I think we will see a titanic clash of ideas at the election within Māori politics between the Māori Party’s Malcolm X vs Labour’s Martin Luther King approach to interacting with the Crown.
Malcolm X’s righteous separatism and Martin Luther King’s moral assimilation were two of the most important political arguments in 20th Century America.
Malcolm X argued that the system was abusive and racist and demanded a rejection of it while empowering African Americans to have their own services and institutions.
Martin Luther King argued a moral America that lived up to its promises of equality for all was the best way forward and that fighting for acceptance by assimilating into those values was better than separatism.
Those two dynamics will be very apparent this Election.
The Māori Party’s anger and bewilderment at the atrocious racism spat at any Māori progress will find fertile ground amongst many Māori who are now demanding By-Māori-For-Māori services, while the Labour Māori Caucus will point to the unprecedented $3.5Billion extra in Māori funding over the last 5 years as proof positive that working within the system can generate real tangible benefits for Māori.
This debate will be set against a political backdrop of vile race baiting as National and ACT jockey for who can most harvest reactionary pakeha anger.
With such a threat looming from the political right, it may be far smarter for both strands of Māori political thought, demanding self sufficiency from the Crown vs engaging with the Crown, to join forces to work together to deliver for Māori while saving New Zealand from the self inflicted bigotry of an ACT/National Government.
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Labour’s Malcolm X will be quietly shuffled out of sight, least “his” presence continues to scare the horses. The mere hint of forming a weak Government with a strong Te Pāti Māori, is probably frightening enough for many.
“We intend to channelize the smoldering rage of the Negro and white poor in an effective miltiant movement in Washington and elsewhere. A pilgrimage of the poor will gather in Washington from the slums and rural starvation regions of the nation. We will go there, will demand to be heard, and we will stay until America responds.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
Recall the placard slogans of those Poor People’s Campaign matches:
– “We march for: Jobs for all, now!”
– “A useful job at decent pay!”
– “We demand: Decent housing now!”
– “Bold action to abolish poverty!”
– “We support an Economic Bill of Rights!”
” We intend to channelize the smoldering rage of the Negro and white poor ”
This will never be allowed by the moderate white or brown person in this country. Unity among the poor is the last thing they permanent managerial class wants.
Some believe it was Kings’s pressing for unity amongst the exploited and oppressed that caused the greatest threat to the elites.
This particular incarnation of divide and conquer has been preventing effective change for a very long time now. It allows indecent power to rest easy in the knowledge there can be no effective challenge to their excesses or their illegitimate authority.
I keep hoping the strategy is finally getting (too) old.
As seems inevitable in human philosophical discourse, there are points on both “sides’ of the debate that are worthy of consideration. This has led me to understand that a fusion of the “best bits” would be more likely to provide an ideal outcome for all sides… Regardless of the geography, or time lines, this seems evident..
My hope would be that this “union” of resources be driven by the long view, rather than expedience…
Some believe it was Kings’s pressing for unity amongst all the exploited and oppressed that caused the greatest threat to the elites.
This particular incarnation of divide and conquer has been preventing effective change for a very long time now. It allows indecent power to rest easy in the knowledge there can be no effective challenge to their excesses or their illegitimate authority.
I keep hoping the strategy is finally getting (too) old.
Surely it can’t hoodwink us for too much longer.