One of the most angering parts of NZ politics for me is the pig ignorance of reactionaries who scream whenever the media play to their resentments.
I look at the horror that is Oranga Tamariki and I trace that directly to media who waved dead brown babies in our faces and screamed ‘something must be done’ DESPITE THE FACT that just as many white babies get beaten to death by their white parents but we never hear about them so the perception is that it’s all a ‘Māori problem’ and we weaponise social agencies to deal to them.
I look at the counterproductive madness that is our punitive prison industrial complex and link that directly to the way crime gets breathlessly reported and the focus is always on Māori offenders because that clicks so well with the ingrained bias of the readers.
I look at the way those racing away from Police during the deeply flawed police pursuit policy gets covered and see how the race of the fleeing drivers helps cements that deeply flawed police chase policy into place rather than challenge it.
I look at the way the media covered the largest confiscation in NZ history – the Seabed and Foreshore issue, and how unbelievable the debate became.
I look at the way the media covered the Feed the Kids Bill and ignored that most children in NZ are white who go hungry yet the perception that it’s a Māori problem seems to justify needless ongoing punishment of those hungry kids.
I look at the way Don Brash’s Orewa Speech was covered, the way the Urewera Terror raids were covered, the way domestic violence gets covered – time and time and time again the ability to blame Māori, to ‘other’ the problem has led to weaponised social agencies and an avoidance of a debate that must desperately be had so that we can all own the problems to find solutions.
Pakeha have been lied to and manipulated by mainstream media to blame Māori for issues that impact us all as human beings and as citizens.
The media framing of Māori as the problem in this country has justified counter productive social policy and total avoidance of the root causes of the problems.
This bigotry isn’t just a myth making exercise, it actually informs social policy that creates worse outcomes! That’s not intelligent design, that’s a self inflicted social cancer.
Comrades, let’s not actively mutilate ourselves needlessly.
Stuff’s acknowledgement of their role in this myth making bigotry is welcome and should be celebrated.
Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.
If you can’t contribute but want to help, please always feel free to share our blogs on social media.
Thanks for this it is so true!
There are so many individual situations that one could show where people are demonised and promoted because the colour of the skin is brown. I am tired tired tired of this racist shit.
In today’s press a two page spread
on one side a photo of brown kids who have been murdered, we all know those names.
on the other side a photo of white kids who have been murdered, I knew a couple only of their names.
I dunno, for many will see this as idealistic or whatever, but for me every time some money grubbing fishwrap attempts to tell us that some issue is down to Tangata Whenua, my response has always been -So you don’t like the way that our indigenous people react to blah blah (which lets face it is 99% down to colonialism), well then fuck off, get lost. Aotearoa is Maori culture don’t be coming here and trying to tell the original citizens how to act, they successfully lived here for a lot longer than you or your mob, fuck off take yer P, polluting vehicles, capitalist oppression & twisted me, me, me, bullshit individualism with ya & don’t be letting the door be smacking yer weak arse on the way out.
Pakeha and Tangata Whenua came close to reaching a workable cultural understanding, particularly in regard to all the long swept under the carpet treaty issues, when without any consultation with any of us, successive natz & ersatz labour neoliberal governments opened the floodgates for swathes of racist white south africans & englanders to pour in to Aotearoa and undermine a dialogue which had taken 150 years to become a genuine 2 way discussion.
We have no chance of reaching a balanced ‘fair go’ society as long as greedy little derps can blow a hard worked discussion outta the water just because they are too greedy to train locals, so they import a gangs of ignorant arseholes who have no knowledge of our history, whenever the greedies want to make some more quick unearned cash.
Lot of truth in that Debsisdead.
Nice comment. Nothing to do with idealism it is just reality you are questioning.
“Pakeha have been lied to and manipulated by mainstream media”
I’m pleased you’re getting with the program Martyn: Media lies all the time. There is a reason journalism gets such appallingly low trust ratings when compared to other professions.
The good part is that their financial model is broken and eventually they’re all going to have to get jobs digging ditches or something.
Comments are closed.