Tourist Catches a Slap In Hawaii: Is Violence In Surf Lineups Ever Warranted?

A video posted by Hawaii News Report has the internet divided over conduct in surf lineups. It’s nothing new, of course — surfing has long been something that some people feel the need to regulate for one reason or another. The video shows a brief exchange between what is assumed to be a local and a tourist in Hawaii. Although there’s not much known about what preceded the slap you see in the video above, it’s assumed that the slapper is a local and the slapee is a tourist.

“Most people said this is not Pono but some said it was ok to do,” Hawaii News Report wrote. “Obviously this person who was slapped was not from here but is it ok to slap him if he did get in your way?”

Years and years ago now, when I was in my early 20s, I was surfing a little wave on Kauai. I could see it from the road, and there were only three people out. They were probably in their late teens and were riding bodyboards very well. I paddled out, thinking nothing of it, and nodded my hellos. The next hour or so consisted of the three of them blocking every wave I paddled for. They didn’t say a word to me, but they made it very clear that I was not welcome there. Eventually, after I had gotten the hint and was considering paddling in without catching a single wave, one of them nodded at me and let me go on the next wave. I fell, of course. And then I paddled in with my tail between my legs. I am not a confrontational person, but if I was, I can see how that situation could have turned physical. That display, however, did clue me into the rules, and in places like Kauai, following those rules is a little more important than somewhere like Malibu, where all the rules have gone out the window.

Violence in surf lineups was, for a long time, a bit of a rite of passage. The fear of physical repercussions for violations of the unwritten rules was thought of as a method of teaching newcomers. But, much like corporal punishment in schools, it’s not okay anymore. Not that it ever really was, but it was a little more accepted back in the day. At places like Pipeline, there was a pecking order that needed to be respected. When it happened, it happened under the guise of a method of keeping a dangerous lineup safer. Most of the rules surfers follow are, to be fair, in place to keep injuries at a minimum and to ensure that there’s some semblance of fairness. Humans, though, are flawed and power hungry, so all too often the punishment meted out wasn’t so much in the interests of actually teaching someone something. Instead, it was like a bird puffing itself up to intimidate.

In today’s day and age, where it seems nearly every moment is caught on camera and posted to social media, those displays are becoming more and more rare. Whether that’s because people are realizing that violence doesn’t actually teach anyone anything or because it’s because they’re scared of the world watching their actions (remember the “Angriest Man In Surfing”?), incidents of surf fighting are not an everyday occurrence anymore.

The comments beneath the video are a mixture of protectors of the old ways and people who believe that the days of catching cracks should be in the rearview mirror. Whatever happened in the minutes leading up to the slap in the back of the head, one thing is fairly certain: those waves aren’t worth it and adults hitting each other is just plain ridiculous.