They're on strike, but sense of humor isn't
They're laughing on the picket lines.
That's not to say the teachers are having a good time. It hasn't been fun, and it really isn't funny.
But there's been a kind of picket line humor that has helped pass the time, temper the emotions, vent the anger. Laughter as a coping skill helped University of Hawai'i Professional Assembly members hold on until settlement and continues to help Hawaii State Teachers Association members stay strong.
The first few days of the strike, teachers and professors walked in big ovals, around and around. That got old fast. Soon picket "lines" turned into figure-eights, snaking loops, or the no-pattern scatter (some UH professors dubbed this "random gas molecules"). Some picket lines got into choreography, doing conga lines or the bunny hop or just generally grooving to a CD someone brought to keep spirits up.
Other groups started up games to keep their minds active. One UH picket line brought in a deck of trivial pursuit cards and called out questions and answers while they walked and walked and walked. Some lines sang, sometimes making up song parodies about the strike. And some told jokes:
Did you hear about Gov. Cayetano's latest proclamation? April is "Take your daughter to work month."
A very popular joke made its way from line to line about Cayetano at a baseball game being at bat with two strikes (the other baseball reference may not be suitable for most readers.)
Some HSTA members talked about an earlier demonstration outside Washington Place. Vicky Cayetano reportedly came out with snacks for the protesters. "Vicky gave the teachers popcorn," the line goes, "Ben's trying to give us peanuts."
And there are anecdotes, like the one about the UHPA picket line at Kapi'olani Community College. One day, a very tall jogger passed by the line. After the man had passed, the pickets realized he was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The next day, the man passed again, and this time, he flashed the union members a shaka sign. Oh, the excitement! Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made shaka! The third day, the pickets were armed with cameras, ready to document the exchange with the famous athlete. But he never showed up again, so the story slipped into strike-time legend.
At Ka'iulani Elementary, school administrators wanted to support the teachers by giving them access to the facilities in the library. The principal declared the building "neutral territory" by hanging a banner that proclaimed the library "Switzerland."
It's a strange thing, laughing through frustration, joking through anger, making light of pain but sometimes, you feel it's all you have in tough times, especially when the situation really isn't funny at all.
Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
