Haiku Supports Mrs. Nakahashi at the Hoʻokipa Pillbox

 

No matter how much the world changes and whatever crazy story is in the news, some landmarks in my life stay constant. The Hoʻokipa WWII pillbox is one of those things that I see almost every time I drive from my house to town.

As I approach it, my eyes veer towards it in anticipation of its latest transformation and I’m ready to stop to take a picture. I have never seen it completely blank, unless it was in the process of being repainted with the latest street art, birthday greeting, political message, or sympathy card.

End of September paint job: "Haiku Stands with Mrs. Nakahashi"

One of the recent paint jobs at the Hoʻokipa pillbox refers to Mrs. Nakahashi. The general story is that Mrs. Nakahashi was a beloved teacher at Haʻiku Elementary School. She was abruptly relieved from her teaching position of 40 years after making a formal complaint of bullying behavior by the principal of the school. Many community members protested her sudden removal a few days ago.

 

Without personally knowing Mrs. Nakahashi, I don’t feel surprised by the situation or the outrage about it. I have heard through the “coconut wireless,” what we call the pre-internet grapevine, of some negative feedback about the principal and vice principal of Haʻiku Elementary. Since the information was from a few years ago, it may not be the same administrators involved today. 

A formal investigation is under way and I hope it leads to justice and rightness. As individuals here in the middle of the Pacific, we can’t control things at a national or global level, but maybe in our own communities, we can make things “pono” – what we say in Hawaiian – to bring things back in balance.