live Hawaii?

Just how lucky to live Hawaii?

Fairly Lucky You Live Hawaii!

Cultural Pluralism in the Fifti eth State. By Richard Rapson.

Published by the University Press of America. 1980.

Sus6.So. Isbn 0 8191 1167 8.

Anyone who has lived in Hawaii for any length of time should find Rapson’s book interesting reading not so much for any original ideas it contains, but because it will make the reader sit up and think about the quality of life in the Fiftieth State.

Rapson makes an objective analysis of life in present-day Hawaii, but the finicky reader will find that analysis somewhat incomplete. Part of the reason for this, he explains in his preface, is because he considers his writing not ‘in any formal sense a work of scholarship’, and because he has lived in Hawaii for only 12 years taking many off-island trips during that period and still thinks like a Mainlander.

What may bother the reader is that while Rapson discusses many shortcomings of the qual ity of life in Hawaii and also suggests possible improve ments, he certainly doesn’t talk about everything, or he spends too little time developing some of the stronger statements he makes. In his chapter on eth nicity, for example, he concen trates on Caucasians, Japanese and Hawaiians (including part- Hawaiians), the three largest ethnic groups in Hawaii. But he doesn’t say much at all about other significant groups such as the Filipinos, the Samoans and the Chinese. In another chap ter, he writes: ‘Racial violence flares in the high schools, many of which are quite scary places.’

But he doesn’t expand.

He also raps the two local daily papers, the Star-Bulletin and the Advertiser, for not devoting sufficient coverage to international and national news, and sings praises of the major Mainland papers such as The

New York Times and Los Angeles Times. But he fails to mention that the Star-Bulletin carries the New York Times news service, and the Adver tiser has the LA. Times- Washington Post service. (He also fails to mention that papers such as the Times, both New York and Los Angeles, the Wall Street Journal and the San Francisco Chronicle are available here but at much higher cost than on the Main land, and only at some book stores, libraries or vending machines in Waikiki or down town.) Other aspects of Hawaii life come to mind to which Rapson gives too little attention: the role of big business, the mili tary, the tourism industry, agriculture, the crime problem and the great emphasis on sports here. Worst of all, Rapson says nothing about ru ral Oahu and the Neighbor Islands, so his book should more appropriately be titled Fairly Lucky You Live (Urban) Hono lulu!

Also missing from the book is a sense of the author’s direct contact with the people. In one brief passage, he describes how a local Japanese girl cried in front of a group of teachers and students at a predominantly Caucasian private school be cause, by adapting to the school, she felt she no longer ‘belonged’ in her Japanese neighbourhood. One longs for more of such personal-exper ience passages in a book of this nature, which seeks, after all, to express the writer’s personal viewpoint.

Having said all that, let’s look at what the book does contain.

Rapson makes a conscientious effort throughout the book to balance or soften his criticisms.

For example, he says racial prejudice does exist in Hawaii, and that people should be honest about it. But he adds that ethnic pluralism and racial equality here are more ‘ad vanced’ than anywhere else.

His other ideas for improve ment of Honolulu include: reno vation of downtown Honolulu; going ahead with a fixed-rail mass transit system through central Honolulu; broadening the economic base of the islands; elimination of what he

refers to as ‘cronyism’ in local politics; reassessing teacher hiring practices in the public schools, and improving the quality of public education; emphasis at the University of Hawaii on the liberal arts and subjects suited to Hawaii’s geo graphical location and cultural mix; encouraging parents and institutions to expose the young children of Hawaii ‘beyond the latest surf reports, the conver sation at the local drive-in, or next weekend’s high school football game’, and improving and expanding Hawaii’s main link with the outside world the media.

To the Hawaii resident con cerned about his home state and willing to accept or pay atten tion to the osbervations and suggestions foisted on us by an ‘outsider’, Rapson’s book con tains ideas, even if not necess arily new ones, that are useful to consider. Certainly the worst we can do is to ignore our problems totally and continue to believe

we live in paradise.

Ray

Yuen.