50 percent criminal

A friend of mine tells me the other day that he believes “at least 50 percent of the Chuukese living in the CNMI [and Guam] are criminals.” I imagine the man has had some bad experiences with some bad Chuukese and, frankly, he’s not alone, but 50 percent? That’s a big number. I then made the mistake of posing the question to a room full of goodfellas who, almost simultaneously, disagreed saying that “the number is probably closer to 75 percent”—which makes me think, with friends like these, who needs enemies…right?

Truth be told, I wasn’t at all surprised…even worse, I wasn’t offended—no sense of indignation whatsoever. I guess I’m used to it. Disparaging remarks about Chuukese people (particularly among our fellow islanders) are about as common as jokes about blonds or bad press for politicians. That’s the nature of stereotypes—sometimes we don’t know whether to laugh or get mad. Either way, they get passed along from person to person like a lit cigarette over one gas drum to another. All it takes are some rogue fumes and (in the spirit of this particular stereotype) the machetes come out.

As far as I care, the machetes are the least of my worries—I’m used to those as well. But, what does concern me is two-fold: (1) that the virtues of an otherwise honorable people/culture have become hidden amidst this mutant version of what our ancestors stood for and (2) that the negativity of those who choose to live down to the stereotypes can overshadow the positive efforts of the rest…the one “bad apple” syndrome, if you will. As if it isn’t bad enough that most of us are having to claw our way through every social snake pit known to modern society—due, in large part, to our own doing for sure—we now contend with an ugly stigma that simply is not worthy of the early Chuukese leaders who charted their way into this, the greatest nation on earth. For one thing, the old-timers (at least the ones I knew from the Mortlocks) would sooner starve to death than to ask for a handout of food or anything else for that matter—the true-grit men and women of Chuuk were too proud to beg. For another, it seems that the younger generations of Chuukese are confused about the very broad distinction between being “pwara” (brave) and being “namaike” (acting brave)—they are not one and the same and the traditional men and women of Chuuk frown upon the latter. I could expound further about the modern, warped version of Chuukese customs and some reasons for why they came about (i.e., welfare programs, politics, alcoholism, ignorance, etc., etc.), but the point is simply that all the negativity associated with Chuukese people, while true for so many of us, is absolutely not representative of our people as a whole.

The same could be said for people with disabilities who, perhaps, know more about the stifling impact of stigmas and stereotypes than any other collective group in modern-day society. What may be true for some people with certain disabilities is not necessarily the rule for every person with a disability; in fact, we know with certainty that most individuals with any number of even the most severe disabilities often harbor innate abilities far beyond our wildest dreams. It’s only when the dark clouds of abuse, neglect, and discrimination are lifted and the pathways through an appropriate education and other relevant opportunities are made readily available that they are able to showcase these abilities and live as contributing members of their respective communities—without question, the battle begins at home.

If ever there was something holding us all back (as a society and as individuals therein), it’s our prejudices/ignorance and the illogical viewpoints it takes to arrive at them. Ironically, disabilities as a human condition do not discriminate on the basis of race/ethnicity, color, gender, sexual orientation, etc.—maybe (for lack of anything better) this could be a new starting point for discussions about our commonalities so that someday we can stand as one people “indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

My friend did not opine further about the Chuukese (except to say that I’m “only half”, so I “don’t count”), but others in the know would likely tell him to be careful because 50 percent may be criminal, but “all of them know magic” —believe it… or not.

For more on discrimination of individuals with disabilities, please feel free to contact the NMPASI Office at (670) 235-7273/4 [voice] / 235-7275 [fax] / 235-7278 [tty] or on-line via www.nmpasi.org.

Jim Rayphand is the executive director of the Northern Marianas Protection & Advocacy Systems, Inc.[/I]