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Under the Sun Cynthia Oi |
How many states in U.S.?
Not quite 50, it turns outIN THE early 1970s, I went to one of those huge newsstands that once characterized New York City. It was in some square -- Herald or Times, I can't remember -- where the sidewalk was lined with wooden racks variously worn as sections were added to bear the growth in inventory.
I was looking for a copy of the Star-Bulletin, hungry for news about Hawaii in pre-Internet days, before information about world events could be had in minute-by-minute gluts with just a few taps on a keyboard.
I was living in Hartford and though it is the capital of Connecticut, the city at the time was really a large small town and lacked the kind of population that would demand diverse reading material.
Even though I worked at a newspaper and had access to wire service reports, not much about what was happening in Hawaii moved across the rolls of paper scrolling from clattering teletypes. If anything made the wires, it was usually an oddity like a a shark attack or a "gee whiz" bit of trivia about the people in the islands consuming more rice than any other state.
A friend who lived in New York told me he had seen Honolulu newspapers at the newsstand, so after getting off the Greyhound bus one weekend I found my way to the newsstand.
I scanned the state-by-state alphabetic arrangement from Alabama to Wyoming and back again, looking for Hawaii between Georgia and Idaho.
Where do you keep the Honolulu newspapers, I finally asked the guy running the stand.
"Foreign news," he barked.
I don't remember my exact words, but I informed him, probably in a huff, that Hawaii was a state and its newspapers did not belong in the foreign news section.
He gave me a look, then asked where the islands were located. I think I stammered something about the Pacific Ocean. He flung out his arm as if to say, "Well, there you go."
As I paid for an overpriced, weeks-old edition of the Bulletin, I muttered he was wrong and he ought to place Hawaii publications in the correct category, but my protests were ignored. In subsequent visits, the Honolulu papers remained in foreign news.
Even today, as Hawaii moves to close to half a century as a state, this notion persists that we aren't full partners in the union. Whether this is due to distance and other geographic factors, lack of familiarity and differences in population and culture, we are set apart.
Last month, for example, The New York Times reported that because the bald eagle population had grown and stabilized across the country, it was likely to be removed from the list of threatened species.
The article stated: "Nationwide last year there were 7,678 nesting pairs; only Vermont and Rhode Island had none, according to federal statistics."
Wrong, I e-mailed to the Times. Hawaii has no bald eagles, much less breeding pairs, so it was a mistake to say "nationwide."
A week later, a correction appeared in the Times, but it scrupulously avoided saying that the story failed to take into account Hawaii. Instead, it declared that the article "referred imprecisely to the eagle population," which I thought was kind of chicken feces, if you get my drift.
The error may not have been of great consequence. Nonetheless, it was an error, one that reflects an attitude people and institutions have about Hawaii. Numerous publications, including reputable news magazines, as well as studies and polls overlook the islands when discussing issues of "nationwide" interest.
Does it matter? It does. It advances the idea that Hawaii doesn't count, except for being a lovely vacation spot or the site of exotic marvels. Like a beautiful woman is often viewed as brainless and isn't taken seriously, the perception hurts Hawaii.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Cynthia Oi has been on the staff of the Star-Bulletin since 1976. She can be reached at: coi@starbulletin.com.