Obama's Hawaii Childhood

[nskripchun]

Nice article on Obama's time in Hawaii... I'd post the whole text, but it's slightly above the character limit. =(

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/17/us/politics/17hawaii.html

[Heyyu]

Nice article on Obama's time in Hawaii... I'd post the whole text, but it's slightly above the character limit. =(

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/17/us/politics/17hawaii.html

Interesting article. But this passage in particular stuck out for me:

But Mr. Obama continued to feel assailed by insensitive comments and by classmates and a coach, who used an epithet when they referred to black opponents. Mr. Obama also felt trapped between the black experiences of the characters in his library books and his life as one of the few blacks in the school.

“I kept finding the same anguish, the same doubt, a self-contempt that neither irony not intellect seemed able to deflect,” he wrote.

He took refuge among older black men whom he challenged to games of basketball, a figure identified in his book as Frank, a poet and incessant crank, and college parties populated with blacks.

Those revelations surprised many former classmates. “I kind of feel bad,” said Alan Lam, a teammate. “I didn’t know.”

Few saw Mr. Obama as a standout academically, or intellectually.

“He was clearly bright,” said a classmate, Debbie Ching, “but there are people in our class that are nuclear physicists.”

You know, Hawaii is the only state in the US with an Asian majority, and although the article didn't go there, I feel as if there might have been some prejudice against Obama from the Asians in his school.

I mean, as sad as this is to say, we all know how Asians are every bit as stereotypical towards blacks as the whites (and yes, vice versa). I mean, that quote from the Debbie Ching girl is typical Asian, "Oh yeah he was smart (for a black man), but he's no nuclear physicist (aka not scientist-genius like Asians)." Yeah, I'm reading into that, but why the hell would she bring up the nuclear physicist comment when Obama might become frickin' president of the United States? Also ironic since Obama's secondary father was Indonesian.

Honestly, I think the article was sugar-coating some aspects (like for instance, the Asian women that Obama had a crush on yet he never asked her out... probably because she'd say no). Of course now she says she would have... although I'm wondering what her reply would have been if Obama was a milkman and not a possible candidate for president of the United States.

[Ninja]

In the complicated racial dynamic of Hawaii, many students were, perhaps, too preoccupied with their own identities to worry about how Mr. Obama was puzzling out his own.

“I had my own issues to worry about,” said Mr. Hale, who is white — or ha’ole (pronounced HOW-ley) — the Hawaiian term for white outsider. “Being a ha’ole from Punahou, now that was the worst,” he recalled.

LOL, a whitey complaining that he got it the worst. But yeah, I've been to Hawaii, and Asians are the majority there (although there's also some conflict between the Asians and the native Hawaiins... who I guess are Pacific Islanders and fall under the broad "Asian" tag).

I wouldn't be surprised at all if Obama faced prejudicism from the Asian kids at his high school. I guess the Asians in Hawaii might seem a bit more laid-back than the up-tight Asian kids from Cali and NYC, but some of them can act like primadonna bitches. Like golfer Michelle Wie's friends who are all the classic "Asian-American" princess types and brag about going to Stanford or whatever.

[howstrange]

I do like Obama and may vote for him, but keep in mind that he is a politician fighting his way to the most powerful position in the world, he's going to use every angle he can get to win sympathy from the strongest voting blocks. I would approach anything he says about his personal history very skeptically.. not saying he's a liar, but he can an will exaggerate, or trivialize any part of his past if it will gain him any sort of advantage.

[Heyyu]

I do like Obama and may vote for him, but keep in mind that he is a politician fighting his way to the most powerful position in the world, he's going to use every angle he can get to win sympathy from the strongest voting blocks. I would approach anything he says about his personal history very skeptically.. not saying he's a liar, but he can an will exaggerate, or trivialize any part of his past if it will gain him any sort of advantage.

Well he can't just count on the black vote to win the presidency... he'll also need the white and Latino and Asian vote too.

He definitely needs the minority vote... which is difficult since Latino's don't vote for blacks (one of the reasons for George Bush's presidency was the Latino vote, especially in Florida where his brother is the governor). And Asians are apathetic in general (yes, it's a stereotype, but mostly true). I actually like Obama but I don't know if he'll be able to win the presidency since the numbers are stacked against him.

[howstrange]

yeah, that's what I'm saying. He's getting the sympathy of the minority vote by potentially over exaggerating his victimization in Hawaii. It's quite smart actually, because he's not jeopardizing the majority white vote who are typically the target of blame in these situations.. it's the Asians that are the fall guys here.

[Tyger Durden]

LOL, a whitey complaining that he got it the worst. But yeah, I've been to Hawaii, and Asians are the majority there (although there's also some conflict between the Asians and the native Hawaiins... who I guess are Pacific Islanders and fall under the broad "Asian" tag)...

I seriously doubt that Native Hawaiians would fall under even the most broadest "Asian" tag. They are very proud to identify with the modern terms "Polynesian" or "Polys" for short, or the ethnic term kanaka maoli to be specific, and definitely see themselves as a distinct and separate ethnic group from Asians and other non-natives.

That's why you're right about the existence of some conflict between these groups in Hawaii. They identify as being different and distinct from other ethnicities and, naturally, there is always some conflict between and within ethnic groups anywhere, anytime.

about Obama's "alienated" childhood--it could've happened anywhere else besides Hawaii and in any generation, in the richest neighborhood, the poorest, the most middle-class. Should he read Battle Royale or Lord of the Flies to feel better about growing up or what?

but Politics is Show Business and Politicians want to paint themselves as sympathetic and "human" figures, so expect him to make an appearance on Oprah in the near future.

[Logain]

I was reading some of the discussions at Blacktokyo from guys who lived or live in Hawaii. It sounds like racism against whites there is actually kind of frequent. Actually it sounds like racism is a problem there period.

[nskripchun]

I was reading some of the discussions at Blacktokyo from guys who lived or live in Hawaii. It sounds like racism against whites there is actually kind of frequent. Actually it sounds like racism is a problem there period.

I suppose "beat up haole day" isn't endearing to anybody who's a haole.