Episode 30: The Massie Affair | A Dishonorable Killing

Unfortunately history repeats itself. I could say the words to you racism, violence, torture, and lynching and you wouldn’t know if you were going to hear a case from colonial times, pre-civil war or post. Or maybe it could be during the second revival of the klan post WWI. Or the civil rights movement of the 50s or 60s. But this case isn’t that. It is does involve the things I mention above but today we are going to talk about what became known as the Massie Affair. In 1931 the young beautiful wife of a naval officer, stationed at Pearl harbor in Hawaii was raped. It still remains a mystery as to what happened to her. But what happened afterwards is quite clear. Racism, violence, torture, and a lynching. The Massie Affair brought to life the pent up aggression of the native hawaiians as well as the aggression of those who believed that they were entitled to the island.