GUEST BLOG: Willie Jackson – Antics by tourists & media shouldn’t undermine us as good hosts
I think we’ve all been pretty disgusted by the antics of a group of crass tourists but it’s important to keep perspective.
The media coverage has led to heat with no light and turned something ugly into something even more ugly, because while guests may be rude, our duty as good hosts demands we are above that. Tracing their every step, harassing their every moment and refusing service is not kiwi hospitality.
Misidentifying them as Irish to begin with was ignorant.
Let’s also acknowledge that the vast majority of littering is conducted by us ourselves, so let’s ease up on the moralising.
Social media allows us to connect with each other like never before, but it can also bring out an angry mob mentality that isn’t the best of us.
I will certainly look forward to seeing the back of these tourists when they finally leave, but we should also examine the ridiculous way this has been covered by the media and remind ourselves that while our guests might be rude, we don’t have to be.
Willie Jackson is the Minister for Employment
Agreeing with Willie Jackson – maybe a first. It is righteous Pakeha who seem to have stoked the fires here, fanned by dim mouse-minded msm.
It is a great shame that someone decided that the hapless/hopeless tourists were Irish, and it is as racist as hell.
Confrontations are rarely the best way of sorting issues, and the outcome here was fairly predictable.
That some dear little scruffy boy, looking like a character from Dickens, threatened to knock a Kiwi’s brains out, it is really rather sad.
Awesome reminder Willie that us that live in Aotearoa are the biggest hipocrites because the pollution in our closed rivers and lakes wasn’t made by this group of poms. No, our 100% clean green is utter bullshit because of us. Our people need this look inside ourselves and see the damage we cause to our environment before we blame our tourists, who by 99.9% follow the rules but do kiwi’s? Fuck no. I’m ashamed of the way these folk are treated.