so here's a funny thing about living in hawaii: most people who reside here full time are super intensely into "local culture," but exactly what that means is really poorly defined. for some, it seems to be a desire to return to the "old ways" before statehood or maybe even colonization. that's probably the definition i can most readily understand--it's unrealistic in this modern age, but i get the urge to go back to some pre-industrial, tribal reality where everyone was practically naked and the water was clean and there weren't any ugly condos or sunburnt tourists lining the beaches.
but for other people--mostly middle aged caucasians who've lived here a few decades and have burnt leathery skin and wear flowing cotton clothing and try to speak with a native accent--"local culture" seems more to be this insulated, oddly defensive notion that what happens on the islands (or in some extreme cases just THIS island) is all that matters.
as an example: i got an angry e-mail from a reader of 'maui time' complaining that i wasn't covering local issues and had an "outsiders perspective." i'll certainly allow that the second accusation is true--i've been here a month-and-a-half and even though i've gotten something of a crash course on maui politics, i'm still learning. so call me an ignorant big city haole if you must. i can take it. but then i looked at the story this irate reader was actually referring to, and it was one i wrote about local tattoo shops where in addition to quoting several maui artists i also talked to someone from oahu. if that's your idea of an "outsider" (a person in the same island chain as you who's a 20 minute plane ride away) i think it's time to realign your perspective. or at least admit that it's totally been warped by too much sun and a few too many pina coladas.
i'm not really complaining, though. living here is interesting and mostly awesome, and a lot of the people i've met have been extremely nice and welcoming. but i guess anytime you live somewhere versus paying a quick visit you just start to see those little things that happen on the margins, those quirks and oddities that only come out after you've had time to like do your laundry and pay some bills and go to the grocery store in your pjs on a sunday afternoon to buy some coconut milk.
hell, a few more weeks of sunshine and a couple more pina coladas and i could become one of those cantankerous island kooks. could be fun.
1 comment:
Jacob,
Thanks for keeping up on your blog. I enjoy checking in and getting updates. It's especially nice to read your writing, and get a little taste of what's going on in your world. No matter what the "locals" may say - keep being you - you've got a great perspective, and as one of my students just said "change is hard." I guess even newspaper readers resisit change. I love you, Erica
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