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Notes from an Occupied Territory

Robin Nussbaum of AFSC’s Hawai’i Gay Liberation Program spoke with three members of the Rainbow Revolutionaries LGBTQ youth group about the impact of the military on Hawai’i. The three students are 15 years old. Two are juniors at Kamehameha High School and one is a junior at Kalaheo High School. Two are male;one is female. Two identify as gay, the other as “heterosexual until further notice." One is Filipino; two are Kanaka Maoli (native Hawaiian)-Filipino. Two have been in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC). Because their schools are near military bases, and many of their friends come from military families, it’s risky to speak out about the military in a critical way. They are identified by pseudonyms: EvilestEvilBunny (EEB), PerpetualBubble (PB), and Rainbow Fairy (RF).

On the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC):

EvilestEvilBunny (EEB) The way that I think about it is that ROTC taught me to shut up and just follow orders. Because whenever I would question anything or whenever I went out of line, it was just, like, bad.

PerpetualBubble (PB): In our school, it seems, like, just kinda a tradition thing, because, like, all the boys had to do it. So it seemed
like a sexist thing.

On Gays in the Military:

Rainbow Fairy (RF): They suppress homosexuality in the military. But you know, there are gay people in the military and they can’t be open about it, ’cause the military thinks gay people will kinda like…um…upset the order of the military and it won’t be able to function as well … I live near a gay couple and one of them, he was in the Marines, and knew people who were beaten or killed just for being gay in the military. I wanted to be in the military when I was a freshman, but sophomore year I changed my views on the military.

Queen Lili 'uokalani

On Impacts to the ’Aina (Land):

RF: I think the military is destructive. They damage our land and some of the plants and animals we have here are native and they don’t grow anywhere else.

If we destroy them, like kill them off, they won’t come back. So we should treasure the land we have here ... And I don’t think they should own the land, like be able to just have it … I mean ’cause they test a lot of their bombs like on Kaho’olawe … The military used the island of Kaho’olawe as a test site for nuclear weapons for many years. And they destroyed everything. They still have garbage and all their radiation there. Whatever was on that island, any plants or animals that were indigenous to the island are now lost and not gonna come back. The government spent millions of dollars trying to clean it up, but only one-tenth of the island is safe to walk on.

EEB: Well, if 25% [of the island of O’ahu is controlled by the military] … there are so many better things that we could do with that land. I mean we could actually put it to better use.

PB: [The Makua Fire] made me angry because I am really into endangered plants and I volunteer at the Lyon Arboretum and there’s always … (sigh) … all that hard work protecting endangered plants and something stupid like that can ruin their efforts. It’s really hard.

[Ed. Note: The Makua Valley is a sacred valley that the Army took over by evicting the residents and bombing the houses. The valley is now used for training purposes. In the summer of 2003, a “controlled burn” went out of control. Fire raced over 2,000 acres, causing greater harm to already-endangered plants and animals.]

On Impacts to Hawaiian Culture:

RF: It’s kinda taking away our Hawaiian culture, ’cause it’s disappearing little by little. And more of the Western culture is coming here. You can see how Honolulu is. It’s so urbanized, there’s so many people here. Hardly any of the Hawaiian culture is left, like any of the rituals that they used to have. They only have some fish ponds and heiaus (traditional places of worship) left and all that’s going away cause people are destroying it and stuff and leaving all their garbage and stuff. We’re not gonna have it anymore. Other cultures have their own areas ... but this is all we have, Hawai’i is all we have.

PB: I think the military helps to spread the ideas of the stereotype of Hawaiians because they are always coming and leaving ... I think the military should learn more about the real Hawaiian culture not the stereotype of Hawaiians.

RF: Yeah, like we walk around in grass skirts and live in grass huts
and that’s how we dance. (Demonstrates).

[Ed. Note: The traditional Hawaiian hula is a sacred dance, not a stereotyped sexy dance for tourists.)

EEB: Exactly! They have had a huge impact on us though, especially the land and stuff. I remember my grandmother was telling me that Pearl Harbor used to actually be clean. Surprise! Now it is like one of the most of the polluted bodies of water in the United States, and it is all due to the dumping of the industry and the military coming in. I’m not saying it’s just the military polluting … but it’s like they’re not giving the land the respect that it deserves. And it deserves a lot of respect … And like back in the day … it was so much more quiet and peaceful and then military and the industry came in and kinda screwed up Pearl Harbor. God, they used to call [it] Pearl Harbor because they actually used to have pearls there, like the oyster things. But I really doubt there’s oysters living there now, and if they are, they probably have irradiated oysters!

U.S. soldiers in Makua Valley

RF: To find an example of how the military affected the Hawaiian people … look back to the downfall of the Hawaiian monarchy. In 1893, Queen Lili’uokalani was overthrown [by rich business owners] with the aid of the [U.S.] military. [She] was the last monarch to rule the islands.

On the Military as Protectors:

EEB: People say that we need … well, the military bases here protect us and stuff. I know that there’s threats out there, but—

RF: Hawai’i?!!!

EEB: Exactly! It’s like they’re interested in instilling fear in us that shouldn’t really be there … What are we really afraid of? … I mean that is a really good tactic, if you think about it. That way you can get the support of people … I’m not saying we don’t need the military, because the military is a very important part of the way we live. It’s just such a huge part, especially since we live in Hawai’i, and there’s so many military bases and so many military people, and like you said, that’s 25% of the land. That’s insane if you really think about it.

PB: And they bring their whole families and I heard, like, you know a while ago when that one ship came in and they increase our population by thousands. That’s kinda insane!

On Hawaiian Activism:

PB: I think that since it has been a long time that the military has been here and doing what they do and affecting us, that a lot of Hawaiians have this kinda modest, “no make a big deal” about anything. But then, there’s those certain Hawaiians who are really outspoken. Which is good for the rest of the Hawaiians that have been affected by the military and been kinda having that “don’t make a big deal about it” attitude for a long time. The outspoken ones are kinda speaking up for all of the ones that don’t know how to use their voice.

EEB: But if you look at it, a lot of the outspoken ones are like the older ones. The kupuna (elders). ’Cause they know what’s happened.

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