MARK ZUCKERBERG, THE LEADER OF FACEBOOK, IS THE OWNER OF A
MASSIVE OCEANFRONT PROPERTY IN
HAWAII.
HE ALSO HAS MULTIPLE LAWSUITS THAT HE HAS FILED AGAINST
INDIVIDUALS, HAWAIIAN FAMILIES, WHO HAVE ANCESTRAL RIGHTS TO
VERY SMALL PATCHES OF THAT LAND THAT HE TECHNICALLY OWNS.
BECAUSE OF THOSE LAWSUITS, PEOPLE ARE NOT HAPPY WITH MARK
ZUCKERBERG.
ALMOST A DOZEN NATIVE FAMILIES CURRENTLY HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIVE
ON SMALL SECTIONS OF HIS LAND.
HE HAS LUNCH THESE "QUIET TITLE" LAWSUITS AGAINST THEM, WHICH
WOULD REQUIRE INVESTIGATIONS TO BE DONE INTO THE LAND
RIGHTS, WHO HAS IT AND WHO CAN BE BOUGHT OFF.
SO, BEFORE WESTERNERS CAME TO HAWAII, STEWARDSHIP OF THE
LAND WAS A COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY.
PRIVATIZATION CAME BACK IN 1848.
DIVVYING UP PARCELS BETWEEN THE KING, THE GOVERNMENT AND
THE PEOPLE."
THE KULEANU ACT OF 1980 WAS INTENDED FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
TO CLAIM TITLES A LAND THAT THEY WERE CULTIVATING, BUT ULTIMATELY
ONLY 1% WERE GIVEN THAT.
NOW, "THE DEFENDANTS IN ZUCKERBERG'S LAWSUITS ARE THE
DESCENDENTS OF THE ORIGINAL TITLEHOLDERS FOR SMALL PARCELS
SURROUNDED BY THE STATE" AND HERE'S WHERE THE PROBLEMS COME
FROM, BECAUSE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF LAWS FROM
160 YEARS AGO.
"SOME OF THE OWNERS OF THE LAND ARE NOW DEAD AND THE OWNERS OF
THE PLOTS CAN BE DIFFICULT TO TRACE, SINCE LAND POSSESSION
UNDER THE OLD LAW IS LARGELY UNDOCUMENTED."
AND OVERTIME, AS PEOPLE WOULD GROW UP AND HAVE CHILDREN, THEY
WOULD SPLIT THEIR LAND PARCELS AND GIVE THEM TO MULTIPLE
PEOPLE; THOSE WERE ALSO LARGELY UNDOCUMENTED TRANSMISSIONS,
AND THEN SOME OF THEM WOULD DIE, OR SPLIT, AND YOU WOULD
HAVE A MESS.
IN A FACEBOOK POST ON JANUARY 19, THE CEO DEFENDED HIS
LAWSUITS AS A GOOD-FAITH EFFORT TO FIND ALL THESE PARTIAL OWNERS
SO HE CAN PAY THEM FOR THEIR FAIR SHARE, BUT PEOPLE LIVING IN
HAWAII ñ ALTHOUGH SOME OF HIS NEIGHBORS DEFEND HIM ñ
OTHERS ARE NOT AS HAPPY WITH HIM.
SO HE BUILT A 6 FOOT WALL.
DID HE MAKE THE HAWAIIANS PAY FOR IT?
A PROFESSOR OF HAWAIIAN STUDIES SAYS, "THIS IS THE FACE OF
NEOCOLONIALISM.
EVEN THOUGH A FORCED SALE MAY NOT PHYSICALLY DISPLACE PEOPLE,
IT'S THE LAST NAIL IN THE COFFIN OF SEPARATING US FROM THE LAND."
MANY PEOPLE ECHOED WITH THE FIRST NEIGHBOR SAID, THAT IF HE
WOULD SIMPLY TALK TO THEM AND MAKE HIMSELF AVAILABLE.
INSTEAD THEY HAVE TO MAKE INQUIRIES AS TO WHEN HE
WILL BE AVAILABLE, AND THEY ARE REBUFFED, ALL THEY HAVE IS
THE LAWSUITS TO GO BY.
MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT THIS ONE.
FIRST OF ALL, THESE ARE CALLED QUIET TITLE ACTIONS.
DOESN'T SEEM SO QUIET NOW.
I KNOW OF COURSE LEGALLY WHY THEY CALL IT THAT.
OKAY, SO, THE GUIDE BOUGHT A BIG PIECE OF PROPERTY, IF HE
HAD THE RIGHT TO BUY THE PROPERTY, BLESS HIS HEART.
I WILL RAIL AGAINST MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS, AND
RICH FOLKS WHO RIG THE RULES TO THEIR BENEFIT, BUT IF YOU
JUST BY A PIECE OF LAND, IT'S NOT RIGGING ANYTHING.
MARK ZUCKERBERG, ONE OF THE RICHEST GUYS IN THE WORLD, YOU
ARE PROBABLY GOING TO BUILD A WALL SO THE PEOPLE DON'T MEANDER
ON YOUR PROPERTY, SO I SUPERVISE WITH HIM THERE.
IS HE GOING TO MEET WITH EVERYBODY?
HE'S THE CEO OF FACEBOOK, A MAJOR COMPANY, HE'S
PROBABLY BUSY.
NOW, IF YOU CARES ABOUT THIS SHOULD HE DO ONE MAJOR MEETING?
A TOWNHALL?
MAYBE HE WILL, AND MAYBE THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF THIS
BROUHAHA.
BUT LET'S TALK THIS THROUGH.
IF THEY DON'T LIVE ON THAT LAND, AND THEY HAVE A PARCEL OF LAND ñ
THE FIRST THING HE'S DOING, THE TITLE OF THE ARTICLE IN THE
INDEPENDENT MAKES IT SEEM LIKE ZUCKERBERG IS RIPPING THEM
FROM THE LAND.
BUT THEY DON'T ACTUALLY LIVE THERE, AND HE'S NOT SUING THEM
TO ROB THEM AT THIS POINT.
HE'S ACTUALLY GOING THROUGH A LEGAL ACTION TO FIND OUT WHO
OWNS THE LAND SO THAT HE CAN PAY THEM.
THAT'S NOT SUCH A BAD THING.
SOME OF THEM MAY NOT FEEL THAT THEY SHOULD BE OBLIGATED TO
SELL.
SO, IF WE GET TO THAT POINT, WHICH WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO, THEN
THAT'S A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION, AND HE MIGHT HAVE
ACCIDENTALLY OPENED UP A CAN OF WORMS, WHERE, JUSTIFIABLY, THE
LANDOWNER GOES, AS IT TURNS OUT MY PARCEL OF LAND IS IN THE
MIDDLE OF YOUR LAND, SO YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ADMIT ñ YOU'RE
GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE A BIG BEAUTIFUL GATE IN THAT WALL, AND
EVERY DAY I'M GOING TO COME TO THE BEACH BECAUSE THAT'S MY
LAND, AND THAT'S THAT IF THEY DON'T WANT TO SELL.
2 ADDITIONAL TIDBITS TO CONSIDER, THE ACCESS TO THE
BEACH IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS THAT'S AT
ISSUE RIGHT NOW; A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE AREA DO USE THE
BEACH FOR FISHING AND OTHER TRADITIONAL ACTIVITIES AND
ARE WORRIED THAT HE MIGHT BLOCK OFF ACCESS TO IT.
THE SAME SORT OF THING HAPPENED IN EITHER A PERCENT OF MONACO OR
MALIBU, WHERE THERE WAS THIS IT ñ THERE WAS THIS AREA, NOT A
PRIVATE BEACH, BUT SOME GUY JUST BLOCKED IT OFF AND PUT A PRIVATE
DOOR.
FEELING LIKE, I LIVE RIGHT NEAR HERE, YOU CAN HAVE IT YOU
DIRTY PEASANTS.
WHETHER MARK ZUCKERBERG IS ACTUALLY DOING THAT, THAT'S
WHAT PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF.
AND THEN THIS IS JUST ANOTHER TREND OF AN AREA THAT
HISTORICALLY PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO LIVE ON THIS ISLAND BUT ñ LIVE
ON THIS ISLAND, BUT BECAUSE IT SUCH A BEAUTIFUL SPOT, MORE AND
MORE WESTERNERS HAVE BEEN BUYING UP PLOTS OF LAND AND DRIVING UP
THE PRICES SO THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE FROM THERE CAN'T LIVE
THERE ANYMORE.
IT'S THE ULTIMATE ISLAND GENTRIFICATION BASICALLY
AND THEY ARE WORRIED THAT THIS IS A HUGE EXAMPLE OF THAT.
AS I CONTINUE TO DEFEND MARK ZUCKERBERG, I SHOULD NOTE
THAT WE ARE PARTNERS WITH FACEBOOK IN THAT WE USE
THEIR PLATFORM AND THIS VIDEO WILL PROBABLY GO UP ON FACEBOOK.
I'M GIVING YOU THAT NOTICE BECAUSE I WANT TO BE UP
FRONT WITH YOU ABOUT THAT.
NOW LET ME TELL YOU HOW GREAT FACEBOOK IS.
I'M KIDDING.
NOW, I GET THE OVERALL TREND, AND IT IS FASCINATING.
BEFORE 1848, AND THAT'S NOT THAT LONG AGO, NOBODY OPENED ñ
NOBODY OWNS THE LAND.
ISN'T THAT A TRIPPY THOUGHT?
THEY JUST LIVED THERE.
WHEN WE START TO DO AGRICULTURE, THAT'S WHEN PEOPLE GET
LITERALLY MORE TERRITORIAL.
THEY DON'T HAVE TO.
THAT'S RIGHT, BUT THEY DID.
BUT IN HAWAII, ALL THE WAY IN 1848, YOU WANT TO LIVE THERE?
GO LIVE THERE.
NOW, FORTUNATELY OR UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T
LIVE IN THAT WORLD ANYMORE.
SO NOW PEOPLE DO ONLY AND.
SO I THINK THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THIS STORY, AND DON'T THINK
ANYBODY HAS DONE ANYTHING CRAZY OR HORRIBLE YET, AND I THINK
THAT AS MUCH AS THOSE NATIVE HAWAIIANS WANT ZUCKERBERG
TO GIVE THEM THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT, IT SHOULD BE RECIPROCAL.
IT'S NOT LIKE DONALD TRUMP, WHERE HE TRIED TO KICK A LITTLE
OLD LADY OFF HER LAND SO THAT HE COULD BUILD A PARKING LOT FOR
THE LIMOS THAT WOULD COME TO HIS CASINO IN ATLANTIC CITY.
THAT'S A LITERAL STORY.
AND HE TRIED TO USE GOVERNMENT POWER TO FORCE HER OFF OF
HER LAND THAT SHE HAD LIVED AT HER WHOLE LIFE.
OKAY, IF ZUCKERBERG DOES THAT, WE'RE HAVING A DIFFERENT
CONVERSATION