Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: A Full Sense of Nationhood

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  • dc_red,

    Well said, RB - the ongoing desire among conservatives to make other people mouth prayers they don't believe in is a curious, yet enduring, trait.

    As for the Official Waitangi - an ongoing disgrace.

    The ineptitude of Key's DPS minders in protecting him against assault in precisely the time and place where such an assault is most likely is also pretty crap.

    When asked whether his security let him down, Key said something 'diplomatic' along the lines of "that's for them to discuss". I think a better answer would have been "Yes, and it's not f8cking good enough."

    Oil Patch, Alberta • Since Nov 2006 • 706 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    Personally I think clark staying away from waitangi was just good thinking.....it really put focus away from a place that seemed to run on the energy of volatility and tryied to refocus on what a national day means to people. I think we're still getting there but to point her actions out as weak is soulless and petty.

    and i know citizen key is trying real hard to be everyones favourite p.m and i honestly applaud the intent if any other citizen gets assaulted please get angry about it.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart,

    I remember thinking at the time that Clark's response to Brash's outburst was probably the best one she could give, under the circumstances - it would be laughable to expect her to endorse such an attack on herself, and lashing out in return would have been far worse.

    I have to say I didn't know about Waitangi Day having been previously called New Zealand Day - it perhaps puts into perspective a sign I saw outside a bar in Christchurch, conspiculously advertising "no surchage on New Zealand Day". At the time I thought it was a rather stupid attempt to ignore the cross-cultural elements of the day, rather on a par with those who put their ethnicity on the census as "Kiwi", but perhaps I was a little uncharitable. Still odd, though.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    ahh my spelling, apologies, ..i blame 1970's primary schools

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Perhaps I'm being uncharitable, but Thursday's disgraceful assault on John Key said to me that even if Ngapuhi has its ceremony sorted out at an official level, its politics are still a mess.

    No perhaps about it, you are being "uncharitable" and need a little time out on the same naughty step as Roughan. (Have I said in the last five minutes that cancelling the sub to the Herald was the best (and most profitable) decision ever? The one upside to the Global Economic Crisis (tm). )

    The ineptitude of Key's DPS minders in protecting him against assault in precisely the time and place where such an assault is most likely is also pretty crap.

    When asked whether his security let him down, Key said something 'diplomatic' along the lines of "that's for them to discuss". I think a better answer would have been "Yes, and it's not f8cking good enough."

    Oh, FFS... seriously, what the hell were they supposed to do? Have Key behind a wall of black suits, as he's hustled from locked down photo op to a venue where you only get within a mile of the great man if you've lined up for three hours to get through a security barrier? I've got to say I find that the most appealing thing about the Presidential primary and election season just passed.

    And Key might just have been "diplomatically" following the same convention as Clark and every other fucking PM I've ever heard of, that you don't actually discuss the DPS and security arrangements in a press scrum?

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    No perhaps about it, you are being "uncharitable" and need a little time out on the same naughty step as Roughan.

    You'll have to explain why. I'm sincere about feeling disconnected from the argy-bargy up north, and that episode only made me feel more so.

    Oh, FFS... seriously, what the hell were they supposed to do? Have Key behind a wall of black suits, as he's hustled from locked down photo op to a venue where you only get within a mile of the great man if you've lined up for three hours to get through a security barrier?

    I think so too. They were damned whatever they did there.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Geoff Lealand,

    Attention is shifting away from what happens at Waitangi on Feb 6 and I think that is a good thing. The politicians can go through their ritualistic dances, whilst the rest of us choose to celebrate our national day in joyous and less formal ways--without prayers, (military) bands, and associated hoo-haa.

    We journeyed to Kawhia for the Maori Kai festival and even though we got the day wrong (it was on Saturday. rather than Friday!), it was a great day to sit by the sea, eat whitebait fritters, and watch kids haul in buckets of makarel. On the return, we detoured to Aotea Harbour, which was some kind of discovery--a large harbour which drains at low tide, leaving firm sand and lagoons of warm water, overlooked by tremendous sand dunes.

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    Actually maybe the "bashing of the p.m" could just become part of the celebration.I mean it's almost a tradition now.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Grant McDougall,

    It's shooting fish in a barrel to criticise Don Brash, but anyway...*takes .303 of the mantle-piece, aims, squeezes trigger* KA-BAM-BLOOEY!!!

    Sour grapes from a bitter, old man who can't get over the fact that he never became PM. He's a sore loser and a sad, deluded twit.

    Dunedin • Since Dec 2006 • 760 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Still odd, though.

    But really interesting when you look at the context. I knew abut (and remembered) New Zealand Day, but I didn't remember what Mat Rata said about it.

    We've deluded ourselves into thinking the day at Waitangi has always been thus, but it's not actually true. I thought Clark's decision to accept the hospitality of Ngai Tahu in 2000 was quite a good one. The "ritual dance" isn't compulsory.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    Great Blend

    At which I fell to his knees and beat his fists upon the ground, for I'll be out of town that weekend. Oh the humanity!

    Sure it'll be wicked.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    I thought Clark's decision to accept the hospitality of Ngai Tahu in 2000 was quite a good one. The "ritual dance" isn't compulsory.

    Quite true, and it was equally true when Jim Bolger decided (quite rightly in my view) after Waitangi Day in '95, that -- unlike Pariament -- this was one bit of ritual humiliation where he didn't have to wear. I do recall the then-leader of the Opposition taking a somewhat different view, but I guess "what goes around, comes around" is as true in politics as everywhere else.

    Waitangi Day is always a bit of a solemn one in our house, because we get together for a picnic on North Head -- where we scattered the ashes of my partner's sister four years ago. So, yeah, the "official" Waitangi Day isn't that 'relevant' to me either. But neither is anyone trying to turn a molehill into Krakatoa, or subjecting Ngapuhi or the DPS to criticism that's as petty as it is unfair.

    If we're going to expect Ngapuhi to accept the blame for "two oafs" (as RB so neatly put it) acting out, I sure hope the same standard is going to be applied the next time some random elements at a protest march go wild, or some random spectator goes off at an event attended by the PM.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Julie Fairey,

    Very interesting post Russell, I didn't know that stuff about NZ Day etc either.

    There's was a bit of a discussion over at The Hand Mirror about the lack of acknowledgement of the gender issue in the whole "Key did Waitangi better than Clark" thing.

    Puketapapa Mt Roskill, AK… • Since Dec 2007 • 234 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Parks,

    I suspect ... that Titewhai Harawira had the balance sheet of her personal mana uppermost as she barked orders at a shaken Key ("Stand still John -- no, no, stand still ... ") in the seconds after the attack.

    The focus of criticsm, naturally enough, has been on the attackers, but I'm glad to see someone else was annoyed by Harawira's hectoring approach there. I found her obnoxious, to say the least.

    We've deluded ourselves into thinking the day at Waitangi has always been thus, but it's not actually true.

    My dad was telling me that this weekend - that it was once NZ Day, but I brushed it off. "Nah, I'm pretty sure there's always been a Waitangi Day." Well, go to figure. The old coot was right. Interesting.

    Wellington • Since May 2007 • 1165 posts Report Reply

  • Mark Harris,

    I used to get a bit of stick at work for not participating in karakia or powhiri. My excuse was "it's not culturally appropriate for me to mouth religious or cultural views that I don't share" and I still stand by that. When I was learning Te Reo, I had a friendly disagreement with the tutor about the karakia at the beginning and end of the lesson, once I had learned enough to figure out what we were saying. Mind you, this is the same tutor who said, when I asked him how to say "thank you" in Te Reo, "Oh, two dollars will do". When you think about how koha works, I'm not sure he was joking...

    Waikanae • Since Jul 2008 • 1343 posts Report Reply

  • Brent Jackson,

    Russell blogged :

    Little P-class yachts with colourful sails bobbed around off the shoreline

    They weren't P-class, they were Optimists. I know because I was out there capsizing in one. I think I did pretty well for my first time in a small yacht. I managed to right it, get back in it, bail it out, and sail on. And, more importantly, didn't lose my sunglasses and hat in the process.

    I am very grateful to Martin Ball, the technology teacher at Pasadena Intermediate School, for giving up his afternoon to make the Optimists available for us to use, (and for running around in the safety boat rescuing those that required it).

    Cheers,
    Brent.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 620 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Quite true, and it was equally true when Jim Bolger decided (quite rightly in my view) after Waitangi Day in '95, that -- unlike Pariament -- this was one bit of ritual humiliation where he didn't have to wear.

    Him and Cath Tizard, who were both spat on. I did think Bolgers comment afterwards was good: "What happened at Waitangi is not the universal face of Mäoridom and must not be seen as such."

    I do recall the then-leader of the Opposition taking a somewhat different view, but I guess "what goes around, comes around" is as true in politics as everywhere else.

    as I recall the criticism in 1996 was not about the Prime Minister not attending the ceremonies at Waitangi (that was inevitable), but that the only official engagement was an invitation-only event behind the walls of Government House.

    If we're going to expect Ngapuhi to accept the blame for "two oafs" (as RB so neatly put it) acting out, I sure hope the same standard is going to be applied the next time some random elements at a protest march go wild, or some random spectator goes off at an event attended by the PM.

    If two protesters in any other context went so wild as to physically assault the Prime Minister, I'm sure there'd be hell to pay. But my sense was that this was as much about Ngapuhi politics as anything (ditto for Harawira's stunt in 1998, where the matriarch was playing politics with some of the men) and I just don't feel great about being subject to them any more.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    They weren't P-class, they were Optimists. I know because I was out there capsizing in one. I think I did pretty well for my first time in a small yacht. I managed to right it, get back in it, bail it out, and sail on. And, more importantly, didn't lose my sunglasses and hat in the process.

    We saw you!

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Williams,

    "You just missed a great New Zealand cultural moment," advised the MP for Wellington Central, and I expect he was right.

    Fantastic. Key's done damn well. I don't much like his politics, but I do respect the approach he has to people and Big Gay Out mightn't need his validation but it's bloody fantastic to see the PM just getting involved sans attitude.

    Have Key behind a wall of black suits, as he's hustled from locked down photo op to a venue where you only get within a mile of the great man if you've lined up for three hours to get through a security barrier?

    No, I agree with you Craig, it's good that our elected leaders are pretty informal and approachable. It's bloody annoying though that a couple of clowns think they can rough him up but. I'm with the consensus that he's handled the whole situation pretty well. Kudos.

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Fantastic. Key's done damn well. I don't much like his politics, but I do respect the approach he has to people and Big Gay Out mightn't need his validation but it's bloody fantastic to see the PM just getting involved sans attitude.

    And I think he was doing it out of just being a good sport rather than any political calculation. Whatever his flaws, Key likes people and wants to be liked.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Gareth Ward,

    I spent Waitangi Sunday at probably the most residential building I've ever been to, drinking Mt Difficulty wine, on the shores of an amazingly clean lake on a sustainability-award-winning farm thinking "this is a nice way to celebrate a rather grown-up NZ - great architecture, cutting-edge well-branded sustainable agriculture, mind-boggling wines and a natural environment to rival any in the world".

    Like your day Russell it was a world away from the events at Waitangi - but at least part of the point of Waitangi is to engage with the historical roots of the day and recognise the coming together of Maori and Pakeha culture. My Waitangi weekend had none of that, and unfotunately redefining the day as a celebration of modern New Zealand does nothing for the significance behind the day itself.

    Auckland, NZ • Since Mar 2007 • 1727 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Williams,

    And I think he was doing it out of just being a good sport rather than any political calculation.

    <partisan-restraint >That's my sense, from the footage, too and that's admirable. I've long thought him light on experience, I still do, and I think that's a real risk but maybe the up-side is that he's a little less removed from the day to day... even for a bloke who's got squillions of $$. </partisasn-restraint >

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

  • Gareth Ward,

    "..most beautiful residential building.."
    Seems that wine hasn't quite worked it's way through yet...

    Auckland, NZ • Since Mar 2007 • 1727 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart,

    I used to get a bit of stick at work for not participating in karakia or powhiri. My excuse was "it's not culturally appropriate for me to mouth religious or cultural views that I don't share" and I still stand by that.

    The Maori classrooms at my school had a whole lot of Bible verses (in Maori) tacked up on the walls. At age sixteen, I thought this was weird, given that we were there to learn the language. Looking back, I'd consider it a fairly clear contravention of the supposed secularity of public education. Mind you, it wasn't like we were being proselytised, it was just...there.

    It seems to be part of a larger thing where Christian prayers are totally acceptable as long as they're in Maori - even in situations where many people would object to Christian prayers in English. The best example I can think of is a family I know - atheists all - who switched from a non-religious grace to a Maori grace, and seemed totally unaware of the fact that whether you're thanking "te Matua, te Tama, me te Wairua Tapu" or their English equivalents for your dinner, it's still, you know, explicitly religious. But it's in another language, so it's okay!

    Or something.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Jake Pollock,

    Sadly, the denizens don't seem to share your enthusiasm for the new PM's choice of dance partners.

    Raumati South • Since Nov 2006 • 489 posts Report Reply

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