What Māori academics miss in their trashing of Labour’s vaccination program & why poverty matters more than race
One of the problems many Māori and Public Health academics have had with Labour’s 90% vaccination plan is that Labour didn’t vaccinate Māori first and that the Māori Labour caucus didn’t push hard enough to force this issue.
Could you imagine what would happen if the Māori Caucus demanded all Māori get vaccinated first?
Can you imagine the nuclear explosion from pakeha being told their family members dying from Covid is acceptable because we have to vaccinate Māori first?
The NZ Herald would print maps of Labour MPs homes with recipes for Molotov Cocktails alongside while Mike Hosking would actually orgasm live on air.
If the Māori Labour Caucus had implemented the demands of the Māori Party, the Academics and the woke, they would have sparked an insurrection from the Right that would have triggered race riots.
The Māori Labour Caucus saved NZ.
Sometimes politics does trump strict public health focus.
High vaccination rates, low hospitalization rates, low mortality rates alongside revolutionary new treatments are working!
The Māori Party described Labour’s policy as ‘modern genocide’ and that it was designed to be a ‘Squid Game’ murder Disneyland. Those screaming Jacinda’s plan amounts to a modern genocide of Māori best be hoping there is a vast tsunami of death coming – I mean, Labour’s ‘genocide’ hasn’t reached triple figures yet, that seems a very, very, very small genocide.
This has become a race issue when it’s a class issue.
Right now there are 159, 810 Māori unvaccinated, 42, 183 Pasifika unvaccinated and a staggering 317, 544 Pakeha who are unvaccinated!
By constantly screaming vaccine hesitancy is a Māori and Pasifica problem, we let 317, 544 Pakeha off the hook!
Yes, proportionately these stats hit Māori hardest, but by allowing that to decide the entire focus of the debate we ignore the far larger numerical problem of those issues impacting poor White families and that allows an escape to scrutinize what’s really happening.
By constantly blaming Māori we can’t see that this is a failure of neoliberalism that cascades across race.
It’s not an identity issue, it’s a class issue!
Beating Covid requires us to beat poverty first.
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The classic political red herring. Which USA President had a sign on his desk which read ‘The buck stops here’? Roosevelt? So there you go. Does anyone take responsibility anymore?
Anyone?
Anyone?
Anyone?
Or is it summed up in the final paragraph:
…”By constantly blaming Māori we can’t see that this is a failure of neoliberalism that cascades across race. It’s not an identity issue, it’s a class issue! Beating Covid requires us to beat poverty first”…
You’re right Martyn, it’s about poverty: who can wash their hands, clothes, porch etc ten times a day when there is only a metre of water in the tank; who can get to the shops and afford the hundred $$ multi-vitamin pack; who can eat a diet of fresh fruit, vegetables and tofu, fish, lentils etc aa well as putting petrol in their car to get to the vaccination hub wherever that is. These considerations are not part of the politico’s paradigm and the fact that Rawiri Waititi is prepared to fight for his right to wear (expensive) Air Jordans as an indication of his street cred gives hope to not only disenfranchised maori but I’d say a great many man/woman on the street that there may be a real, down to earth human who is prepared to go into a rioting prison and calm the situation down as opposed to holding court in Wellington or Tauranga or wherever.
That we have a merchant banker, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Bayly calmly shutting out returning kiwis from accessing superannuation is alarming. This will be alarming to many struggling families when they discover the sons and daughters who were forced to leave the country to find means to pay off their student loans or save a deposit for a house, are now ineligible for superannuation, in a nutshell. A bankster takeover.
That we have a health minister who for some strange and egregious reason refusing to supply crucial information against the orders of the High Court,
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/126948597/covid19-labour-mp-willie-jackson-disappointed-ministry-of-health-wont-share-mori-vaccination-data-with-whnau-ora
perhaps gives some weight to the argument.
March this year
“Covid 19 coronavirus: Rawiri Waititi says Māori must make vaccine decision for themselves.”
“Māori MPs are reluctant to tell Māori they should get the Covid-19 injection, saying it’s about mana motuhake and whānau have the right to choose.
“Because that’s what mana motuhake is all about, mana motuhake is about everybody being able to freely make that choice. We’re not going to make it mandatory and I would be against that,” Waititi said.
“Mine and Deb’s job here in this Parliament is to make sure the pathway is clear for those who choose to take the vaccine.”
Misinformation was a concern for Waititi who implored Māori to get the right information from their GPs.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/covid-19-coronavirus-rawiri-waititi-says-maori-must-make-vaccine-decision-for-themselves/VFSAINI66TTFTAYOOCVRZG2LTY/
Brian Tamaki has been helping as many as he can with their decision.
You had me at “Maori Academics” Martyn! LOL
These people make everything about race because it’s all they’ve got going. If race was removed from the mix, then they’d be regarded as highly inadequate academics who wouldn’t survive long in their positions.
There’s a LOT to be criticized about the vaccine rollout but it’s got nothing to do with race. The government sat on it’s hands and wasted 6 months pissing about with the vaccine procurement, didn’t order sufficient and then ran out and was forced to postpone appointments. Bloody Amateurs!
Agree, this is not a matter of race. We all know the shorcomings of our roll out, needless to repeat them. But there is still something that can be done before the virus hits. The government can distribute to the needed families the emergency kits similar to those distributed in some states in India with vitamines, Zinc, masks, wipes, hand sanitisers, oximeters and some antiviral medicines (if not Ivermectine, so Isoprinosine used in Europe to treat mild Covid indection) all with instructions. And the MoH should employ more people who will contact these families regularly. There is a growing problem with home isolation, these people can help so that peolple will not die because of the lack of interest and information.
By the way have you heard anyone from the MoH recommending us to have oximeters at hand not to mention to take vitamins, Zinc, go outside, exercise, stop smoking etc.?
I no longer give my ethnicity when asked and simply tick ‘other’ and write ‘a bit of everything’ or human. Labour and the Greens are obsessed with race. None of the problems we face can be properly tackled until we refocus on climate change, reversing biodiversity collapse, and tackling poverty. Three waters for example will be divisive, increase racial tensions and end up deepening poverty by metering/charging for a resource which is currently free. The options development work and conservation reform is equally worrying.
I’ve alway been a strong Green Party supporter but could not in good conscious support the party any longer. The Greens and Labours approach to identify politics and obsession with race is just so damaging to society…
It is to do with race and that is why we collect ethnicity data and epidemiologist determine risk factors and do risk analysis to help implement and develop legislation, policy, programmes and interventions to reduce or mitigate those risks. We also have targeted research for at risk groups based on there mortality and morbidity rates.
Look, does it have anything to do with genetics? No, it does not, the times when overseas bacterias and viruses caused tragic outcomes are long past. Does it have anything to do with poverty? Yes, it does. Are all poor people Maori, are all Maori poor? No. So focus on the problem – the poverty.
If there are other issues involved: fear, no trust, tikanga – educate, educate, educate for the sake of those who suffer.
Alexandra
unfortunately not just poverty , mistrust but race ( or genetics as you put it ? ) still have a mitigating factor in negatively effecting vaccine rollouts – ” unethical medical experimentation on black Americans ” for example
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56405199
and in NZ – historical mistrust and fair to say instances of discrimination and racial bias
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300440848/covid19-vaccination-how-mistrust-shadows-the-rollout-in-a-time-of-crisis
sure people can use vitamins to boost health and have been long before covid arrived but you’ll need evidence to support your position on ivermectin – ” there’s more harm than benefit ”
https://www.wcpo.com/money/angies-list/health/fact-check-friday-ivermectin
Thanks Covid is Pa… but most people out right lie on the form and tick what ever is trendy at the time. 50 years ago if you were two thirds Maori and one third other you’d tick other, now if you were 1% Maori and 99% other you’d tick Maori. It’s really silly. We’ve all been through the melting pot and are 99.9% genetically the same. You ethnicity is complex and… irrelevant. People living at or below the poverty line will be effected more by covid… so measure that…
Yes Neil I am thinking of ticking the other box for ethnicity and putting, tangata whenua. In the past we had to be full blooded to tick Maori, now whose rule was that and why? In my role I have to ask people their ethnicity and I can tell you its very interesting what people say. And what they say about their ethnicity varies depending mostly on how long they have lived here and how they were raised. Also Neil we are not genetically the same, we are all human beings but we have very different genetics.
“All human beings are 99.9 percent identical in their genetic makeup.”
https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Genetics-vs-Genomics
Without divulging information sources – it IS about class – not race – (but with a significant number of Maori present in this group) – and shame on all the players NOT doing the harder job of reaching these guys – or doing all they can to support those who are actually TRYING to reach these guys. Really concerned for health with the Min of Health increasing it’s power next year….
The first 1.5m vaccines were procured in October 2020 to be delivered 1st quarter of 2021 for vaccinating the most vulnerable. Delta variant didn’t emerge until December 2020. A further 8.5m doses were procured early March with the declared intent to be that everybody else would start to be vaccinated in July with as many people as possible being vaccinated by the end of the year. That is clearly sufficient ordered, and we’ve clearly vaccinated as many people as possible in this timeframe. The bottleneck came when Delta arrived and suddenly the demand for vaccination ramped up ahead of the planned vaccination timeframe. As I recall, there weren’t very many appointments postponed at all. A week or two at most.
5 months between our first and second orders. However only 3 months between Delta emerging and our second order. Delta emerging would have meant a pause to assess vaccine efficacy against Delta. Also, December 2020 saw countries such as US, Brazil, Russia, India, Turkey all struggling with full hospitals and bodies stored in refrigerated trucks because they couldn’t keep up. I imagine vaccine manufacturers might prioritise them when allocating vaccine delivery slots to customers. Also, say we had got our vaccines delivered 2 months earlier than we did. Would that have changed much about the situation we are in now. I imagine vaccine uptake would have been slower without the incentive provided by active Delta in our community. We may have only achieved our current levels of vaccination a few weeks earlier than present?
In conclusion, the ‘bloody amateurs’ are the armchair experts all using hindsight to pretend they knew better.
For context, this was a reply to Andrew’s post above. I obviously forgot to hit ‘reply’ before I wrote the post.
I no longer reply to Andrew as he is indeed a “bloody amateur”.
Great that you provided the evidence, something Andrew clearly has no comeback too.
Its ridiculous to say Maori are not getting vaccinated because black americans were experimented on in the past and so dont trust health professionals. Surely maori see the pakeha chinese indian asian and south american communities in NZ lining up to get vaccinated because they trust in vaccine science and dont want to die. Its unfortunate so many maori kids drop out of school before the fifth form science lessons on virus and vaccination. And its unfortunate the loudest voice in maoridom with something to say about vaccination is Brian “God is my vaccine” Tamaki. But thats NZ. Maori have their own power over their response to this pandemic. Any maori who wants to get vaccinated can. To say maori cant get to a vaccination center cannot be correct. Its a very rare person who does not have family access to a car. Never the less how far would you walk to avoid death. 1km, 5km, 10km, 50km.
Joseph your comment about Maori dropping out of school is a tad racist and ill informed you need to do your homework on mainstream education failing Maori not Maori failing education.
racist fuckhead
but you’re right
it is ridiculous
& unfortunate , convoluting the two the way you have
and have no evidence Maori kids drop out of school before the fifth form science lessons on virus and vaccination .
nor does Brian represent ‘ Maoridom .
if at all capable make sense
Yes Neil I am thinking of ticking the other box for ethnicity and putting, tangata whenua. In the past we had to be full blooded to tick Maori, now whose rule was that and why? In my role I have to ask people their ethnicity and I can tell you its very interesting what people say. And what they say about their ethnicity varies depending mostly on how long they have lived here and how they were raised. Also Neil we are not genetically the same, we are all human beings but we have very different genetics.