Posts by JacksonP
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Hard News: Stories: Home, in reply to sandra,
What we Pakeha New Zealanders don’t have is a turangawaewae
This is an interesting thing, as I kind of feel like we do.
Literally tūranga (standing place), waewae (feet), it is often translated as ‘a place to stand’. Tūrangawaewae are places where we feel especially empowered and connected. They are our foundation, our place in the world, our home.
My home journey started in Opotiki, where my grandparents also lived 100 meters up the road, and my foster uncle and family, where we had our annual Christmas hangi, were across town.
We then moved briefly (6 months) to Manurewa on the way to Whakatane when I was 7, until leaving high school for Auckland again 10 years later. The Eastern Bay of Plenty connection has remained, with family, friends, and extended whanau still there, or resting in various places, including on the East Cape.
When I think of where I belong,, or where I feel “especially empowered and connected”, it would still have to be Ohope Beach, and the areas around it, in spite having now been in Auckland longer than anywhere else. It’s just something that feels right. So many formative memories; the sea; Moutohorā / Whale Island and Whakaari / White Island; swimming, surfing, nearly drowning (both in the Waimana river and at the beach); walking with friends and family for hours on the beach. We still go back there at least once a year.
Our actual home in Auckland, we moved into just this June after 10 years in the previous house. What became apparent after the move is although the new spaces are better, and some added features are nice, what makes the home is the things you bring with you. Like the books, music, coffee machine, and of course the people.
Home is definitely where my people are, which is why PA also feels like home.
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Thanks Russ. This is timely.
I questioned my own involvement in the fracas you refer to, and will be mindful of what you say. I also felt something nostalgic about the community at the time. Overall, this has been a sanctuary from an uncaring world, and I hope it endures. Which will depend on the ‘people’.
A story. On Saturday I ended up in A&E after breaking my foot in an unfortunate ‘middle aged man plays tennis for first time in several years’ incident.
I shared the story, mostly in a self-deprecating humour way, on Twitter, but as is often the case in my experience, I received nothing but empathetic comments, and sympathy, including from you, Fiona, Emma, Lilith, Danielle, Jackie… etc. At the time, it was just what I needed.
And as you will note, the core of the people were all those met through Public Address, and then their friends connecting online through Twitter.
This place has been amazing for me. Just wanted to share that.
Thank you, and Arohanui all.
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Sardines for everything!
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Speaker: Are there opportunities within…, in reply to Katharine Moody,
Okay. Let me then appeal to you on behalf of your children. What’s important is getting them to like sardines from an early age, and this relies on you eating them too.
Are you just taking the piss now? Let the sardines go! Also, you have offended a large portion of people on here by your presumptions. You could perhaps reflect on that and stop.
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Speaking of sardines.
Some of us think life’s a bit like that, don’t we? But it isn’t. Life, you know, is rather like opening a tin of sardines. We all of us are looking for the key. And I wonder how many of you here tonight have wasted years of your lives looking behind the kitchen dressers of this life for that key. I know I have. Others think they’ve found the key, don’t they? They roll back the lid of the sardine tin of life. They reveal the sardines—the riches of life—therein, and they get them out, and they enjoy them. But, you know, there’s always a little bit in the corner you can’t get out. I wonder is there a little bit in the corner of your life? I know there is in mine.
From Beyond the Fringe
Apologies if I’m not taking this seriously enough. It’s Friday, and I’ve had a helluva week.
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Speaker: Are there opportunities within…, in reply to Katharine Moody,
No, cut out the sarcasm, this is a serious subject
You're not here to discuss anything. You are certain you are right and have no interest in engaging with other people's way of thinking, and seem to have no empathy for people with limited or no choices.
I think sarcasm is a reasonable response. I just wonder why you keep doubling down.
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Speaker: Are there opportunities within…, in reply to Lilith __,
I wish there were a tax on talking complete nonsense.
It’s pretty taxing, that’s for sure.
I’m going to feed my children some fucking hot chips.
Bravo. May I suggest lashings of ketchup.
ETA: Oh awesome, we are having a bought pie for dinner. I couldn't have scripted this better. Bon apetite!
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Speaker: Are there opportunities within…, in reply to Katharine Moody,
I don’t think you need to spend as much thought on deconstructing things – in many ways, life is pretty simple and thoughts are straight-forward with no malice, prejudice or deep-meaning intended.
I hope you can see how insulting this is. Your life may be simple, probably because you have choices. For people with none, the most important thing can be retaining their dignity and personal safety. How much sugar they feed their kids is so irrrlevant, to punish them for it is in my opinion its own form of abuse.
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Speaker: Are there opportunities within…, in reply to Danielle,
I find it hard to engage in many threads in which I am interested because I can’t be bothered deconstructing large numbers of blanket assertions I find problematic. I’m not sure whether the culture of the threads has changed, or if I have.
This really saddens me. I wonder if somehow there has been a shift in the collective consciousness.
I wager it has something to do with being governed by a callous crowd of cronies for so long, driving the middle to self-interested oblivion. What happened to trying a little kindness?
Projecting our narrowly held belief systems on people we know little to nothing about, is seldom helpful.
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Peonies up.
