Hawaii

I decided not to respond to Monday's discussion because i wasn't sure if I would respond maturely. I don't agree with everything Francis had to say and I wanted to wait to see what he had to say the next class. After hearing about what had happened prior to his coming to class, its safe to say that his lecture was tainted. He said so himself. On the other hand, a lot of what he said is true. I try not to think that things are so hopeless, but where is the honesty of the situation?

Anyways, I finished reading the fourth chapter and I have a few initial opinions on its contents.

Takaki uses a lot of numbers in this chapter which I think is a good thing. I no longer feel like he is using them to compensate for a lack of argument or something like that. They really paint an interesting picture where he uses them but for the most part they only show us what he's told us previously. The number of Asian immigrants living in Hawaii increased over time...which is obvious, but what is striking about this chapter is the impact that these increasing populations had not only on the islands themselves, but on each other because there were so many ethnicities represented in the work force.

I get a sense of nostalgia from reading this chapter. There is something raw and visceral about a pioneer "civilization" of people. To me, its an opportunity I feel like I may never have a part of, and thats okay. I still get the sense that there was great satisfaction in overcoming oppression for those who were oppressed by planters and the system of plantations that controlled the islands. I know no other way of explaining what that feels like, but feeling like one is part of something greater than themselves gives a sense of purpose to life because it makes the pain of everyday living not so painful. A goal, a hope, a dream, anything that brings motivation to lives that don't have the comforts we today in this nation would call normal, are only the tip of the ice berg when it comes to the shear humanity involved in creating a community. To relate this to myself, I could say that my wanting to understand cultures is my way of being part of a developing community of other people that want to be a "global citizen".