Victory for HULA!
The power of the collective voice and social media was proven over the past week when online travel agency Travelocity agreed to remove their offensive hula ad after receiving hundreds of complaints from passionate supporters of hula and Hawaiiana. The original post began as a photo in Facebook, followed by a more in depth writing here in Tumblr, and finally in Twitter. After only a few days, Travelocity contacted me via Twitter announcing they would be taking the “hula ads” down.
In addition to the social networks, huge thanks are due to traditional news outlets like KGO Newstalk Radio and SFGate.com/SF Chronicle (Hawai’i Insider) for helping to spread the word! Ultimately it was the solidarity and perseverance of ordinary folks like you and I that got their attention.
It was so gratifying to use platforms like Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter in a positive way to educate those outside of the Hawaiian and hula communities. There are still many out there who could still benefit from a dose of cultural learning, but this was an amazing small step in the right direction!
Thank you to everyone who submitted their thoughts to Travelocity and thanks especially to Travelocity for doing the right thing and being pono!
I encourage everyone to follow up and send a message of aloha to Travelocity and mahalo them for their efforts.
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