GUEST BLOG: Bryan Bruce – This is not who we are?
In her immediate response to the Christchurch shootings our Prime Minister spoke the words that I ,for one, wanted to hear.
“This is not who we are”
I embraced that message and applauded Jacinda Ardern for her leadership in articulating it, because it resonated with what I, until yesterday , also believed – that we are a tolerant country where race and religion don’t matter .
But something I stumbled across while researching another topic yesterday afternoon smacked that complacent belief in the face .
It’s a survey of our attitudes to cultural and religious diversity carried out by Research New Zealand just 3 days after the Christchurch shootings which revealed that… just over half of us (52%) feel discrimination exists in our country and 1 in 4 of us had personally experienced discrimination in the last 12 months.
If those figures are anywhere near representative of our true values then we have to face the uncomfortable truth that THIS is in fact ‘who we are’ and we have a lot of work to do on our prejudicial attitudes if we really want to be a haven of tolerance and goodwill in the world.
On the upside 65% of us think that ‘fairness’ is a value that ‘most, if not all New Zealanders currently live by’ – which is a good place to start .
If we want to be a more tolerant society we need to demonstrate our willingness to achieve that goal by at least legislating for a fairer distribution of the nation’s wealth.
While I know that getting rid of the politics and economics of selfishness is not the silver bullet that will cure all our social and cultural ills – it sure is one of them!
So I guess I will be publishing uncomfortable truths and railing against neoliberalism for a good while longer yet because an inclusive, tolerant, fair society is not who we are .. but it’s what I want us to be.
Bryan Bruce is one of NZs most respected documentary makers and public intellectuals who has tirelessly exposed NZs neoliberal economic settings as the main cause for social issues.
that link’s not working fyi Bryan
“This is not who we are,” purely aspirational codswallop. There are many divides and isms in this country. I see one problem being that many groups who have very unhelpful ideologies are already somewhat underground. For instance racists in the UK are less hidden and as a result are easier to see and confront. Ally the hidden nature of NZ’s bigots with the ability to only see what one wants to see, and I guess it becomes very easy for the PM to mouth platitudes. If you will not see an problem or admit to it you will not be able to address it meaningfully. Making an international show over tightening controls over media systems such as Facebook etc does nothing to address sickness in our societies that leads humans to commit atrocities and acts of terror such as in Sri Lanka and Christchurch.
Basically YES.
The many cults people are drawn into are diverse and some not recognised as such.
Many do not like the term “cult” being used to describe their belief or activity but most people in NZ society do belong to groups or group beliefs. overtly or covertly, which are cults.
Aspects of beliefs or activity that cut across the rights of others are the concern as can be the aggressive evangelising to gain cult membership numbers.
Would help if those supporting identity politics actually looked at policies rather than the candidates phenotypes or their phenotype guilt complexes (even more an issue in NZ) … personally don’t care what people look like, it’s real policies not their vocals about identity that will get the changes… aka saw this about Bernie Sanders who is always being accused about being a white old guy by the identity parade so therefore worthless and undermined in politics..
“Here’s the thing: universal healthcare is a feminist issue. Widening access to education is a feminist issue. A foreign policy that doesn’t involve constantly bombing other countries is a feminist issue. Refusing to cozy up to Saudi Arabia is a feminist issue. Calling out Israel for its treatment of Palestinians is a feminist issue. As far as I’m concerned, Sanders is the most feminist candidate in the race. Nevertheless, as the primaries progress, I’m sure we’re going to hear a lot more about how he just doesn’t get women.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/27/bernie-sanders-is-the-most-feminist-2020-candidate-as-far-as-im-concerned
Spot on SAVENZ.
100%
Personality politics for those who don’t have acceptable policy or wish to hide what policy they intend.
For me leadership is addressing issues like poverty, homelessness, healthcare and fighting neo liberalism in all its forms.
I’m not interested in Ardern. What I can say is I see little evidence of policy leadership from Labour as a party.
In short if you want cue-dos from voters like myself lets see some action, I’m not interested in words.