Racism In The Polynesian Community

Last month, two Polynesians went to Willie's Lounge, a bar in Salt Lake City, and they were refused service because of their race. One of the bartenders told them that it was against their company policy to service any Polynesians. This incident went viral all over social media among the poly community. People were protesting outside of the bar on behalf of the racial incident that happened to the two guys. A lot of people from the Polynesian community were angry and shocked that racism is still present in the United States. When I discussed how I felt about this protest and how racism has been in the United States long before any Polynesian migrated, I am often shunned away because they claimed, “I know too much or I should not be talking …show more content…
When I tried to explain to my cousins that black people are incarcerated and killed more than any other race, it’s like talking to a wall. I struggle to find an answer to their lack of support or their lack of attention on these issues. I truly believe that most Polynesians specifically the Tongan & Samoan community internalized the notion that they have white privilege or are exempted from racial oppression because they are not exactly Latinx or black. As a result, they often turn blind eye to racial issues that has been happening so far. It was not until this event that most of them realized how they do not fall under that “white privilege” spectrum. While there are some Samoan activists that are fighting for social justice and standing in solidarity with other communities of color, most Samoans still lack the consciousness to challenge their own way of thinking and systems of power that we live …show more content…
They are taught to internalize certain beliefs from the dominant perspective and stereotypes about other race that they failed to reflect on their actions and comments. It’s harder for them to decolonize their ways of thinking because authority-based system is rooted our culture. Samoans live in a strong male authority society where we always depend on our elders for instructions. We are taught to never question our elders (government) because that’s considered disrespectfulness in the Samoan community. However, this should not excuse their behavior towards their blindness and ignorance in regards to racism because time has change and things have definitely