non-Hawaiians using the term hapa

I first heard the word when my Hawaiian college roomate and his friends decided I was hapa haole, and I got the impression it was better than being all haole. Granted I'm part Asian, white, and latino, but I definately don't have any real Hawaiian blood so I don't think I qualify under the original interpretation of the word.

Language grows and changes. No one owns language and its interpretation.

Yeah, I will admit that, to me, it seems odd for anyone not remotely connected with Hawaii and its ethnic groups to apply the term Hapa to him/herself. But, what do I know? I'm just a white girl! My husband is Japanese and one branch of the family is Hawaiian, so, I feel that our son truly IS hapa. I guess I can see both sides of the argument, but really, it would make more sense for there to be another word to describe people of other mixed races. Calling someone who's half Danish and half Irish "hapa," makes about as much sense to me as calling them haolie (sp?) Strictly speaking, it's accurate, but it's out of context.

being from hawaii, and working and living among local people each and every day....

i think its silly to think that you must be a certain ethnicity to use a certain word. i can see the point if the word is sacred, or if it is being misused and completely dishonored by having been taken out of context. but "hapa" is used by all shades of people here, most of them are not hawaiian, most are not even half hawaiian.....but a mix of all shades of the rainbow. i think its kind of cute that people on the mainland use it too. to me, it spreads the aloha, and in no way does hawaiian culture a disservice.

we all use words taken from other places, ESPECIALLY our country. to get all nit picky about what race is using what word.....well to me that seems like a waste of time, and a divisive attitude, as the original comment said.

big aloha to y'all
jennjenn

word. i really like what you wrote landa....so true, so true. theres enough animosity and separatism in the world......we all came from the same place, and we are have the same human struggles. its great to be proud of your heritage. but to be almost elitist about who can and cant use a word....thats just as bad as being racially predjudiced, in my opinion.

heres to all the hapas in the world!!!!!

jennjenn

wow, there is a lot of important discussion happening here.

first off, to daffy, you said: I do not see native Hawaiians as being "elistist", they are merely asking for others to respect their heritage, their culture. If one is using the term "Hapa" to appear cool - it's not cool.

just wanted you to know that i dont feel that i use the word "hapa" to appear cool. i use it because every single local person i know who lives in hawaii, uses the word when describing someone who is half "haole" and half "other." other being one of the many ethnicities that have been prevalent in hawaii since the plantation days....filipino, japanese, chinese, portuguese, etc etc.

also, i do regret using the word "elitist." i dont by any means mean to imply that hawaiians are elite. everyone knows that in this country, economically and otherwise, they are not. i was trying to descibe the attitude that is portrayed when people and groups seem to be saying so-n-so cant use this word because it belongs to MY culture. that attitude is what i was trying to describe. and i guess a more appropriate word would have been "prejudiced," the same attitude many native groups are familiar with experiencing, from cultures who have impeded on THEM. i apologize for offending anyone with the word "elitist."

i understand the sovereignty movement. i understand wanting to reclaim your heritage. but i just dont agree with the aggresive and angry attitude about who is using this word. does this really seem effective? have you ever heard the quote from gandhi, "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind?"

landa, if youre still here....i felt the same way when i read the "realhapas.com" website. wow. that was some angry shit....and very directed at asians "raping" hawaiian culture by using the word hapa. im sorry, but that whole website is bogus, in my opinion. i can think of many important issues happening, which threaten to take away from hawaiian culture. things like bulldozers destroying hawaiian burial grounds to make way for new subdivisions, destoying the native owl population, and endangering the native wili wili tree to put 4 million dollar homes way up on top of a lava outcrops and next to ancient rivers....

to me issues like these seem more relevant to what is "raping" hawaiian culture, than non-hawaiians, particularly asians, who use the word "hapa." how is that kind of anger and finger-pointing going to win back hawaiian culture? im sorry, but i feel like there is some extremely negative, aggressive, and ignorant language involved in that topic, and landa, i can see why you want to move on.

on the other hand, i feel that this is so important to talk about, and i feel refreshed by ImSpartacus' input on the narrow-mindedness and ineffectiveness of some of this racial banter. it seems very ineffective, in my opinion. I especially like what Im wrote:

The question remains as when all parties can negotiate as equals without feeling resentful or frightened by the loss of their identity through the appropriation of some words by the outside community.

we all use words that we have appropriated from other cultures. "feng shui" from the chinese...."karma" from india...."siesta" from the mexicans.....what is the motive here, to go back to a world where we are all using aboriginal languages, when most of are a mix of many races anyway? to put up more walls between cultures? i have utmost respect for anyone who is proud of their heritage, and who is attempting to preserve it. i just think there is a more constructive way to go about it.....like focusing on our humanity and on getting along, rather than adding one more thing to the mix that finger points and creates separatism and hatred in the world.