The message left at Kealakehe High School by an unnamed man went straight for the hyperbolic jugular.
The message left at Kealakehe High School by an unnamed man went straight for the hyperbolic jugular.
The man took exception to senior football standout Mason Kaawa-Loa, who has taken a knee during the national anthem before the Waveriders football games this season in an attempt to take a stance for what he believes is a social injustice — the annexation and treatment of Native Hawaiian by the US.
Blowback for taking a stand could have been expected, just ask San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who started the whole movement to highlight injustices in the African American community with law enforcement, and has said he’s received death threats since the movement has caught on.
The message wasn’t nearly that bad, but it was bad.
“Hey man, maybe you guys should practice playing football and learning how to play sports instead of practicing being terrorists and traitors to America,” the unidentified man said in a voicemail.
Unidentified because people who leave messages like that tend not to leave names. We’re not name calling, only pointing out a trend we’ve experienced here, as well.
In fact, the last thing this debate needs is anymore name calling. So high-strung and polar are our politics that rational discourse on topics that veer into that world are becoming extinct.
Which is why our favorite part of the story is happening now.
Kealakehe head coach Sam Kekuaokalani said since Kaawa-Loa has decided to take a knee, he has spoken with him on multiple occasions about his motives and thoughts. Recently, Kekuaokalani assigned Kaawa-Loa a paper to write if he wanted to continue his stance.
“I have spoken to him about it and I am trying to use it as an educational opportunity,” Kekuaokalani said. “He’s thinking about it a little more. I want him to fully understand the thoughts behind his actions.”
And after the West Hawaii Story ran on Wednesday and was picked up by other media outlets across the state, the school, student and coach have all received feedback, and those big-picture, two-sided discussions are continuing, but under a much bigger microscope.
Still, they said, they’re listening to the feedback as a way to broaden their discussion and understanding.
But this isn’t a stance on support or condemnation for the young man’s actions. We respect every person’s right to an emotional connection or lack thereof on this country’s national anthem. Driving our stake somewhere on that scale is just another opinion at which to yell or with which to agree.
We will tip our cap, nod our helmet in this case, to Kaawa-Loa for opening himself up and engaging in a massive, open-ended discussion with no right answer. He’s put himself in an uncomfortable spot that requires thick skin and critical thinking, and that’s exactly the environment that encourages growth.
That’s something to be proud enough of that you’d want to attach your name to it.