The history of Hawaii
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Link to video
I would not have known or guessed the import of what this lady said if I hadn't lived in Polynesia for many years.
Many people there do not even reluctantly accept they live in the US. They literally believe they don't and will believe the way they do their entire lives.
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They got stuck in 1893.
Maybe it's easy for me to say but a polity is a polity.
Kamehameha the Great united the Hawaiian Islands after the Congregalist missionaries arrived. He united then with European and American military advisors and weapons.
He instituted private property. He sold huge parcels of land for $1 an acre to the missionary families.He divided the rest at 90% for the nobility and 10% for the peasants.
The monarchy was always a tool of the European and American powers. Queen Lilikoloni said as much in her autobiography. She described it as a-- "slow betrayal."
Irrc., I never said this out loud in Hawaii to anyone, ever.
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Btw, I was friends with George Na'poe. We met in a bar of all places.
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Yes, we learned about the westernization of Hawaii when we were there. What we never knew until we got there was that the ironically named Polynesian Cultural Center is in fact a Mormon amusement park, designed to employ the BYU Hawaii students who came over from the mainland. It slightly Disneyfies Polynesian culture. While an ingenious idea practically, culturally it's a travesty. They do not focus on it's origins. We only found out by talking to a long-time employee.
The Samoan pavilion had a Samoan comedian whose delivery was 100% Borscht Belt Jewish comedian. I swore I was listening to Myron Cohen routines.
