Trisha Kehaulani Watson: Hawaii’s ‘No Make Waves’ Culture Is Fading
Simmering below the surface in what’s sometimes called the “happiest state in America” is a feeling that government no longer listens to the people.
For too long the status quo has been projects that proclaim themselves to be 鈥渇or the people,鈥 but 鈥渢he people鈥 seem to be strangely absent from the process, the planning or the result.
The new rules regulating the HRS Chapter 343 (the Hawaii Environmental Policy Act) have an interesting new element in the scoping process for environmental impact statements. People who attend scoping meetings need to have the opportunity to indicate when their position is 鈥渘o comment鈥 or neutral. It鈥檚 a small, but fascinating rule, as it allows people to attend meetings, but be clear that their attendance is not an indication of silent consent.
I like it.
This is because 鈥渟ilence is consent鈥 has long been the unspoken rule in these islands. In our 鈥渘o make waves鈥 culture, officials seem to assume that the only three positions one can have are vocal support, vocal opposition, or silent consent.
This just isn鈥檛 the case anymore. The silent majority concept seems to have faded. I believe there鈥檚 a new category: the silent opposition.
It鈥檚 not far-fetched to say that people in Hawaii are widely unhappy with our government at all levels. The federal government and the president in particular seem to be spinning so madly out of control that it鈥檚 dizzying to even try to keep track of it all.
Our state government seems to be in a political paralysis over Mauna Kea. And now Honolulu’s mayor who wants to be governor has thrown himself head-first into the melee by refusing to back down on the development at Sherwood Forest.
When kupuna are getting arrested by the dozens across the state it is an unequivocal sign that something is terribly wrong.
It鈥檚 understandable that some people would be genuinely perplexed by the sudden increase in protests, and in particular acts of civil resistance where residents are willing to put their bodies in harm鈥檚 way and be arrested to make their point. How do you reconcile these actions against a state that boasts itself being the 鈥渉appiest state in America?鈥
The reality is that simmering just below the sand and sun are real problems, among the worst of which is the feeling that government does not listen to the people. The result of this disconnect being a growing sense that Hawaii is moving away from the people 鈥 economically, socially and culturally.
We are becoming strangers to our own home.
People don鈥檛 feel safe. The recent string of violent murders leaves many people feeling uneasy and unnerved. Gun violence used to be a rarity, but we are hearing about it more and more, and in our own neighborhoods.
Housing prices continue to bolt away from local families. Children of multigenerational residents struggle to become first-time homebuyers, to make safe homes for their young families. Making ends meet feels like it is getting harder and harder.
Kupuna are living in the streets at levels that are both heart-breaking and embarrassing. What does it say about us as a society that we allow the children and the elderly to be homeless? What is wrong with us?
鈥淧rogress鈥 should not cost us our humanity.
People are frustrated. People have had enough.
What started with Mauna Kea has moved to Waimanalo. It won鈥檛 stop there, because it鈥檚 not about a park, it鈥檚 about a community. Arresting people isn鈥檛 the answer. Listening is.
Rather than fueling the conflict, our elected officials need to stop and take a hard look at the path that got us to where we are today, because clearly this is not where any of us want to go, or where any of us should be.
We can do better. We must do better.
