They’ve been warned, arrested and had their belongings confiscated five times since members of Occupy Honolulu moved into — and later around — Thomas Square in October, but Hawaii’s history with protests suggests that the end of Occupy Honolulu might not come quickly.
Generations of tolerance by Hawaii law enforcement and government officials toward sit-ins and occupations on public lands and in government buildings have meant that some protests have lasted for weeks and months in high-profile, public locations that include the grounds of ‘Iolani Palace, the University of Hawaii’s Bachman Hall administration building and even the governor’s office.
In one case in the early 1990s, Hawaiian activists claiming indigenous rights lived in tents and occupied a portion of Makapuu Beach Park for a year and three months until they were given 45 acres of mauka lands in Waimanalo in 1994, where they relocated.
Vanessa Chong, executive director of the ACLU of Hawaii, calls it "Hawaii-style protests."
"People who have been here a while and have been involved in protests and understand how dissent works in Hawaii can use this very effectively," Chong said. "In general, because of our rich history of different cultures trying to blend together, trying to accommodate each other, trying to understand each other because we are landlocked, there is more of an inclination in Hawaii to want to understand an opposing point of view. Because of the cultures that exist here that are dominated by Pacific Islander and Asian cultures, there is a tendency not to be confrontational. Sometimes that hesitancy can allow certain injustices to continue. That’s the twin side of Hawaii-style protests."
As a UH student, Davianna McGregor participated in the peaceful 1974 sit-in at UH’s Bachman Hall to urge the continuation of ethnic studies. Today, McGregor is a UH professor teaching a new generation of ethnic studies students.
Over the years that followed the Bachman Hall sit-in, McGregor witnessed — or participated in — Hawaii’s anti-Vietnam War demonstrations and protests over a wide range of issues including Hawaiian rights and Hawaiian sovereignty, the return of Kahoolawe and anti-geothermal drilling in the Puna rainforest.
"At Bachman Hall, we knew who all the police or the sheriff’s deputies were and they knew us," McGregor said. "And they knew that we’d keep seeing each other. They knew we were nonviolent and weren’t out to cause any damage and just wanted to exercise our freedom of speech. They respect that and they respected us."
Occupy Honolulu participant Megan Brooker — a veteran of sometimes violent protests across the country — has blunt advice for anyone on the mainland planning to protest in Honolulu:
"I would tell them not to bother," Brooker said.
"When people travel to participate in a demonstration, they expect it to be loud and they expect to make a point," said Brooker, 29, who said she is from "many places" and also took part in November’s demonstrations critical of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Honolulu.
"They don’t necessarily expect violence, but they certainly expect a ruckus so the media and the general public and hopefully someone in authority has to listen to them," Brooker said. "You’re never going to see that here."
In 2003, Brooker was among the throng of protesters in Miami confronted by police in tactical and riot gear who used tear gas, rubber bullets, "you name it" against people protesting the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
So when she joined the Occupy Honolulu movement at Thomas Square, Brooker thought she was prepared for anything.
But she wasn’t ready for the Honolulu Police Department’s "civil affairs" officers — and their uniforms of aloha shirts, shorts, Panama-style hats and seemingly friendly aloha spirit.
And she really doesn’t like it when HPD officers call her by her first name.
Brooker believes the civil affairs uniforms and officers’ attitudes are disingenuous and could be a cover for an intelligence-gathering tactic by Honolulu police.
"There’s a guise of friendliness with the aloha shirts and the friendly demeanor of, ‘We just want to be your friend,’" Brooker said. "I’ve had officers refer to me by name, which makes me feel uncomfortable. It gives me the sense they’re tracking me personally because you turn around and those same officers are confiscating items and otherwise harassing the (Occupy Honolulu) participants."
Hilo-born H. Doug Matsuoka supports the Occupy Honolulu movement, has documented the efforts at Thomas Square by police and city officials, and questions the legality of sweeps of the members’ belongings.
But even amid his concerns over the city’s approach, Matsuoka acknowledges an island-style attitude unlike the heavy-handed police efforts toward other Occupy protests on the mainland.
"It’s in no way as bad as Oakland or New York," Matsuoka said. "No flash grenades. No pepper spray. Hawaii generally is less polarized because we’re on an island. Everybody’s got relatives on the police force, everybody’s got a cousin, or at least knows somebody."
There hasn’t been a violent clash between law enforcement and protesters in the islands since the 1938 "Hilo massacre" that — despite its name — did not involve any fatalities over a union-led strike, McGregor said.
In more modern times, law enforcement and UH and government officials often meet with protesters in advance and reach compromises that allow protests to proceed peacefully, McGregor said.
Honolulu police modeled their civil affairs officers after a similar unit within the Philadelphia Police Department.
HPD’s civil affairs officers were activated for the first time for the 2001 Asian Development Bank meetings — then reactivated for APEC, said HPD Capt. Keith Lima, who leads the unit.
"The unit’s mission is to preserve peace and order and to protect the constitutional rights of persons involved in demonstrations, protests, and labor-management disputes," Lima said in an email to the Star-Advertiser. "Civil Affairs personnel typically meet with organizers/leaders prior to establish a relationship and open dialogue. Communication is maintained through typical means, such as email and phone. We also pass out business cards with our contact information."
During APEC, Lima said, civil affairs officers worked with Unite HERE Local 5 hotel worker demonstrators at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki and with Hawaiian Telecom workers who were organizing a labor dispute.
"We are fortunate to live in a place that promotes respect, tolerance and diversity," Lima said. "For the most part, protesters here are peaceful and follow the law. We also think that the relationships built by our employees, including our (Community Affairs) and community policing officers, and the respect shown to protest groups and individuals contribute to safe, nonviolent demonstrations."
Retired UH political science professor Neal Milner said Hawaii is the kind of place where protesters opposed to the Hawaii Superferry and cruise ships arriving in Molokai sit on surfboards and in kayaks splashing water and blowing horns and conch shells, while occasionally throwing things.
After anti-war protests and the rise of the Hawaiian renaissance and sovereignty movements in the 1970s, Milner said, "There just haven’t been many protests, period. That seems to have died down as a form of political action here."
Eventually, Milner said, even protests that involve occupying public lands for months — such as Occupy Honolulu — always come to an end.
