Posts by George Darroch
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They're going to kill Radio New Zealand.
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power which the social and economic system has vested in them _in spite of_ not because of their gender, ethnicity or sexuality
Wow.
#peopleactuallybelievethis #christrotter
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I think there's something wonderful about owning clothes that look good on you, establish your personality, and present you to the world as the person you want to be. In NZ, like everywhere else, those degrees of freedom depend on your income.
I'm mildly upset by the fact that my favourite line of $130 jeans have been discontinued - but when I compare that to childhood of picking things from the $5 bag places, I realise I'm pretty lucky right now. Mind you, I still buy very few things in a year. The difference now is that those things are much higher in price and quality.
I suspect, but do not know, that most people live somewhere between these poles.
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something comfortable, practical and stylish that would last several decades before turning to rags
I'm assuming aforementioned item fails at least one of those tests?
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she did not get it, and never got it. And she was a graduate student in New Zealand history. It was a thoroughly weird experience that has stayed with me for over a decade.
Weird indeed. But is it any less weird than the familiar trope that class does not exist in any concrete form in New Zealand, because it can be transcended ? This it seems, is essentially what Key and Clark stories tell us.
However, it is very true that societies with more egalitarian distributions of wealth are also ones in which moving from lower to higher deciles are easier. And it is also true that New Zealand's stratification has increased markedly in the last 3 decades, as rapidly as anywhere in the world.
So while cultural markers may not have changed, the income associated with them often has.
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Since I'm clogging the tubes, I might as well link to Danyl's brilliant latest effort. "Win Brian Easton" has to be the best touch there.
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Try as I might, I can't beat the wry wight.
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sadly, it looks like we are stuck with the descent society for now, and with the current castrati in power best we can hope for is a descant society...
Wit of a desiccant sobriety.
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Yeah, what Giovanni just said. I believe the traditional New Zealand translations for "treating people with mental disabilities with respect" are; "PC" and "nanny state".
Can I have the decent society back sometime soon?
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Our car broke down this week. Cost to fix it: same as my entire net worth when I first moved to the US 15 years ago.
My $50 bike broke down irreparably two weeks ago. I needed transport, so I walked into a store and bought a new $800 one. I also bought wonderful warm gloves for $50. It's been the only time in my life I've had that kind of freedom so far. Had it been a year previous, I would have been walking and paying bus fares until I could find another cheap and reliable bicycle. I still feel kind of guilty, even as I enjoy the pleasure of something smooth, shiny, and fast.
I think any discussion about social class has to recognise that most people in NZ live near enough to this state of affairs that their lives are materially affected by it. A state of poverty and not-poverty, as it were. Cutting taxes for the rich, while entrenching this state of affairs for the 75% is to make lives harder and more painful.