My daughter's public school in Indiana is having "Hawaiian Day" today. That's offensive, isn't it?
I dropped her off this morning and saw girls (and boys) wearing grass skirts, some of them with coconut bras too. I'm not sure what else is going on, but it doesn't seem very respectful of a native culture that we have seriously fucked over. Would they have a "Native American Day" and let kids come in wearing feathered headdresses?
Or am I reading too much into it?
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You should ask some Hawaiian.
It usually heavily depends on the context. Children having fun themed dressed as Hawaiian looks pretty nice, they are kid playing.
I am italian. Super Mario is not offensive, an Italian-themed college party where everyone dress and speak as mobster saying "capisc" is very offensive.
Context matters. Here doesn't look like the kids are offending anyone. But I am not Hawaiin, you should ask them
I'm hoping someone who is Hawaiian will say something here because I don't know any Hawaiians myself.
EDIT: Also, I think it's a little different when it comes to Italian vs. Hawaiian, because Hawaiians are an oppressed people who faced a genocide. Italians got treated like shit in the U.S., but compared to Hawaiians, it's not really the same.
Pro-tip: it’s never a good idea to compare the suffering of peoples.
I can see why you might not want to compare the suffering of individuals, but what's the problem with comparing the suffering of groups of people?
Who suffered worse: the native Americans during the trail of tears or those who suffered the holocaust?
Because it will marginalize the suffering of one of them.
Because one was the victim of a genocide and the other wasn't?