From deOccupy Honolulu to Songs of Sovereignty

Some would think Hawaiian Sovereignty groups and deOccupy Honolulu would have trouble sharing Thomas Square… or anything else for that matter. But this yearʻs La Hoʻihoʻi Ea, (the commemoration of the restoration of sovereignty on July 31, 1843) saw the participation of deOccupy Honolulu with the Kanaka Maoli groups that filled the Victoria Street quadrant of the park at the end of last month.

I think some people want to look at the park and see a vast unused expanse of greenery and feel offended when something else happens there. But there are many ways to share park space and use. It takes cooperation, not armed police and bulldozers.

This past Sunday a Hawaiian sovereignty group met for the first of many "Songs of Sovereignty" gatherings. Of course, deOccupy Honolulu has been holding its "Food Not Bombs" jam sessions at the same day and time for months. Conflict? Time to call the police and bulldozers? Not at all.

So, how does one get from deOccupy Hawaii to Songs of Sovereignty? Follow Karen. (Oh, you were thinking this was an ideological question?)

(De)Occupy Honolulu is in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and the worldwide Occupy Movement which asserts that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. They urge people to exercise the right to peaceably assemble, occupy public space, create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

H. Doug Matsuoka

28 August 2012

Makiki, Honolulu

P.S. There has been a steady stream of information coming out of the deOccupy Honolulu encampment and I havenʻt been able to keep up! More reporting soon, I promise!