The excerpt in the image below comes from part of the lead story in the weekend’s Sunday Star Times.
It paints a picture of the protesters currently occupying Parliament’s lawn in decidedly more nuanced terms than the protestors often seem to believe the media interested in doing.
Now, the reason that I find this interesting is because of the context of this presentation. Both in terms of where it was in that day’s newspaper, but also how it represents a bit of a ‘crystalization’ of a trend for media portrayal of the protest.
What do I mean by this?
Well, we’ll start with the second point first. Over the past few days there’s been a definite emphasis on the part of some commentators to push the line that the protesters, while they might appear to be a rambunctious rabble of general conspiracy-theory toting ne’er-do-wells … “actually have a point”.
Just what that “point” is may vary somewhat from mouthpiece to mouthpiece, but effectively seems to boil down to “the Government’s done the wrong thing”, with a specific flavouring of “vaccine mandates, Traffic Light Settings, and other Omicron-era control measures are too restrictive / actively harmful”, and a side-order of “time to start Learning To Live With The Virus”.
Except, of course, not ‘learning to live with the virus’ in the way that we’d been intending to, nor in the way that Singapore et co are attempting to manage it. You get the idea.
Now how much of said ‘flavouring’ depends quite strongly upon the individual columnist or commentator. Some basically just want to go for the ‘lightly seasoned’ option of presenting it as being a Government comms issue that’s ‘legitimate’ to voice opposition to – others want to go rather further.
This brings us to my second point – the first one I’d mentioned, around where this charming excerpt was to be found within the context of Sunday’s Star Times.
Elsewhere on the page was a story about how, surprise surprise, the Government’s Covid-control measures had allegedly ‘gone too far’ and were now actively ‘counterproductive’.
The ‘meat’ of this piece was provided via perspectives from two people representing rather different groups: somebody from the hospitality sector, lamenting the manner in which ‘fear’ was contributing to people not patronizing restaurants and the like; and a doctor, talking about how understandable caution from people about going out into the community with Omicron circulating had lead to a rather significant reduction in the number of people making appointments to see their GP.
Predictably, the front page highlight talking about the article lead with the picture and soundbite from the doctor – a public health perspective, and a not unwarranted one. And then spent only a smaller portion toward the end of the actual article itself on what he had to say – instead giving over its mainstay to the unrelated commentary around the retail sector suffering due to people not wanting to go out and socialize in the midst of a pandemic. A classic bait-and-switch – and attempt to conflate a commercial issue with a public health one (because yes, people not engaging with primary healthcare providers can contribute to rather more important problems than a bar being underpatronized).
Now, we’ve been down these styles of cycleway many, many times before over the course of the pandemic.
This is partially why we so frequently find heads of business associations, and prominent figures of the hospitality industry given such prominence in media pieces talking about the pandemic response. Because it’s one of the areas where you can actually point to and say “see all this saving lives? It’s got a Cost Attached.”
Various media have also been very keen to try and present the situation in more ‘popular’ terms – not as something between small and sectorally interested groups against the dominant public will, but rather as the general public being divided in amidst itself.
You can see this in the reporting in the Herald from 2020, for example, discussing our then second lockdown. They’d declared Auckland to be seriously “divided” over the decision to extend the Level 3 phase.
Except when you looked closer at it …, and as I said about the time –
“You might be forgiven for thinking that this meant somewhere around a fifty fifty split of opinion on the matter.
Here’s the actual split:
75% of Aucklanders thought that the extension of lockdown was “appropriate”. This was made up of 56% who were simply fine with the extension – and a further 19% who wanted the lockdown to go longer.
Meanwhile, that 25% of opponents was made up of 14% for a shorter lockdown, and 9% for the lockdown shouldn’t have been initiated at all.
That’s three-to-one support for the lockdown. And yet somehow this is a serious degree of “division”.
Meanwhile, New Zealanders overall supported the most recent Lockdown by a ratio of more than four to one – 62% in favour of the lockdown we had, 19% in favour of an even further extended lockdown, 10% for a shorter lockdown, and only 6% for no lockdown at all.
Technically a 3-1 majority for Lockdown means “divided” , sure – as does a 4-1 majority.
But it sure does sound rather different when you phrase it like that, frame it like that, rather than OVERWHELMING MAJORITY SUPPORTS THE GOVERNMENT’S COVID-19 MANAGEMENT”.
So how does all of that pertain to this description of the protestors on Parliament’s front lawn?
Simple.
At the moment, the protestors are a very vocal ‘battering ram’. They won’t, by themselves, force the Government to abandon sensible Covid-19 control measures. What they can be ‘weaponized’ to do is exactly the same thing that the Brian Tamaki MC’d ‘freedom rally’ shenanigans of a few months ago can be co-opted for – attempting to make very strident opposition to said “let’s actually live like we’re in a pandemic” measures seem like something that’s an ordinary person perspective. Not one that’s effectively relegated to a few hundred people on a patch of grass who are outnumbered by an order of magnitude every day by the number of Kiwis choosing to get a Booster.
Why?
Because, as the Sunday Star itself told you on the very same page – New Zealanders continuing to take the virus seriously is imposing an economic cost on some business owners.
It’s also continuing to considerably buoy the Labour party’s popularity – and keep National down in the low 30% range. People remember.
So, if you want to ‘circuit-break’ Labour seeming a champion of ordinary New Zealanders, our health and welfare … presenting some very ordinary New Zealanders in amidst the very-hard-to-ignore decidedly abnormal ones at the Parliament protest is an ideal way to do this.
The mind extrapolates on its own, and places things in their own kind of order – conveying a sense that there’s some broad ‘consensus’ of both ordinary people and ordinary business-owners gradually coalescing in unity against the Ardern-led Government, mask requirements and vaccination mandates and a ‘climate of fear’ about going out for dinner etc.
It doesn’t have to be true. It just has to look like it might be plausible. And then the hope is that events start taking on the characteristics plotted out for them all of their own accord.
Because the previous approach, of media and media-platformed talking heads, basically shrilly scolding the general public for taking the pandemic too seriously and being too keen on Labour in significant consequence of that, has not worked.
And in the absence of a genuine mass movement to overturn the Government or its Covid-control measures … you make do with what you’ve got instead.
A few hundred people who’ve managed to ‘Annoy Wellington’, most definitely … and suitably ‘airbrushed’ to highlight the less odious elements within the general protestor milieu.
Will it work?
That remains to be seen.
However, even though it is situated in amidst nearly half a dozen more ‘actively empathizable’ vox-pops, the guy claiming that Covid-19 was some sort of “worldwide scam directed by the United Nations” does somewhat undercut the notion that “we’re not crazies”, as another protestor tearfully sought to emphasize.
But I would cautiously suspect that over the next few weeks, and one hopes that won’t be how long the occupation of Parliament’s lawn drags on for, we’ll see an escalating tide of media and commentariat ‘contributions’ which seek to equivocate the other side of the protest (you know, the ones intimidating and even egging schoolgirls in masks and spitting at bus-drivers) in favour of claiming it’s ‘ordinary New Zealanders’ just seeking to do entirely ordinary things. And who have a ‘right to be heard’.
A right to eat out at hospitality venues, too, one presumes.
Or maybe that’s going to become presented as more of a ‘duty’ – something mandatory for the rest of us, whether we feel particularly comfortable going out at this time or not.
This article reads like a barely disguised attempt to un-person those who the author dislikes or disagrees with.
Also, is it not true that lockdowns have a cost? The inference seems to be that this doesn’t matter.
The article is not inferring there is no downside to lockdowns at all. It’s just pointing out that despite the numbers in the 2020 survey the Herald chose to say Auckland was deeply divided.
Quite correct, Wheel. It seems to me that Righties are rushing in to downplay this analysis with a deluge of negative responses.
Plenty of righties now commenting, generally pure fantasy, on here
Here’s an interesting tidbit:
Yesterday, a NZ Herald survey was stopped when it reached 49% supporting protestors and 51% against. Just stopped there. I suspect so it wouldn’t show a majority support for them.
Self-selection bias on NZ Herald you say? Yes, somewhat I would agree. But it had 17,000 responses – a huge selection for a survey when voting polls often have only 2,000 or less people.
Even discounting say, 9%, for self-section bias, it would still reveal enormous latent support for protestors, despite your weak attempts to link 95% vaxxed to only 5% support.
I’m completely vaxxed and 100% against mandates and in favour of the protests. How many vaxxed only only vaxxed because of social and professional ostracism and threats of losing jobs – and hated that approach.
The other key point is – human rights aren’t actually subject to a popularity contest. Nor is Liberal democracy only applicable when the times are good.
But now, Might to right for the Left. The Left slide towards soft Authoritarianism for ‘the greater good’ – just like they did throughout the 20th Century. Gone are the days of siding with the dispossessed, the marginalised, free speech, and human rights generally.
There has been sweet nothing in arrests for misbehaviour of the protests (except the stupid Thursday attempt to shut down it all by police invasion). Instead, we find the salivating Wellingtonian laptop class who are so eager to find offence and a sympathetic journalist to parade their inconvenience. Poor babies can’t stand having to hear a different opinion in THEIR city – how dare the rabble not leave! Forget about the last two years decimating businesses, relationships, finances, and democracy.
Try again, Curwen. The bloated, myopic desire to gloss the most extreme Covid-19 response in a Western country as wonderful is failing.
Well said.
Excellent piece, Curwen. Thank you.
People who blindly put their faith in big Pharma are being extremely naive. The track record of these big companies is appalling and ,no doubt, continues to be so.
Omicron cases double every 3 or 4 days, in a 95% vaccinated population. But we’re supposed to remove the labour rights of the unvaccinated because they represent a public health threat?
Give me a break.
The mandates are the focus of 90% of those protestors.
I think the majority of New Zealanders have had enough of the protest. The infantile signs, the threats, the spitting, damage to businesses etc etc. Time to tow their cars and enforce the laws the majority of people respect.
The slightly left now call the more left right? Jacinda really has messed up NZ politics and minds. The slightly left (but really right) are angry at everyone and its all started will the passive aggressive, smile on, smile off cult leader.
Gordon you are obviously not a Wellingtonian and having read your very one sided opinion there is no need to run us all down either. We are the ones putting up with these idiots and clowns on our street spitting, swearing, abusing people and illegally parking their vehicles to cause maximum disruption. Its time our Police got some balls and arrested these clowns instead of giving them free parking what a bloody joke. It seems a new precedence has been set where protestors who choose to protest for a long time can get free parking, they can spit, swear and abuse people with no or little repercussions and this is bad. I am surprised no one has lashed out yet but there is still time. And I have heard many tradies aren’t happy with the protestors saying if they get in there way they will run them over.
Keep on trucking, Covid is Pa.
Lived in Wellington for about 7 years total. I even work for the Govenment myself as a professional. Almost everybody at my work reeks of middle-class entitlement and snobbery about anything non-Government and “diversity” approved, especially if it involves having to deal face to face with the hoi polli. My colleagues are vaxxed and masked up to the gills but ran to their “safety” of working from home at the first hint of Omicron. “Health and well-being” now means ideological safety and whatever subjective, neurotic feeling of fear someone employee has. Me, me, all fucking me.
I take the faux “I’m being harmed” by the Wellington laptop class with a massive dollop of salt, even without two years of state control and entire unending of society. If people are misbehaving – arrest then. But it appears very far and in between. And unless you live on Kate Shepperd Place, it’s a pretty limited impact, especially when Lambton end has been a virtual ghost town lately.
Instead, all the Authoritarian Left can resort to now is smearing everyone as neo-Nazi and Stuff-Govt-Funded articles towing the line.
What a joke.
What was once mildly amusing is now starting to irritate the majority of people. The infantile signs, the spitting, harassment of locals, blocking of streets. Surely its time to move them on, tow their cars, and apply the appropriate penalties for those that break the law. It can only be a matter of time before a counter protest movement gets organised and from what we’ve seen it will only get uglier from there.
It’s just ordinary people. Which means nice people nasty people, tall people short people, old people, young people, uneducated people, educated people, clever people dumb people.
All with the same rights, all with a view of the importance of their own perspective.
The difficulty I have is with dumb people trying to tell me stuff like, on a bright clear sunny day, that the sky is green, or 3+4=2.
Agree with Curwen, and in the process of normalisation, those who do so are normalising name-specific death threats and calls for assassination of specific MPs. …Those calls often being made in graphic terms.
How is that helpful for democracy or for freedom in any sense of the word?
The slowness of the ‘Left’ (or what remains of it) in calling out such, is disheartening.
Luxon now saying “enough” to their antics, or at least backing the PM in her general response, is a win for him.
I have seen them on TV and I would rather poke my eyes out than talk to them . Most are a feral bunch of non workers living off the state.
If I had any say I would take the rego numbers of the illegally parked vehicles tract the owners and if they are on the dole stop it because they are not out looking for work. The children should be removed from this shit fest
It seems to me you are all emotional fannies, all against or all for. There’s not much capable understanding the situation, the protesters, and what their ‘cycology’ is. They often haven’t got much and the little pleasures or helps they had are being diminished and they can’t cope with the greyness in their world and just bearable by watching tv, using the internet and finding others the same on Facebook or wherever. Unfortunately if you find similar-minded people you don’t get a different viewpoint, you reinforce each other. They need something to look forward to so they don’t go away empty-handed. I know the minimum wage has gone up a tad, but that’s just a nasic and should happen every year. They are starting off on a deficit very likely.
If the protesters met with others from set areas and were faced with doing something that their area needed which would help most of them, a sort of small regional development grant for a worthy project, if they couldn’t come up with amything iof value which might have spin-offs for employment,etc t would reflect on them, not the government. Coming down hard on people who already feel aggrieved won’t take us forward.
The obvious problem with seeing this as a problem is: who believes everything the media says, or the government come to that. Faith in those institutions is at rock bottom.
“We know they are lying, they know they are lying, they know we know they are lying, we know they know we know they are lying, but they are still lying.” – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
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