John Tamihere wrote a sharp critique this week of the manner in which our political discourse has denigrated into malicious abuse and bad faith debate.
He’s right.
The volume of hatred passing as political comment has reached a toxicity level that makes Chernobyl look vegan approved.
Neither Right nor Left can hold any moral high ground in the algorithm of spite and nastiness that is our social media footprint but brothers and sisters, we are all New Zealanders and this country is too small to be this polarised. We are less a nation and more just a big family, we can’t harbour such ill will and cruel intent towards one another and pretend that’s normal.
We must disagree and we will disagree, but no one need to be dehumanised in that process, we have shared values in this country that go beyond our skin colour, our gender, our faith or our class.
These egalitarian Shaky Isles where the tyranny of distance leaves us fragile and isolated means we must work together because no one is coming to save us.
We must not allow difference of opinion to amputate ourselves from each other, there can be no peace in such mutilation and abuse.
The saying, I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it has been modernised to, I disapprove of what you say, and I will threaten, cancel, block, dox, harass, revenge porn and smash to death your rights to say it.
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As previously stated – this is the lasting legacy of Ardern. The splinting of consensus politics and the partisanship of New Zealand politics.
Yes must agree F the T.
and the rancid fact free conspiracy ravings of the right have nowt to do with it I suppose…
John Key caused this inflation.
Yep, well said
And what was the lasting legacy of John Key ?
Who cares. Ardern is in charge now.
Oh come on @ Frank. It’s nothing to do with JA even if she’s a subscriber to it all.
It’s happening all over the Whurl. She should probably take your crediting her with it all as a compliment.
As opposed to Dirty politics Frank? Give me a break. If Arden is guilty of anything it’s being a bit too much like John Key part two, just without the smarmy arsed currency speculators grin.
It is simply the logical outcome of neo-liberalism’s Law of the Jungle approach to life.
Get rid of it or suck it up.
Dead right J S Bark. Problem is we are too tied to the Empire.
presumably you mean the american empire revolutionary biscuit…the uk now counts for exactly nothing in the real world…an irrelevance
Seems like John’s back Frankie agreeing with everything you say.
Ohhhh look Bert has an opportunity to mention John Key…awwww how nice.
As time ticks by and, what is it now 7yrs since Key was PM, he is still living rent free in Bert’s head, how sad.
But easier to blame Key than Arden eh Bert in the mess that NZ is in now.
How are the child poverdy and homeless numbers looking Bert, that bloody John Key still fucking up the numbers eh?
Oh look I’m right’s back or just coward because you won’t use your real name. Cam Slater’s love child, Whale Oil down and your beloved tents pulled down from parliament. At least we know what you look like now, after hiding behind the cowardice all this time…
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/bay-of-plenty-man-who-threatened-maori-convicted-under-hate-speech-laws/ZQJIZX7DWCAQ2QKOOMLXLHPDSQ/
Here’s another moniker for you… Never Been Right.
Now, you dropkick, where did I mention Key again?
It was the previous govt.
The previous government were at least good at making this one look half decent, bahahahaha.
More cabbage for the slaw.
Willie Jackson has congratulated the previous govt for signing up to the process that initiated He puapua. It was the reviews govt.
Previous govt…
So all this racist rhetoric and separatism surrounding He Puapua was Nationals fault, who’d have thought?
Sorry Bert but I must point out the previous government was Labour lead with 2 bit players and apart from keeping us safe from covid achieved little else of note for Maori or Pakeha
Sorry Trevor all John Key’s fault Bert has told us so.
Thank’s John(Bobby) for your admission, you said it not me.
Trevor I apologise if I misread Cabbages post “Willie Jackson has congratulated the previous govt for signing up to the process that initiated He puapua. It was the reviews govt.”
I thought he meant National( previous govt) initiated it. Not very clearly put.
Can I ask? Has neoliberalism been addressed? Has neoliberalism been studied? Has neoliberalism been judged? Has neoliberalism been banished as the enemy?
Has neoliberalism been identified as being the enemy of humanity and the friend of a fascist, cultist, greed-is-good oriented money-first fetishist friend to the sociopathic narcissist? Further to that, have our lifestyles improved, and lets judge that from the most vulnerable in a gradient leading down to the mansions of Remuera and Wanaka? No…?
Then we’re fucked. Perhaps we should adapt to our fuckedness? Maybe that’s the answer? We poor lot should become more poor, more afraid, more desperate and rejoice! We should bow down to our joyful abusers and pay homage to their mighty and glorious supremacy and shout! Here’s my bottom! Flagellate the fuck out of it. Go on!? You know you want to!
At this point I’d say we’re fucked.
rightards frequently point out ‘kommunaminism’ failed, well so has market driven neo-lib capitalism–big time
can we now look to NZ solutions for NZ problems not another failed foreign idea…our market size, monoculture agriculture and population distribution need ideas crafted around them rather than trying to mould them to outside models.
” These egalitarian Shaky Isles ”
No Bomber as you quite rightly pointed out what kind of country New Zealanders were ” fleeing ” is the ongoing neo liberal experiment.
Egalitarianism died 38 years ago.
This is the country we created with free market guidelines in social and economic policy and selling ourselves out to allow what we have now with social media. A stronger resolute country that valued what were the pillars of what our country used to be would be and reflected what we believed to be right would have prevailed.
But the seller always only wants one outcome , what they can get. And that is the glorious New Zealand free market.