Hawaii’s Waianae High School was put on lock-down after several fights broke out, officers were assaulted, and one male and two female students were arrested. The Star Bulletin report, “Several injured in school brawl” describes chaos and mayhem where more than 20 students were treated after being exposed to pepper spray or assaulted.
According to some U.S. census data, Waianae’s 10,000 plus residents are comprised of about 50 / 50 percent male and female. 48% of men and 46% of women over 15 are married compared to national averages of 56 and 52% respectively.
Native Hawaiians make up over 2,800 of the total Waianae population and over 4,400 are counted as “two or more races”–hapa–. One could argue that Waianae is made up of over 50% people of indigenous heritage.
In contrast, Honolulu claims less than 10% Pacific Islander and less than 17% hapa. It’s fair to say that Waianae is the last stand of the Hawaiian people on Oahu.
With less than 50% holding a high school diploma and less than 8% holding a bachelors degree or higher, one can easily adduce that higher education is not a primary goal of the community.
With nearly 2,000 disabled and nearly 2,000 speaking a language other than English in their homes, we can deduct that this is a community dependent on government resources and highly fearful of government intervention.
With over 17% of families and nearly 20% of individuals living at or below poverty level, one has to wonder why there are not more brawls at Waianae High School.
The community is under-served, children are not a top priority, 20 kids injured, 3 kids arrested… Maybe this isn’t obvious to most people.
Waianae represents the future of Hawaii .. the worst possible future of Hawaii.
It’s not enough to incarcerate perpetrators of domestic violence. We have to address the needs of every member of every family to belong. We have to teach our children that they belong to our families; they belong to our communities; and they belong in our society.
To learn more about teaching children appropriate ways to belong, we have to learn ourselves. Look it up on my web site at www.LiveBeatDad.com or visit efetch.org to find out more information.
