Posts by Andre Alessi
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I think you'll find that Lhaws' first name is actually spelled "Beelzebub".
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I really disagree. I think it's elevant to ask a spokesman for Te Tii marae about a flag for Waitangi Day, even if his answer involves a good deal of spluttering. Ditto for Maori MPs in parties other than the Maori Party, including the Prime Minister's own party.
Why on earth should they not have a say? The Maori Party are not the only spokespeople for Maori interests.
I can't say I disagree on your general point at all, and I think I phrased myself badly there. I thought about adding a note saying that my comment wasn't passing judgement on the specific people who had been asked their opinion. However, I do think there's a problem generally with how spokespeople are picked by journalists based on what responses said journalists want to print.
It's not an issue that's specific to Maori issues reporting, but because of how relatively recently mainstream awareness has developed that Maori aren't a homogeneous group politically, it's something that I'm probably slightly oversensitive about. I think that simply picking up the phone and talking to one or two people who are likely to give different answers on the same issue (based on the journalist's perception of what part they play in the discourse) does a disservice to the nuances of the issues at stake.
This was probably a bad example for me to spit the dummy on, though, as the spokespeople chosen are likely about as good as anyone could find on short notice (barring coming up with a more compelling spokesperson for young, urban/iwi-less Maori.)
Oddly enough, I've long felt I'd like more in the news about iwi politics, conflict and all. It's such an important part of the cultural and political makeup of the country, but we learn so little about it from the news media.
Why isn't someone telling me why Kingi Taurua and Hone Harawira are so offside with each other, for example? What's the background? What's behind Tau Henare's diffidence?
Absolutely. I'm trying hard not to veer into stage one sociology territory here, but really, the "Other-ing" of Maori (who are an integral part of our nation, after all) has gone hand-in-hand with an attempt to treat Maori political opinion as monolithic (and therefore frightening to Pakeha because it has no room for reconciliation or compromise.)
Reporting these disputes and discussions in more detail is absolutely essential, not just because Maori politics deserves more attention inherently, but because it provides an opportunity to educate Pakeha about the variety of Maori opinions, needs, wants, preferences, etc That's the only way to counteract the talkback mentality of "All Maori want a free lunch and probably the opportinity to eat your children". Of course, it's not the magic bullet that will end racism forever, but it's another crack in the wall.
And I would note that I've been wary about the flag on the bridge on other occasions when t's come up, on the same basis: who and what does the flag represent? Has any iwi ever flown the flag on its own account? If it's going to represent a sovereign people, shouldn't there be a bit more constitutional process in saying so?
I don't think that those concerns are unreasonable, but I do think it's interesting what they say about where we're at right now: I'm sure that whoever proposed to use the TTR flag thought that they were just going along with a nice, essentially lightweight gesture about how we New Zealanders recognise the place of Maori in our national life, and didn't think about or wasn't aware of the tensions around exactly who or what the flag represents.
Maybe I'm becoming more easily impressed in my old age, but I like the fact that there's a debate about the flag being made public at all. I don't think one flag can ever represent all Maori, but I'm pleasantly surprised that those concerns are making it into the national media instead of being dismissed as the knee-jerk complaints of "Maori radicals".
(And I guess with that, I've completely invalidated my original complaint. I think it might be time for a beer.)
Edit: Actually, that beer can wait, I've just found out I'm in to the closed beta for Star Trek Online. My day is made. :)
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And let's just say that if Helen Clark had decided to fly the TR flag over the bridge without any hui in Maoridom, I believe a few of these voices would be praising her for her biculturalism and recognition of a modern NZ.
As much as I hate to say it, I have to agree. There's an awful lot of a "play this up for the media" vibe to many of the comments reported.
Then again, I still think it's stupid that the media feels that getting reax from every brown person who's ever been on the news every time anything "Maori-related" occurs is a rational thing to do.
"Hey, look, the brown folk are arguing amongst themselves again!"
Edit: Just a point of clarification: I'm using "brown person", etc in the ironic sense of "anyone the media thinks is a suitable spokesperson for all Maori everywhere". I just reread my comment and it could come across as borderline talkback racism without that context.
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I wouldn't get too upset - give it a couple of days and the editorial voice will be praising the teachers for their courageous stand. The only thing more consistent than it's idiocy is it's inconsistency.
That reminds me, did they ever follow up on their hysterical demands of any and all MPs who voted for the Electoral Finance Bill? I seem to remember at one point they were going to post their pictures every day in the lead up to the election. Funnily enough, that's the moment I stopped reading the Herald, so I wouldn't know if they went anywhere with it...
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Translation: "We're leaving out the parts that my officials and advisors have told me are stupid and ill-advised."
I'm not usually so cynical, but I imagine that those are the only bits that will remain to make it into law. Stupid, ill-advised policies don't appear out of thin air, they're created to fulfil the desires of interested parties, practical or ideological.
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I too, would like to throw a small statuette at Berlusconi.
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I wish I could return to my younger days of believing the a naked woman was always a good thing.
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It's mildly amusing to see the teabaggers now dissing Mr Latta as being in the pay of the Nanny State. When they sense they're backed into a corner, they typically reach for the big red button that reads 'DEFCON 1'.
It's not even remotely surprising though, is it? This debate has never been about the facts of the matter, the repeal of Section 59 has been an ideological stalking horse and nothing more. All that'll happen now is that the media will go to Michael Laws or Ben Lummis instead of Latta.
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The Lord has spoken.
Right now he's telling me to eat another afghan.
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An "unfortunate" side-effect of bleeping swearing is that it makes everything sound like 'fuck' if you can't see the lips, and if you can it's completely bloody pointless.
You mean like Jimmy Kimmel's Unnecessary Censorship?