The Rock visited Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show this week to promote Hobbs & Shaw. During the first segment, he gushed about his youngest daughter, Tiana, and since Jimmy has daughters, they talked a bit about the TV shows and movies that the girls like, including Peppa Pig and Dora the Explorer. Jimmy also shared pictures of some of The Rock’s cheat meals that he’d posted on Instagram. They spent most of their time, however, talking about a more serious subject: The Rock’s participation last week in the protests in Hawaii:
On his cheat meals
I’m into pancakes, sushi, sandwiches. It’s the best. The cheat meals [are] like church. You work out hard, once a week you treat yourself. I have to wait until everyone’s asleep. Midnight. I’m like a troll [eating].On supporting the protests in Hawaii
There are protestors on the big island. There’s a mountain, Mauna Kea, a sacred place to native Hawaiians. There’s a telescope being propositioned to be built there. [It’s] 18 stories, the size of a football stadium. The issue that the native Hawaiians have is that it’s sacred land, there was some trust that was breached between them and the state and the people who are trying to build the telescope. I wanted to get my boots on the ground, go there personally. I grew up in Hawaii and I know what it’s like to have that sacred land. It was really a beautiful experience it was so inspiring. You have men and women, children and elderly, kapuna is what we call them. They are so steadfast and passionate about the sacredness of their land. I joked that cheat meals are like church but the truth is that this mountain is their church. It would be like building on their church… This is so much bigger than a telescope being built. This is humanity, these are human beings whose hearts are hurting. At the end of the day it comes down to taking care of the people.
[From The Tonight Show via YouTube]
I am touched by the reverence with which he speaks of the native Hawaiians. He wanted to go to see for himself what was happening because he grew up in Hawaii, was moved and wanted to support them in their efforts to keep the telescope from being built. I also appreciate that he points out that the issue is “so much bigger than a telescope being built,” because he’s right. He says that we should take people’s hurt as a sign to stop doing whatever we’re doing that’s hurting them. It’s such an obvious kind of behavior (to behave with empathy, as he also points out), but it doesn’t often happen on such a large scale as would need to happen here.
HuffPost reported Thursday that Jason Momoa and his son traveled to participate in protests, and that Bruno Mars also posted a photo on Instagram in support (but I don’t think that he traveled to Hawaii). On Tuesday, Governor David Ige rescinded an emergency proclamation put in place to deal with the protesters. Governor Ige said there aren’t immediate plans to transport equipment up Mauna Kea, and also that the approaching Hurricane Erick and Hurricane Flossie could impact the islands. I hope that everyone remains safe and, beyond that, that the protesters’ voices are heard and the telescope is moved to another location.
Here’s that part of The Rock’s interview and the other part is here!
I first heard about this from Momoa’s Instagram. I saw some interesting comments here last week on the subject. I don’t feel that any of them took into account Hawaii’s history of being colonized. We’re the colonizers. They need to be left alone and their beliefs respected. Stahp with the this is the only location nonsense. of course it is not.
The most frustrating part about this is that there is a backup plan to build the telescope on the Canary islands (who have okayed it) – so just build the goddamn telescope there! Indigenous people say Mauna Kea is important, sacred ground. So build elsewhere. I’m so disappointed as a Canadian that we’re involved. Listen to indigenous communities!
Anyone who has ever been to Hawaii knows its intense beauty and the incredible natural sites there. The energy is incredible. There is already a huge telescope in Hawaii … can’t they just enlarge that one? It is tiring to read about aboriginal rights being disregarded time and time again. As a materialistic society we put little value on ‘left alone natural land’, that is rightly where we should all go to church. I love what The Rock says about respecting science, that is so, so important. I agree though, it should not come at the expense of the people and their wishes.
It hurts my heart to even think about building such a thing (or anything) on land that is considered as sacred by so many people. Haven’t we as a society destroyed enough already?
Why are they fixated on this one spot? Find another spot for the telescope that DOESN’T infringe on sacred lands! The Big Island is pretty big and surely has other locations that would work.
Hawaii, specifically Kauai, is possibly the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. It’s incredible to see, but everyone needs to be much, much more respectful of the land and the people there.
Eighteen stories! That thing is way bigger than I thought, definitely do not deface a sacred mountain if it can be built somewhere else, which apparently it can. Respect the native Hawaiians and get off their mountain.
I remember one of his instagram posts with his HUGE cheat meal but the caption was lovely. They are not cheats. They are treats.
You know, I’ve always been a bit “meh” about Dwayne Johnson. But, as a Native woman, I respect the isht out of him for raising awareness on this issue.
I’m not against science, but I’m for protecting sacred space. Godspeed to the Native Hawaiians, whose issues and concerns get very little attention on the mainland.