rule, institutional racism had functioned to hold back people of color;
under Japanese dominance, other Asians and some Anglos suffered the
same disadvantage (Okamura 2008). This solidification of Japanese
political dominance culminated in 1974 with the election of George
Ariyoshi as governor.^6
Under the Ariyoshi administration extreme measures were taken to
cement Nisei control.^7 Laws were introduced which capped immigration;
and access to state employment and welfare were subject to length of
residence. Institutionalized exclusion of both Haoles and Filipinos was
rampant in education especially, where the administration was dominated
by ethnic Japanese interests.
As power shifts from one group to another, deep resentments are formed
between those groups. Filipinos, Japanese, Pacific Islanders, Chinese,
Haole, each group has a mindset about the others but there is one subject
on which all groups seem to agree: HC, and the people who speak it
(Figure 12.3).