This is written as an open letter to address the student events at Pahoa High and Intermediate School which caught the attention of many people across our state this past week. I speak only for myself as an individual and not as a representative of the Department of Education in this instance. The intent is to give readers a different context for the situation from the perspective of someone who was actually in the middle of it from beginning to end.
To understand the context requires a person to understand at least a couple basic concepts of human development and a little bit of history. With regard to human development, children during their teenage years are actively searching to establish their identities and where they fit in (belongingness). If there are doubts as to the veracity of such a statement and you aren’t into research, instead look to Instagram or TikTok to see how flooded those sites are with teens trying to define themselves while finding a place in the larger social communities.
Now imagine for a moment you are part of a community in Hawaii where people commonly refer to you, your family, neighbors and anyone else easily identified by look, clothing and language as “cockroaches” or other racially motivated epithets. Not only would your developing sense of identity be stained by other people’s hatred toward you, but the messaging in your community would seem to support that you do not belong here.
While most individuals do not have to experience this as part of their daily lives, the students who were the subject of public ire as a result of Wednesday’s actions at PHIS live with exactly that. Historically, this has been the experience of basically every immigrant group and many cultural minorities across our world, and sadly is the experience of many of our families across Hawaii. There are groups within our school and within our community who are trying to change this reality and provide supports, inclusivity and aloha; however, we often cannot overcome quickly enough, the damage caused by outdated and racist ideology.
With the context above, I will describe what it was like to be in the middle of a large group of students moving around a campus in an angry and charged-up state of mind. The lockdown on campus was called quickly, and the vast majority of PHIS students followed adult directions and stayed safely in classrooms.
Several staff members remained outside of classrooms to help in various ways, while others assisted by making sure students in class were safe, as well as didn’t come out and add fuel to the situation. For my part, at no time was I afraid of the students who have been described in commentary as “out of control.” They weren’t attacking random people; they were upset at people who were either using slurs against them or those who they felt discriminated against them that day or in the past.
As I have been someone who has continuously worked with our students from this disenfranchised community with love, not one student attacked me during the melee. My experience was not unique and was the experience of almost all of our staff who were outside helping during the situation. I stood in front of students whose fists were raised and mouths calling out for fights and was able to come into contact with them to remove them from other people and away from areas without ever being retaliated against.
The feeling in that moment and after was not one of fear or anger toward these students, it was a feeling of profound sadness for what was happening and would happen to these students. Sadness for how the actions of this day, which were driven by the words of other people, would help to solidify the negative views of Pahoa kids, children of poverty, our community, but most sadly, the cultural community these students come from. Sadness for how this would entrench already entrenched racist views.
These actions would be a call for immature teenagers to look for opportunities to call each other out on social media because of racist views. These actions would help to turn the wheel again on the cycle of poverty and discrimination which is plaguing this community. The only fear I have is that we will fail to address the societal norms which placed these children in a state of hopelessness. Hopelessness which is so severe that they railed against anyone who they saw as another person holding them down for being alive in Hawaii.
I am sorry for the physical injuries inflicted last week and join our communities in not ever wanting to see staff nor students harmed while on a school campus. My hope as we move forward as a school and community is that we do not settle for convenient and simplistic answers to situations like this. Answers such as, “kids never took enough beatings to know better” or “send them to jail/juvenile detention so they learn,” act as if the problem can be solved without all of us doing our part.
These children are bearing and will continue to bear the consequences of their actions. However, we all bear responsibility on a daily basis for creating a world where children don’t see lashing out as the only viable option. This problem will not be solved by lashing out at children nor the communities they come from. This problem will be solved when we, as a community, continue to find meaningful ways of lifting each other up across this beautiful home we share in the most remote island chain in the world. Together we can and will change the narrative for the better.
Brandon Gallagher is vice principal at Pahoa High and Intermediate School.