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Lempert's research suggests that Hawaiian Samoans are discriminated against by the Hawaiian Housing Authority (HHA). He shows that Hawaiian culture stigmatizes the Samoans above other ethnicities. The majority of the cases in which Samoans were brought before the HHA, were due to lack of payment, but Lempert suggests that this is in part due to a tenant of their culture in which they are beholden to send money home to those who helped them emigrate to the United States, for family occasions, and to their churches.
Lempert also notes offhand comments by many members of the eviction board that demonstrate a prejudice towards the Samoans. These comments were made in such a way that the people probably didn't even think there was anything wrong with their attitudes toward the Samoans, and that they were entirely justified.
I find Lempert's questions very interesting. Are the Samoans being discriminated against? Their attitudes about where the money they make should be spent are very different from American values. So, should they be forced to reprioritize according to American values or should landlords be forced to accomodate their different priorities? Lempert seems to disregard this second question. He assumes that the HHA should simply grant more empathy to these cases, however I'm not so sure I agree. The owner's of these properties do have a legitimate expectation to be paid, and if the people aren't paying their rent they are not living up to their end of the deal. It would be interesting to hear more about this "discrimination" and I think it would be helpful to personally see the process in action.
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Hey Stephen -
ReplyDeleteI found this article interesting too. And I do feel badly for the Samoans, of course. I am sure that there are cultural biases that work against them. And this is difficult for me to assess because I am not familiar with Hawaiian culture, so that is a struggle. But assimilation is important, too. I think that the Samoans must have an understanding about how they must spend their money to live in America. Again, I felt like I needed more detail here about their culture. What would happen if they failed to follow the financial structure? Someone would get mad? They would feel guilty? They would be ostracized? I think this is a tough thing to relate to as Americans, but I can see both sides.
While I sympathize with the impossible position that Hawaiian Samoans have been placed in, I agree with you that landlords absolutely have the right to expect payment. Paying rent (or bills in general) is such a basic component of life in American society, the way I see it the Samoans are being discriminated against they are just being held to the same standards as every other tenant. There must be some way to reconcile their cultural beliefs with the realities of life.
ReplyDeleteI honestly never knew the amount that Samoans are discriminated against. I guess I don't really know much about Hawaii in general, and I didn't get the chance to read this article, but it sure sounded pretty rough. I only picked up little snippets during class discussion, but it seemed a bit rash to evict these folks. I mean if they didn't pay their rent...they have to face consequences, but something in me says that there is more to the story that refusal to pay. I understood the customs, and I feel like it wasn't intentional. This really makes you question the reasons behind instances of deviance. I mean they need to assimilate, but understanding ought to go both ways.
ReplyDeleteThis is a tricky situation that seems like it has no easy answer. I think the difficult part is that part of Samoan culture means they must give money to their families first, something that does not exist the same in American culture. I don't think that they are being discriminated for the sake of discrimination but rather because of the American standards surrounding rent. I guess what's hard about this is at what point is the line drawn between discrimination of culture and American law.
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