if you’re in r/maui for any sort of native propelled narrative, don’t be.
claiming indigenous people are being “divisive” for pointing out elitism and the legacy of colonization is a tactic of white supremacy. blaming native hawaiians for the hostility between them and their oppressors, rather than racism, is white supremacy. there is no division in these words, only accountability. it is blatant denial to somehow level this tragedy as one that was “shared”
tourists were bussed out of the area using polynesian tour buses. locals burned to death in their cars. tourists were able to go back to their hotels to gather their luggage. locals had to enter a biohazard zone to see the ashes of their homes.
we did not share this tragedy. tourists took resources, took time, and took space that locals were entitled to. tourists will get back on a plane and return to their homes, sleep in their beds, and have clean, running water. local survivors will have none of this.
anti hawaiian rhetoric will be rampant in the coming days. people will want to distance themselves from the reality that the tourism industry enabled services and resources to be redirected, costing life after life after life.
Bro i’m reading up for the first time on how the smithsonian canceled the 2023 asian american literary festival a month in advance with zero notice apparently because they did a review of the program for “sensitive topics” and one of the events that got flagged was a panel of trans authors …. what the fuck. We live in hell
The memo identified four programs with potentially controversial content, according to a draft obtained by The Post. One was “Pee Poems,” an exhibition of poetry broadsides, translated from Chinese, that would be posted near the venue’s first-floor restrooms. The memo noted: “Some viewers may find the content sophomoric and irreverent.”Another was a panel discussion by authors of children’s literature about book challenges and bans, “a current hot button topic in education and library spaces across the country.”
The third was a literary showcase, part of a long-running D.C.-based reading series called “Queer Fire,” that would include poetry readings and a theatrical performance “exploring queer identity, gender identity, and queer romance, topics some audiences may find uncomfortable.” The fourth, which the memo called “potentially the most sensitive of the festival’s offerings,” involved a “Trans and Nonbinary Reading Room,” a library station highlighting trans and nonbinary writers, accompanied by a small-group reading session.
“We anticipate this program being the most potentially sensitive of the festival’s offerings,” Davis wrote. “In this current moment, books by trans and nonbinary authors and about trans and nonbinary experience are being banned by libraries and school systems across the country. We know some visitors may find these books objectionable, this program uncomfortable or even offensive.”
There’s also an open letter written & signed by a bunch of asian american writers and organizers here, which is still collecting signatures
“It’s really uncomfortable that these books are being banned. So to deal with this we, a museum, source of records and information for the public, will also be banning them.”
ALT
