Talk:Kill Haole Day

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I noticed this page was tagged for speedy deletion, but this is solely due to the subject's controversial nature and the article's deletion/editing is not in agreement with Wikipedia's policies. No subject is not disparaged, and no person is mentioned. Because this is a sensitive subject involving children as well as racial tensions, it is not often discussed in the public forum and hence it is a little difficult to find information on specific incidences.Lythic (talk)Lythic

This day really exists
The interesting thing is that it differs from district to district. In Pearl City (1980s), where I was brought up, the schools were pulling away from its Eastern Asian majority and slowly moving towards being a Filipino/Samoan majority. At the same time, Pearl City High School as well as Aiea High School and even Waipahu High School had its fill of military kids (aka haoles) from the Pearl Harbor, Hickam and Camp Smith military bases.

This article doesn't explain enough about why the local kids hate the hoale kids, or more importantly what haoles were "saved" and what haoles were the targets. What I'd do is look into the attitudes of these haole kids, and military kids as a whole. In short, the military haoles were the primary targets. Military kids HATE being in Hawaii. They don't like moving from place to place because of their moms or dads constantly being relocated. What this does is cause the military kids to have this anti-Hawaii attitude, and the local kids quickly catch this. Throughout the school year, I constantly saw fights between haoles and the locals. All this hatred just builds up throughout the school year. This is why it was a commonplace for haoles from the local public schools to transfer to the "haole sanctuaries" like Radford High School.

The reason why "Kill Haole Day" is the last day of the school year is because most of these kids will not be at the same school the following Fall, because the summer is the best time for military personnel to relocate to another location. So, if you hated a certain kid, there was a high probability that the last day of school would be the last time you'd see the kid. Also, the locals are able to release their anger, and basically beat up the military kids they hate so much. Think about it: last day of school, so you can't receive a suspension or detention. You already received your report cards, so the school couldn't penalize you grade-wise. Seniors already received their diplomas and have already submitted their transcripts to the colleges. The key here is there was absolutely no repercussions when it came time to a local wanting to get even with the military kids.

As for my personal experience, my half sister and half brother are both 100-percent white. They were both harassed throughout their school lives. And, they NEVER attended the last day of school. I'm half Filipino, half haole, so no one picked on me. Funny part of this is that my siblings weren't military brats. They were raised by a Filipino father since they were toddlers. So, yes, the military kids are the primary targets, but all the other haole kids are included purely by their race. Hope this adds perspective, and also use the information to further research this issue. Groink (talk) 23:42, 5 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Stop throwing the word "haole" around with such callousness, it's a racial slur. If you insist on using that term, edit your post to replace all occurances of "Filipino" with "flip", so that you're consistent. Also, maybe you can explain why Japaneses/Chinese/Filipinos refer to whites by the native term "haole" -- last I checked, they aren't native Hawaiians either. Maybe they should stop pretending to be.


 * It does indeed! Thanks! It sounds like one could write an ethnography on this topic. To get this out into the article, though, we need some kind of source--even a newspaper article would work. If you can find one that you feel backs your own memories up, please try to add to the article space. --Anthon.Eff (talk) 22:56, 6 May 2009 (UTC)


 * My cousin is full haole, neither parent was in the military. He grew up in Laie and his mom divorced and married a Hawaiian when he was still really young and so his "dad" was Bill, my uncle. His step-father jumped behind the lines in Normandy but did not peruse a military career after the war and just lived the simple life in Laie. I also grew up in Laie but was about 8 years younger than my cousin and did not experience "Kill haole day", maybe the practice just extended through out the year, but he told me stories of when that day was celebrated. He was not beat up or harassed because he was in a military family, just haole. I too am haole with no ties to the military, and so was beat up and harassed strictly for my ancestry. The kids I grew up with didn't really bother me much other than normal kids would on the mainland, it was the other kids that moved there later that were the problems, but they usually came from Samoa or Tonga where there is no real reason to hate a haole in Hawaii (they too are not Hawaiian), or from other elementary schools when we all went to Kahuku for high school. Town side might have a lot more to do with being military or not due to the number of bases there, and even though Kahuku is in the smack middle of a TNG area (shared fences), there were very few military kids there, and none that I knew that were "stationed" there, all were there permanently. So, at least for Laie and Kahuku, the "Kill a haole day" did not target military kids more than non-military. --Billy Nair (talk) 23:28, 1 December 2009 (UTC)
 * I lived it, I was there in the 70's and a military brat. Yes it did happen and at Radford High, it was mostly targeted against military kids. That said, some people didn't have issue, ok fine. But that doesn't mean it didn't happen to others. It happened to me and my brother. Harrrellbugg (talk) 03:19, 6 October 2022 (UTC)

This day does not exist. It is not a tradition in Hawaii schools, it is an urban myth. I spent all my entire formal education in the public school system and have never participated in nor have known anyone to participate in or been a victim of this practice. I request deletion of this article because there is not any factual evidence to back it up other than it being mention in a few casual interviews and even so, they are referenced as hearsay, not actual fact. Ck808 (talk) 06:17, 24 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Did you live there in the 70's? I went to school there and it wasn't a myth. I ran home from school on the last day at the end of school each year. I went to Radford High school. They chased me home throwing rocks at me. Some hit me and if they caught any of use, we got the mess kicked out of us. They almost killed my brother - they chassed him in his car and ran him off a cliff! I lived it, year after year. I was sick of being called a "f---ing haole s---t". I heard it over and over. I even heard it from a few teachers too. Just because you didn't see it, don't tell the rest of us who suffered through it that it didn't happen. I am happy for you, your life there wasn't awful. But my life was forever changed by the hate thrown at us there. The guy who said military kids HATE living there is right. It was the worst 16 years of my life. And you call that nightmare an urban myth. Harrrellbugg (talk) 03:07, 6 October 2022 (UTC)

Well articles can exist about myths. The criterion of course is if there is enough written about them. One newspaper article is already cited, and another I was able to find with two minutes searching. How about a compromise: remove the unsourced material, and merge into the Haole article the couple mentions in reliable press reports. I also just found a reference in a Hawaii Supreme Court Federal Court case. W Nowicki (talk) 23:49, 24 November 2010 (UTC)


 * I don't have a problem with keeping it separate article or merging, but we need to have better info. What Hawai'i Supreme Court case are you referring to? The 9th Circuit court of appeals references are dicey. I agree with Lee Cataluna's column. Haoles definitely have been bullied and harassed. But Kill Haole Day? Where's the proof? Makana Chai (talk) 19:56, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

Sorry you are right, it was the Federal Appeals Court, as I cited in the Haole article. I never said there was "proof". We have an article on Leprechauns for example. I do not see people proposing to delete it because there is no proof that Leprechaun exist. I suggested that we paraphrase cited sources with some context of who makes what claim. e.g. Republican representative says X and Democratic governor says Y etc. Are you claiming that a US Federal Appeals court opinion is not a good source? Certainly they are "opinions" but as long as the context is clear and it is presented in a fair point of view, it seems better than what we have now. If someone has the Cayetano book and that can be verified, then it might also deserve a mention. I still think merge is the right way to go, or someone eneds to fix this one up. W Nowicki (talk) 02:29, 26 November 2010 (UTC)


 * You're right, we can have an article, or a part of an article, on a myth. As an attorney, I believe the court opinion is not a good source. The court did not rule that Kill Haole Day exists. It was not an issue in the case at hand and I don't even think it was in evidence in the case below. I have the Cayetano book and that is a direct quote. Let's look at the citations we have: (1) "‘Kill haole day’ linked to hate-crime bill" - where a DOE official says he had heard of the day, but not that any incidents had occurred; (2) "‘Paradise’ goes beyond believable" citing a fictional movie; and (3) the 9th circuit opinion. That's it! And did you see Lee Cataluna's follow-up about the hundreds of responses she got to her column? "Responses refute existence of any recent 'Kill Haole Day'" where she says "In terms of actual, first-person, eyewitness accounts of Kill Haole Day, no one had any that happened in the last three decades. Not one teacher, not one police officer, not one victim or perpetrator."


 * I also want to be clear that bullying, harassing and beating of haole students (and adults) has happened. I'm not denying it. I'm just questioning where is the evidence of an actual one day, end of school year, event? Makana Chai (talk) 05:07, 26 November 2010 (UTC)
 * When I lived there in the 70's I went to Radford High School and I ran home from school on the last day every year. I was chased and they through rocks at me. I was hit a few times and anyone who got caught, was beaten up. I can prove I lived there, but not what happened. Even when you told the school about it they laughed at you. That's why it is so hard to prove - the adults turned their heads the other way and no one cared. But I can tell you, it was brutal for me and my brother. For those of us who lived it, it is really hard to hear people doubt it. It was as real as anything else. I was terrified as a kid. Harrrellbugg (talk) 03:14, 6 October 2022 (UTC)

Removed info from page
I removed this: New incidents of school violence on Kill Haole Day were reported in 2006, citing http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?294d9da5-dbb5-40e9-8f94-13712a73408c If you read the article, it does not say this had anything to do with kill haole day. Makana Chai (talk) 22:47, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

I find it absolutely outrageous to suggest kill haole day is a myth. I grew up in Kailua and we endured this day every year. It is inspired by racism, pure and simple. One need not do anything to create a grudge. The color of your skin is sufficient. Hawaii is one of those places, there are others, where it is perfectly ok to be racist against whites. There is no penalty and the victims will be blamed for their lack of sensitivity or their wealth (if they happen not to be poor--many ARE poor) or some other rationale that makes it clear they deserved what they got. To suggest that this day is a myth just further devalues whites and denies them their voice. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rbarra575 (talk • contribs) 02:37, 16 August 2015 (UTC)

Any verified incidents?
Kill haole day is very real. I was born and raised on Oahu and attended in order Maunawili elementary, Kailua intermediate, and Kailua High School. I am haole and both my parents were public school teachers, neither were military in fact my high school had almost no military kids as Kalaheo High School is much closer to the KMCAS (Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station). I have gotten into dozens of fist fights for just being haole. In Hawaii most wealthy haole families send their kids to private schools to avoid persecution. My parents being public school educators sent us to public schools irregardless of the threat of racial violence. Most haole kids dont attend school on kill haole day, I always did but I was a fighter. Unpopular haole kids would routinely be threatened all year long with the promise of physical violence on said day. Any educator in the state knows that kill haole day is real and the DOE has chosen to deny that it exists rather than admit the ugly truth of its existence. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.198.119.149 (talk) 14:54, 26 March 2015 (UTC)

If there aren't then having this article is very questionable at best. --218.215.53.154 (talk) 04:55, 4 September 2011 (UTC)
 * What is your standard for "verification"? First-hand accounts abound, including in this talk page, yet each one is dismissed as rumor or lie.  Bullying is not typically prosecuted in court, and even if it was, could the true motive be determined?  Perhaps kids should carry hidden cameras on the last day of school?  Even then, how would they prove that it isn't an isolated incident?  It is know that anti-white sentiment exists beyond the usual in Hawaii (just like anti-black sentiment exists in Georgia beyond the usual).  All it takes is a few racist kids to declare their beatings to be part of Kill Haole Day.  It's not an official tradition, but it is not a myth or urban legend either.  Compare this to Senior Skip Day. --143.81.18.138 (talk) 11:42, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

I was stationed in Hawaii from 1995 to 1999. My children attended public school in Ewa Beach in 1995 and 1996. My two sons were attacked on "kill haule day" both years. The first year I laughed at them because I couldn't believe that the school system would permit such a thing. The second year they were attacked again. I contacted the school. The principle told me that I should keep my children home on that day because he was powerless to stop he attacks. Instead we pulled our children out of public school and started home-schooling them. This day existed 10 years ago and the teachers turn a blind eye because the "poor locals" don't have the advantage of being white. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.157.242.45 (talk) 02:27, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

Yes, Kill Haole Day was very real. I'm a "haole" who grew up in Pearl City, graduated HS in 1983. It was a ritualized and specific instance of the more general and pervasive harassment of whites. More of a bonding through violence on an out group event for boys and young men than a concerted attempt to cause real injuries, though likely it afforded that opportunity for people with particular scores to settle. After being attacked by a group in 4th grade, more of a dog pile than a real beating, I stopped showing up on the last day of class. My parents understood the issue and were supportive of me staying home.

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I replied to a previous article written by Lee Cataluna on the subject. The one cited on this page was a follow up with "results" of inquiry from the first story. She failed and omitted my story that I had mailed to her directly about the broken jaw I suffered on Kill Hoale Day in 1985 the day before spring break at my High School (I do not wish to name the school, thank you for understanding) in Honolulu. The author, in refusing to acknowledge my response said that the day did not exist because no one said anything. Many locals think it's a myth because they aren't the targets and don't believe that something like this could happen. I can tell you, it does! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.8.210.130 (talk) 23:46, 5 June 2016 (UTC)

RfC
An RfC: Which descriptor, if any, can be added in front of Southern Poverty Law Center when referenced in other articles? has been posted at the Southern Poverty Law Center talk page. Your participation is welcomed. – MrX 16:53, 22 September 2012 (UTC)

==== I lived in Hawaii from 1972-1975 (military family, public school and private school). and while it was laways rumored that the last day of school was "Kill Haole Day" I never saw anything like organized bullying, and rarely any bullying motivated by other than personalities. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.230.146.124 (talk) 02:40, 28 September 2016 (UTC)