Kill Haole Day

In Hawaii's schools, the last day of school before summer is reputedly known as Kill Haole Day. On Kill Haole Day, school children harass and sometimes assault white children. The origins of the day are unknown, but the tradition dates back to the 1950s.

In the Hawaiian language, haole means "foreign" or "foreigner". The word predates the 1778 arrival of Captain James Cook (which is the generally accepted date of first contact with westerners), as recorded in several chants stemming from antiquity. Haole, in its current definition, first became associated with the children of Caucasian immigrants in the early 1820s. It unified the self-identity of these Hawaii-born children whose parents were as culturally different as the children were similar. For Haole children whose first language was Hawaiian, their parents were generally either religious missionaries or secular businessmen, and hailed from both Europe and North America, not necessarily speaking a common dialect or even language. Over the years, "Haole" became an expression of contempt. Though its first usage described members of a socioeconomic class, it added a racial component, erroneously replacing "malihini" (newcomer) in addressing first generation Hawaiians originally from the continental U.S. Today it is applied to any Caucasian, or to those who think or behave in a "foreign" manner. In current application, Haole can be used either descriptively or as a racial slur (often, if not generally, preceded by an obscene invective).

In his 2009 book, lawyer and former Hawaii governor Ben Cayetano wrote that "Kill Haole Day" began as a news story headline about an incident between haole and local (not just Hawaiian) students. After that, "whenever there was a fight or an incident between haole and local students, the news media, particularly the newspapers with their haole-dominated editorial boards, repeatedly reprised 'Kill Haole Day' in their news stories -- as if it were a Hawaiian tradition."

In 1999, School Superintendent Paul LeMahieu said he is aware of "kill haole day" but is not aware of any recent incidents. Also, in 1999, it became an issue for hate crimes legislation.