Hibill98 wrote: "While it may be that Hawaii AS A TERRITORY 'applied for statehood and was accepted as part of the US willfully' "
It may be? In 1959, by the narrow voting margin of 94% to 6%, after the last in a long string of applications for statehood between 1919 and 1959 was finally approved by Congress. We might note that it is statistically 'unlikely' that the overwhelmaing majority of "Native Hawaiians" (who comprised about 15% of the population at that time, I believe) voted against. We might also note that the first application in 1919 was filed by Hawaii's delegate to Congress, one Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole. "The kingdom of Hawaii and her Queen were overthrown in 1893 and annexed to the United States in 1898, led by a small group consisting of businessmen and descendants of missionaries, mostly American, with the assistance of American troops" Yes, very small. Led by 13 people. Her Queen apparently did not have the deepest support of the 100,000 or so 'Natives", judging from the fact that the overthrow was bloodless. "Sadly, the plight of the Native Hawaiians since that time is similar to that of other indigenous peoples (the various tribes of the American Indians and Native Alaskans, for example): decimation of the Native Hawaiian population,..." Well, are the indigenous ones the descendants of the Polynesians who were first there 2000 years ago, or the Tahitians who won control 1200 years later ? Or the Japanese and Chinese who came in the mid-1800's ? Anyway, I do not think the numbers have decreased since 1898 - over the period between then and 1959, the 'Native" population increased slightly, I believe (though I read there had been some decimation in the mid-1800's due to 'imported' disease). "and there IS indeed an 'ongoing secessionist movement.' .......Within the last twenty years or so, however, there has been a renaissance..... and a growing movement towards sovereignty. What direction that goes -- reparations, return of ceded lands, nation-within-a-nation status or outright secession and complete independence -- remains to be seen. For a more thorough discussion, http://www.hawaii-nation.org " Well, I did learn that there is a secessionist 'movement'. INDEED. What a website. No wonder the movement is so tiny even within the Native Hawaiian communtiy. A truly thorough (and balanced) discussion! Especially the petition to the United Nations (at whose recent Durban conference, Iran, Libya and Syria got to call the US a racist country that abuses human rights - what a joke). Outright secession and complete independence --- ARE YOU KIDDING ? I certainly hope you are not holding your breath waiting for that history to be made. All of which begs my initial point, during which I objected to the use of an analogy which implied that the US/Hawaiian relationship is comparable to the Great Britain/ Northern Ireland relationship. I stand by my objection there. Despite the fact that I am totally unsympathetic to the IRA (and not overly sympathetic to its cause). "Okay, history lesson's over. Sorry to go on so long. Thought it was about time I started contributing, as I have learned SO much from you guys! But I should get back to the music, right?" Bill, I am impressed that you know so much that you have learned so little from "us guys". For my part, I was not trying to teach you anything (nor am I with the above post - I am just trying to help the other listers evaluate whether your history lesson was thorough and unbiased). I was simply replying to a post from Rob E. Bob Sartorius
