Avenge Metiria!

By
Chris Trotter
-
48
4

IT WAS SHORTLY AFTER MARAMA DAVIDSON’S impassioned appeal to Metiria Turei’s devastated supporters, that the “Avenge Metiria” meme made its first appearance. No one’s entirely sure who started it, but pretty soon it was all over social media. Then the ideas for action started pouring in to the Green Party HQ. Though expressed in a multitude of ways, the message was clear: “If Metiria is to be avenged, then we have to get her supporters to the polls!”

Over the next few days, dozens of IamMetiria volunteers began texting their friends and neighbours with news that “Avenge Metiria” meetings were being organised all over the country. Posters featuring Metiria’s image started going up in all the major cities (and even in some provincial towns) saying, simply: “Don’t mourn – organise!”

The meetings attracted hundreds of people. Among their very first decisions was a vote to ban the mainstream news media from all further “Avenge Metiria” gatherings. Some wag even sent a message to the television networks: “Stay healthy, guys – stay away!” Gang members offered to provide “security” for the rapidly growing movement’s leading organisers.

When Marama Davidson announced that the Greens would accept an invitation to address the rally being organised by the South Auckland chapter of “Avenge Metiria”, it soon became clear that the turnout would be huge. And when word spread that Metiria, herself, would be speaking, the organisers were forced to secure a bigger venue – a much bigger venue.

Metiria’s speech, carried live on social media, was electrifying. Freed from the constraints of her co-leadership role and with nothing left to lose, she spoke from the heart about the need for those who had been silenced by poverty and bureaucratic oppression to find their voices. To take on the system with the objects it feared the most – their votes.

“Don’t do it to avenge me!”, she cried, “Do it to avenge yourselves! Do it to avenge all those New Zealanders whom the greedy and the cruel have driven into the shadow world of poverty and despair. For the ones still living in the dark. For these lost souls, I am asking every one of you here tonight to become a light-giver. Never forget, the best way to avenge the wrongs of the past is by seizing control of the future!”

On Election Night 2017, puzzled political scientists reported a huge increase in voter turnout. For the first time since 1984, more than 90 percent of registered voters had cast a ballot. Equally confounded were the mainstream news media’s leading political journalists. All of whom were at a loss to explain the unprecedented level of support for the Green Party.

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“The polls gave us no inkling of this”, complained one baffled pundit. “We simply had no idea it was happening!”

As it became clear that the Greens and Labour were racking-up an historic landslide victory, a new meme mysteriously appeared on social media – and almost instantly went viral.

“Metiria Is Avenged!”

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48 COMMENTS

  1. After listening to Simon Bridges arrogant dismissal of the Green Party during parliament and his jovial implying of the Greens and Meteria’s issue, Bridges seriously is a flake and needs to be on the end of Kim Jong Un’s missiles!

    • @ Bert … The end of Kim Jung un’s missiles would be the far too easy option!

      The other end of a stinging tongue lashing from the other Kim would be the more appropriate harsher punishment for Bridges … that’s Kim Hill by the way.

      • Good on yer mate.

        And I reckon Kim Jung whats – his – name and Donald J Trump need a jolly good talking to and ticking off by Kim Hill as well.

        And Simon Bridges.

        Especially Simon Bridges.

        And I knew his father Heath , a wonderful jovial elder pastor at Te Atatu Baptist church whom I much respected.

        C’mon Simon,… throw in a little bit of William Booth and you’ll get back on track. The people are hurting.

        This is the heavy metal band guitarist guy calling… 6 years veteran . Paremoremo , Shelterbelt , Hells Angels pads , Shadows bar … remember where you came from…

        Get back to your roots.

  3. Good news: I will be devoting my weeekends to helping withy Green campaigning. Billboarding. Door knocking. Leafletting. Whever the feck it takes.

    Bad news, my blogging may suffer a bit. (Though some may rejoice at taking a ‘holiday’ from my scribblings, no doubt.)

    This is an excellent piece, Chris. I’ll do my bit to spread it!!

    #IstandwithMetiria

    #avengemetiria

  8. Yes indeed. For too long we have had the pervasiveness of the neo liberal dogma eating away at our social conscience.

    After being beaten down after both the 1991 Employment Contracts Act and the Mother of all Budgets,… we seemed to run out of puff and had the fight knocked out of us. And its been that way for a long time.

    There’s one powerful consolation. This social justice issue cannot be quietly hidden away ever again . Metiria broke the silence. And it will haunt National and their current line up no matter the circumstance now and in the future.

    #AvengeMetiria.

    I like it.

    It has a good positive ring about it.

    Like the start of a brand new sunny day.

  9. Nobody likes a government that engages in the sort of skullduggery that could kick off wars.

  10. A solo mum gets a few extra dollars so the world will end. A government minister cannot tell the truth about where he lives and gets $900 dollars a week on top of his and his wifes salary “nothing to see here move on”. As the great Hoskins as said “greed is good”. Anyone who has been grilled by WINZ staff will know where their sympathys are.

  11. Freed from the shackles and protocols of parliament Metiria could be an awesome force for change out in activist land
    Good to see Marama stepping up and keeping the faith

  13. This is making the same error the Greens made last election – mistaking their own social media echo chamber for public opinion at large.

    • But ‘ public opinion at large’ is just another echo chamber is it not? A bigger, dumber, more stupider one, the walls of which are made up of MSM aliens with corporate agendas? What are you saying? Give up? Say nothing? Move along, nothing to see here? Why? Because all is lost? Like fuck it is!
      Anything is better than nothing and nothing is what delivered us to this point. Poverty in a land of plenty and polluted to buggery by bankster swindlings?
      I read on RNZ this AM that coca cola ( Makes children’s dentist’s rich. ) are to be excluded by Labour from being charged for the water they use to make their toxic scrout here. So, in short, they, coca cola, get the water our kids should be drinking free then pollute it, then sell it back to us for us to poison our kids on. Oh ! Here’s a great documentary on that note. ” That Sugar Film.”
      Enjoy, as one might squirt insulin into one’s over weight arse flap.
      ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3892434/ )
      Where’s your lauded ‘public opinion’ on that one?
      Best not to forget that the ‘ Public at Large ‘ are largely fucked in the head.
      I’m sure The Green Party will expand their echo chamber to accommodate like minded souls, those souls desperate to escape the Zombies. The ‘public at large’.

      • Yeah , see, here we go again with some home truths. Bob Smith would exhort us ‘go with the flow’ accept your in the minority and will be ignored’ its pointless etc etc..

        I would not like to see Bob Smiths attitude as a first responder in some catastrophic natural disaster.. ‘it cant be done’ , ‘ its hopeless’, ‘ there’s no point’ , ‘ its too hard’ ,’ lets just give up ‘…

        When the fact is , – all good and worthwhile social change has come at a cost. Someone always bore the brunt of ‘established’ resistance. And it is ALWAYS , ALWAYS , ALWAYS started off by a small group of dedicated individuals and the movement grew from there.

        And the truth is also that this venerated so called ‘ majority’ are usually NOT the best informed, most interested in all the details , – in fact , – they are usually disinterested unless it directly affects them , poorly informed, easy prey to propaganda and first appearances, and incredibly easy to manipulate.

        Now , either Bob is speaking from his / her own personal sense of ‘what the hell ,… nothing can be done about it so why try ‘ ,… or else he /she is a paid / voluntary party political hack to come here and foment confusion and division.

        And every thing we do , say, message against neo liberalism and its established proponents helps to build stiff resistance which eventually topples it. And you can see that happening now ,- and you could see it when Metiria Turei challenged the neo liberal welfare state.

    • Public opinion is more maleable than you think.

      And those whose sympathies lie, at base, with the people for whom Metiria spoke up can be found not only in the ranks of the disposessed.

      Don’t make it all about class, but go where poverty is. And keep it up. The lanes leading to some voters are long and very windy.

      Good luck,

  16. Good reasoning there folks.

    I will be happy to give my vote to the Greens (yes, me. The arch-Grinch of Greenies…) as long as both turncoats, Graham and Clendon are NOT re-admitted. My natural Grinch-ish suspicions are indicating that Graham (at least) is looking to return. If he does it will merely reassert my original belief that the Greens are middle class wankers with more commitment to being ‘nice’ than to be being politically viable.

    They are meant to be a political party not a religious cult…

        • We currently have crooks with their hands on the tiller.

          And you have never clearly lived.

          Metiria Turei has been honest aobut what she did 20 years ago, now let us see if any MP is going to own up to misdemeanours when they were students, driving without a warrant or rego, paying cash to tradies… I could go on, none of them are saints, any some of them will have done this for their own personal gain.

    • You have to understand the us and them mentality fostered by the degradation of Social Services.

      Many, maybe most, “customers” are likely to have an amoral attitude to welfare requirements.

      That will continue until WINZ starts REALLY being about helping people escape poverty and the humiliation which so often accompanies it,

    • That maybe true but sanctimonious pricks who cannot forgive a few youthful indiscretions while giving the wealthy and powerful lawyered up elite a free pass should not be given too much credence either.

  20. I AM VOTING GREEN and did so in 2014 and will continue to back the only intelligent , sensible , worthy , forward thinking party in NZ.

    Metiria has galvanised me into action and i will be helping the party locally in the run up to the general election.

    The silent left majority have to stand up and be heard……loudly at the ballot box.

  22. What I find most frustrating is Matiria sticking up for the beneficiaries and the hard working poorer members of society whom unfortunately are the very people,along with many of the young, that tend not to exercise their democratic right and vote.
    Because of this political apathy, National stays in government, the numbers are out there to throw National out of power.

  23. Avenge Metiria? This battle cry suggests that someone other than Metria is responsible for her down fall.

    The facts don’t support this. She is entirely responsible for her own fall from grace.

    She made the decision to use her experience as a beneficiary to champion the cause of current beneficiaries. She decided to make herself the centre piece of the debate. She was the one who decided not to answer relevant questions about the real circumstances she was in when raising her child, put to her by John Campbell on Checkpoint mid week. And she then made her own decision to resign.

    She is entirely responsible for this outcome. Her strategy in raising the issue of poverty in NZ was legitimate, but it was poorly executed. She was responsible for that too and the consequences that flowed.

    Avenge Metria has a hollow ring to it when her situation is analysed dispassionately and won’t be the mobilising force that you hope for Chris.

      • Check out Check Point with Campbell last Wednesday 9th August.

        He put a series of questions to Metiria probing her personal circumstances at the time she was a beneficiary. These were prompted by someone close to her (a family member I believe) who was exacerbated by how she was spinning the story. Metria chose not to answer the questions and resigned.

  24. I’d just like to add that in one year the Government spent nearly $50 million on benefit fraud investigations, uncovering $24 million lost and only recovering $5 million.
    At the same time, tax fraud investigations uncovered $1.24 billion lost, spent $169.77 million trying to get it back and recovered $362.8 million.

    In other words, for every dollar we spend on investigating welfare discrepancies, we get $0.09, and for tax fraud we get $6.07.
    TLDR: Beneficiary bashing doesn’t pay squat, so could we focus on the real robbers please?

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