So this is where we are now with Delta is it?
Blaming sex workers (who haven’t actually been proven as sex workers), gang members, Maori and Pacifica for Covid spread?
No mention of inter-generational poverty or abuse or the grinding poverty, just naked fangs bared rage at targets society hates anyway.
Why not blame the disabled for having wheelchairs while we are at it?
Some on the Right have suggested that if a social media lynching of the Wanaka wankers was acceptable, then why not mob moles?
What such simplistic thinking from the right misses is the power dynamics at play. The Wanaka wankers were privileged little fuckwits who were fleeing to mummy’s million dollar Queenstown batch, a sex worker pulling tricks for survival doesn’t deserve the same punishment.
On a brighter note, isn’t it neat these women were called ‘sex workers’ rather than prostitutes, oh the progress!
Our rage and fear and anger and economic hurt is making us lash out at everyone and everything.
The psychological damage of 2 months of house arrest is exploding everywhere – domestic violence, terrible acts of violence and a social media lynch mob that would put the KKK to shame.
Add in an antiVaxxer community who fear end of days is near and a double vaccinated majority who want their lives back alongside nauseating woke virtue signalers and we have tsunamis of resentment that will fight for cultural dominance.
Despite an incredible to date Covid response and an impressive ratcheting up of vaccination rates, the damage this has cost us all won’t heal in time for the Hate Speech debate next year.
Surviving the public health emergency and economic blow back of Covid will be one thing, but the psychological scars may never heal.
The specter of a very Covid Christmas looms.
Kindness isn’t easy, it’s hard and it demands more from us. All that can be done is to endure.
Endure comrades!
Endure!
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While there’s no need for the slurs (“sluts” and so on – or the “rich pricks” come to that) the thing that annoys in this case was the refusal to cooperate and blatant evasion from “Thelma and Louise” in this case. The Wanaka couple (a 26year old lawyer and a horse trainer would barely be on average wage) at least apologised and cooperated.
I suspect they had something more to hide than mere prostitution which isn’t even illegal. Someone they were much more afraid of than the law or public opprobrium?
Pretty much agree Martyn
Well said Martyn. I liked the ‘Kindness isn’t easy, it’s hard and it demands more from us.’ So true. The needless pain and costs all the rule breakers have caused is enough to make the most benevolent amongst us seethe with rage.
Add an economic recession and lack of material supply into the mix.
BUT DON’T WORRY FOLKS
Because we have a televised “Vaxathon on the weekend.
FMD
The problem with the ‘left’ especially the woke identity possee is they’ve set themselves up and the rest of us up for a hiding by the right and the lefts Qanon suckers.
They walked right into the Identity Politics way of thinking and believed, convinced themselves that they are the chosen ones of becoming the ‘inteligencia’ of the left and of the Millennial(s) New World Order.
Well, how’s that going so far, after having to cancel yourselves you dumbfucks!? Oh, let’s cancel everybody and anybody that doesn’t think like us because they must be poor and uneducated and or a nazi!
All of these ‘labels’ and overly pseudo sensitivities that get weaponised into victim-hi-jacking of the cult of my feelings are hurt because you don’t agree to my doctrine I learned from my sacred bubble guru that nobody has ever heard of.
All that is happening now, under a microscope and in full view of everyone is playing out just like the conspiracy theory grenade that has been lobbed into the ‘room’, by whoever, or whatever the fuck Qanon is, has been lapped up by the fragile on the left and the right of the spectrum, to undermine societies all around the world whilst the oligarchs and their enablers laugh their nuts and fannies off because they know that they’ve won!
What we are living is not worth the toilet paper that runs out in panic buys in this shitty pandemic.
This is when ‘we’ need leadership…. and unfortunately, there is none.
Denny, if you are referring to the Western world in general then whilst the Oligarchs control who is “acceptable” in political positions we will not get real leaders.
True G.
Therefore the only other option is a scorched earth solution because there is no leadership?
We do have the perfect storm scenario right in front of us now.
Environmental Collapse
Society/Social Collapse, implosion
Economic Dysfunctional & Collapse
Public Services Collapse
Governments globally have yielded to the Oligarchs.
I don’t think the next stage is a return to normal scenario?
“…a sex worker pulling tricks for survival doesn’t deserve the same punishment”.
Her personal circumstances may or may not be that but the upshot of her actions and people just like her are, thousands of kids don’t go to school, businesses will go under, Northland’s economy will take a hit, Auckland’s stalls even more , a lot of people unnecessarily exposed to Covid for days that may prove lethal and Auckland remains locked down teetering on the edge of harder lockdown because people like these fuckwits don’t give a shit. And I just cannot imagine the brain dead copy cats who will hold Ms Northland up as a shining example to follow.
At some point whoever is running this gig has to take it seriously with people like this or we may as well do what feels good and end the charade!
Sobering perspective XRAY
We should be calling for vaccination to be mandatory. Our government is the culprit for resisting a strategy that worked for the polio epidemic in the 50s and in Samoa where their government stopped the recent measles epidemic. How weak to put individual choice above public good. Postmodernism lines up with neoliberalism to make individuals sovereign under Capitalism
I’m not sure how many of your spurious columns I can endure comrade1
While the government are blamestorming the most marginalised sections of society.
The health experts who designed our world beating Elimination Strategy, know exactly who is at fault.
They are just mystified as to why they did it.
(and they are not the only ones)
New Zealand government’s pivot from Covid elimination ‘surprised’ top health experts
A number of epidemiologists and public health experts who have been central to helping chart and communicate New Zealand’s Covid response thus far say they were taken by surprise by its new direction, and not consulted by the government as it pivoted away from elimination and outlined a controversial set of “steps” out of level 3 restrictions last week.
The announcement was a shift in tack for New Zealand’s government, which has spent most of the pandemic in close to lock-step with public health professionals.
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/world/new-zealand-government-s-pivot-from-covid-elimination-surprised-top-health-experts/ar-AAPoQcQ?ocid=msedgntp
Yes. Ironic in that delta is far more virulent and contagious than the first outbreak.
Mutations was always on the cards. That’s evolution.
“It’s the economy stupid”
William Jefferson Clinton
If it wasn’t the health experts. Who was it that advised the government to abandon the Elimination Strategy?
And why?
For a government that made an election pledge of transparency, it’s a secret.
Government must release Bloomfield’s elimination advice
The Government should release the advice that underpinned its decision to abandon the elimination strategy, given the widespread opposition to the move from independent health experts, Marc Daalder writes
Comment: Jacinda Ardern snuck the most momentous strategic shift in New Zealand’s Covid-19 response since the March 2020 lockdown into her post-Cabinet address like a postscript or an afterthought.
The bulk of the Prime Minister’s speech on Monday dealt with Auckland’s vague roadmap out of lockdown. But the most important parts were the ways in which she discussed the elimination strategy – with past tense language.
“Elimination was important because we didn’t have vaccines. Now we do, so we can begin to change the way we do things,” she said.
Ardern never made it explicit, but the subtext was clear: Elimination is over….
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/government-must-release-bloomfields-elimination-advice
Hmm. Our Pfizer jabs turn into fizzers after a number of months, so I’ve read from peer reviewed and govt data.
So all of today’s Star Belly Sneetchers may become once again, those with no stars upon thars.
Ride the wave AO/NZ. Please bring your best game to our war on covid/delta/other variants. We are not always receiving correct information at this time. We don’t know the circumstances of many of the people in the news lately.
It’s ok to be scared, angry and all spectrum of emotion.
Have empathy and understanding. It’s not the time for lynch mobs, retribution nor judgement.
PLEASE, HOLD THE LINE!
Many thanks 🙂
Give money to gang bosses to help their gang members get off the meth that they sold to them?
Do a TV program about moving houses and profiteer from the problem your partner created?
Hypocritical Narcissistic Arrogant Tone Deaf Dictatorship. Read the room Clarke.
What’s your wife or husband do jonesy?
I am pleased to see you bring on the E word (endure) at this point, Martyn. It is, of course, the family motto of the Gordon family – “Bydand”. A bleak and austere motto for life in the cold and huddled cottages of the coastline north of Aberdeen, or indeed of the equally cold but rather larger castle at Huntly. It is not surprising my ancestors turned to the making of the gin, namely Gordons, that still helps one be bydand today. This too will pass. Gin o clock, anyone?
I agree with the sentiment “let’s not resort to condemnation and name calling”. A good leader knows there will always be the misguided, selfish and downright bloody-minded ones. A good leader will hold fast in the face of all manner of pressure in order to serve the greater good. A very tricky juggling act? Maybe. Plenty of expert advice about.
Also, I wish Christmas not to be a default deadline. It means nothing to me though I go along with the tradition because of the opportunity to catch up with family. There are so many ways to keep in touch without touching physically. We suddenly and desperately need the thing we took for granted in the past. Some didn’t even bother or just did it to fulfill a duty. I wonder if they’re screaming the loudest.
So Seymours name calling of Grant Robertson as Grabby Grant is befitting of a leader wanting to run the country. I can never take Seymour seriously.
Who?
Is it ok to blame anti-vaccination church leaders who tell their flock that God will look after them, or are they just criminally insane ?
Applewood, what would that achieve?
Sinic, Probably nothing – I guess I was speaking metaphorically – blame games are horrific, but so is the potential for harm – and the indirect harm – caused by some fundamentalists.
I left one word out in my post, Greedy. The primary motivator of these people is one of the seven deadly sins, Avarice. They know how to manipulate a certain sector of the population. The other motivator I suspect is a need for attention. How would a good leader deal with the likes of BT?
A good leader might listen too him as a citizen but not a mouthpiece for others, action none of his requests and treat him like any other shit stirring Jesus freak. He’s the blind leading the blind, kachinging every Sunday. It’s past time churches making profits pay tax. I have no doubt there are many destiny people doing good, genuine, needed community work, but BT taints them all. Used car salesman. Jmo
Look, if Santa has Covid we don’t want any of that giftwrapped shit coming down our chimneys; best gather vitamin C & D and stay home
I don’t care if the lockdown transgressors are selling their bodies, meth or subscriptions to the bloody Herald. What pisses me off are selfish arseholes who are endangering my immuno-compromised family and friends here in the Far North. These fuckwits are making a mockery of the sterling efforts of the vast majority of Aucklanders who are bearing the brunt of our containment strategy. Memo to Brian Tamaki: Next time you appear before the beak seeking bail, make sure you tell him or her you will be ignoring any conditions that come with it. Apparently that’s what Jesus would have done, and I’m pretty sure something about telling lies is among those pesky commandments.
Tell us how you really feel
There are always delinquents flouting rules. Ardern has put delta in the too hard basket and moved on. Great pivot. Let’s get on with the vaccinations and the summer of spread.
More hypocrisy. You are complicit with your attacks on people who reject the clotshot and now face losing their jobs.
You’re being a bit dramatic. When you set aside the Usual Suspects grandstanding about their pet topics on ‘social’ media (never let a good crisis go to waste!) and look around your community here in Auckland social cohesion is solid, probably moreso than it was before this because of this shared trauma. Even the gangs who 3-4 months ago were parading around central like they owned the place have kept a pretty low profile.
Communal ambivalence reigns here – sneering condescension is mostly reserved for the non-local media and ivory tower busybodies telling us how we feel and trying to micromanage us from afar, off in the happy, halcyon land of level 2. The soapboxing is generally unwelcome and ignored.
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