Hawaiians Sign Petition Against Dodge Kahuna

As my old digital audio instructor once said, "Just because something is politically correct doesn't mean it's wrong".

I collect Coco Joes and mugs. I'm not sure if that makes me a hypocrite, but I am down with Sneakytiki on this one. Maybe it's because I live in a place where there are a lot of Native people, my wife is working for a Native band, and ridiculous plastic Taiwanese "totem poles" are still openly flogged to tourists.

Maybe others would like to weigh in: does having Coco Joes or mugs feel the same to you as, say, sporting a Cleveland Indians jersey? It doesn't to me, and I'm trying to figure out why...for one thing, If we know Hawaiian history, it was a Queen who broke the kapus, causing a general concensus that the old religion was not to be followed any more, and that the idols were simply figures made of wood. Regarding renewed practices of traditional religion, it seems that Native peoples are just as capable of revisionism as the dominant culture - witness a re-adopting of some of the old ways, with a glossing over or willful forgetting of the bad parts, e.g. intertribal warfare and blood-feud, cannibalism, slavery, incest, etc. Plenty of chest-beating guilt on the part of the dominant culture, very little of it from the indigenous peoples. I don't think I'll live to see the Haida apolgizing to the Salish for their constant slave-raiding, not to mention the horrible practice of killing slaves at potlatch to show how wealthy one is.

My point, if I have one - we have a long way to go before we really understand each other's cultures, and while we are doing that work, maybe naming a car after a religious figure is not such a hot idea.

aloha, em.

My point, if I have one - we have a long way to go before we really understand each other's cultures, and while we are doing that work, maybe naming a car after a religious figure is not such a hot idea.

Like the Pope mobile? :lol:

Ye daft bugger!

:)
em.

Ha... the "Ford Pope" was one of the examples we used to explain to our roommate why it wasn't very respectful to name a car "Kahuna".

I agree, em-- one can go too far with the pc, but that doesn't mean we can't be polite. Since I imagine having a "Dodge Pastor" or a "Ford Pope" would upset some folks, I think Dodge can probably find a cool-sounding Hawiian name that's not a religious title.

On 2004-02-08 12:07, Kim wrote:

I agree, em-- one can go too far with the pc, but that doesn't mean we can't be polite.

Yes I agree & I admire SneakyTiki for making a stand on this issue.

A few years before my grandmother died in 1967, she told my aunt some stories of how her and her siblings (Mexican) were treated back when they were growing up in foster homes and as young adults.

It's sad to realize how she had to hold those feelings in all those years and how they were taught to be ashamed of what they were.

Our society has finally reached a point where minorities feel safe in expressing themselves about hurtful stereotying. It's hard to say where to draw the line, but I'd rather err on the side of caution & not be too quick to accuse someone of being overly sensitive.

On 2004-02-05 13:09, Primo Kimo wrote:
Okay. Alright. Dodge Moon Doggie it is.

Good call, Primo Kimo.

However, Unga Bunga also raises a valid point that the "Kahuna" phrase has been soooo used in society as to have taken on a meaning much more similar to "Moon Doogie" than to have any true Hawaiian reference.

I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the extreme repition of an originally non PC
phrase making it ok, and I never thought of the Jeep Cherokee issue, but I guess I think the Kahuna is okay as the name is not being ridiculed, just exploited for commercial gain.

(It would be better if some portion of the car were actually made in the islands).

It appears to be another example of cars like the name "Vibe," geared to the 20 something crowd. By the way, do most 20 somethings have the cash to buy new cars (& pay for insurance?)

In my opinion, use of the name is not as abhorent as the Fighting Illini mascot. I know San Diego State got rid of their Monty Montezuma mascot, which I think was a good thing.

However, Dodge could have avoided this issue by having someone in the marketing dept should have made a few calls to Hawaiian cultural groups to vet the name.