Anonymous #2 3d

Like - my family WENT to hawaii (gecko attached as proof, god I love modern phone cameras) AFTER the fires on Maui. There was a hell of a dissonance between staying in a resort that had fences between green grass and ashes. None of that tourism money went to the local population. We didn’t help them rebuild.

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Anonymous #2 3d

It IS better off because the people of Hawai’i were free citizens with full citizenship and rights. Puerto Ricans don’t have the rights that other citizens do

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Anonymous #2 3d

Alright I’m all pro-Hawaiian self-determination too, but bffr even if Hawaii gained full independence right now, they would still absolutely rely on tourism for their entire economy like most tropical island nations do. A fully decolonized Hawaii, even if it were possible, would still need a tourist economy. It’s that or back to sugar farming, and I think I can guess which option is better for locals between “annoying mainlanders” and “80 hour weeks of BRUTALLY intensive paddy labor”

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Anonymous #2 3d

The US gov gave Hawai’i state rights from the second it joined the US and every person in Hawai’i became a free citizen with full constitutional rights. Puerto Rico doesn’t get constitutional rights. They’re basically treated like they aren’t free citizens

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Anonymous #2 3d

Also do you think Puerto Rico isn’t facing issues due to tourism? Have you even thought of looking into the ecosystem damage in Puerto Rico?

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Anonymous #2 3d

Doesn’t Puerto Rico have these same problems? What’s stopping it from having them

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Anonymous OP 3d

OP, I need you to realize something very, very quickly. Only 25% of Hawai’i’s population is native Hawai’ian. So yes - they get a vote - but they get OUTVOTED 3:1 by American immigrants from the mainland. That’s not the same as actually getting a SAY - especially in the senate. It’s like being a MAGA voter in the middle of LA. DOESN’T MATTER what you say, a million other people who don’t represent your interests are gonna drown you out.

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Anonymous #2 3d

Actually, hawai’i has more rights than most indigenous people in America do. They are victims of colonialism but they are more privileged than everyone else who was colonized.

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 3d

cheese, I agree. My issue isn’t with the tourism itself - it’s the fact the dollars go to CORPORATE INTERESTS for the most part instead of the locals. Hence the “resorts, ashes/grass fence” comment

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Anonymous #2 3d

I mean yeah I think tourists should do their diligence and try their best to support locally owned tourism companies/resorts and stuff than like, staying at some fuckin Marriott, but my point is that most indigenous Hawaiians work in tourism, it’s kind of a TikTok talking point when people are like “Native Hawaiians HATE tourism” that’s always being spouted by like some rich 19 year old half-white Hawaiian who’s never had a job lmao

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 3d

Like everywhere with a tourist economy, everyone “hates tourists” but nobody ACTUALLY hates tourists lmao

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 3d

I’ll concede i phrased it poorly in the name of the character limit lmfao - but yeah, that’s my main thing. Hawai’i became a state just in time for Capital to take over the primary economic interests. The fact wealthy interests are already staking claims in puerto rico (god the entire story about the coqui makes me SO sad) makes me VERY worried that if PR goes the route of statehood, the same thing will happen, leaving Puerto Ricans behind.

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 3d

For the record, my family has ALSO gone to Puerto Rico. I just don’t feel comfortable making political assertions based on the memories of a 7 year old in 2009. Remembered MUCH more of the Hawaii trip in 2024 lmfao

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Anonymous #2 3d

Yeah I went to Kaua’i in 2019, which is the least settled island iirc, and it definitely pisses me off seeing billionaires get massive swathes of property there while I know for a fact most locals live a modest life in the tourism industry. Like we can have a conversation about how the tourism industry is exploitative, like any other industry, but it’s clear that the answer isn’t “No More Mainlanders Visiting!”

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 3d

Kaua’i is gorgeous because it’s the rainiest place on the entire planet, so it’s absolutely covered in thick jungle, and it definitely pisses me off seeing people like Mark Zuckerberg be like “I’m gonna build a massive compound and level a bunch of jungle to do it!!!!” like man if you want a house there why don’t you just buy a regular fuckin house there my man, or even a mansion that already exists like some shit on one of the old defunct sugar farms, why are you clearing the jungle for vanity?

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 3d

That was also the biggest complaint I heard from Kaua’i natives I talked to, that they’re upset with the urban growth that the mainlanders who MOVE THERE bring, lots of “we don’t want Kaua’i to look like O’ahu” and such.

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 3d

i do think that a lot of us don’t actually understand the sheer psychological power of “because i can, fuck you” once you get to “fuck you” levels of wealth. like there’s a million ways to do it better, but YOU’RE god’s favorite special rich boy, and you CAN do it in the awful way

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 3d

Was on Maui, not Kaua’i, and the biggest thing I got from the locals were how BITTER they were after the fires. Watching resorts get rebuilt in months while their family home is still burnt out and they’re being forced to pay for a motel. And like. Yeah. I’d be bitter as fuck too.

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Anonymous #2 3d

Yeah my trip was pre-fires and all the natives I spoke with were of the opinion that tourists were fine but they didn’t want any more mainlanders moving there and building more shit by destroying their completely unique ecosystem, which I find entirely reasonable.

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 3d

Yup. And that, and the VALID bitterness, AND the need for a tourism based economy can all coexist without contradicting

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 3d

Because Kaua’i is a genuine natural anomaly, the crater of the dead volcano is shaped in such a way that it creates a funnel effect on the moisture in the air, so it just rains and rains and rains, and that means there’s nowhere like it for plant life. Even the massive stone cliffs over the sea are completely green with moss, that place is insane. There’s a reason they filmed so many movies in that jungle, like Jurassic Park.

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 3d

Watching Jurassic Park with my old roommates and going “I’ve been there.” for them to be like “no you fucking haven’t been to Jurassic Park dude shut up” and then showing them the pictures of me in that very same jungle was peak

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 3d

… cheese, you just. explained something to me. completely unrelated to the conversation. or hawai’i. or anything. but now I know why the (this is a NICKNAME it is NOT THE ACTUAL NAME nor is it REFLECTIVE OF WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS THERE) pegasus sex crater was designed like that in my favorite fanfiction

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 3d

you can imagine my surprise at finding out this location may be meteorologically realistic

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