaii from 1953 to 1957. King II is organizing a pro-TMT rally at the State Capitol, 4:30 PM this afternoon. He already is a King, so just add Kamehameha VI.
King Kamehameha VI could just as well be a Queen Kamehameha VI, so perhaps Malia Martin, also a member of Imua TMT, might grow into that role. With gender equity today, a female leader might well just be the tonic to bring people together.
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