Justice, injustice, how to define these terms? Was it just for Kamehameha I to ally himself with Europeans so he could use their cannons to slaughter other Hawaiians and create his kingdom?

Is it not the descendants of these conquerors who now decry that they were conquered and their brutal system dismantled? Did not many commoners escape their enslavement by fleeing on commercial ships to become the diaspora now living in distant lands, from Alaska to Chile?

Under the old system, were commoners even allowed to trek up Mauna Kea, or was this a privilege reserved for the alii? Do those who make the trip now climb up as in the old days, or do they drive cars on roads built by the colonizers? Just asking.

Kurt Butler

Makawao, Maui

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