This meaning was attributed to Native Hawaiian Professor Frederick William Kahapula Beckley Jr. by Charles W. Kenn, in his 1944 article in the publication "Paradise of the Pacific".
"[9][7][8] Kenn wrote: "In the primary and esoteric meaning, haole indicates a race that has no relation to one's own; an outsider, one who does not conform to the mores of the group; one that is void of the life element because of inattention to natural laws which make for the goodness in man.
In this chant a demi-god/hero from Kahiki is described as haole, as referenced in Samuel Kamakau's book Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii (1991), pages 114-115.
[10] Among Hawaiian residents who have descended from various ethnic groups who worked on the plantations (often known as "locals"), "haole" is a term used to describe people of European ancestry.
Also, it is associated with peoples who exhibit traditions, accents, and habits of the continental United States, as opposed to those which are prevalent in the Hawaiian islands.
Some native Hawaiians use the word "haole" as an insult or as part of a racial pejorative in incidents of harassment and physical assault towards white people in Hawaii.