Posts by Craig Ranapia
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Polity: TPP, eh?, in reply to Russell Brown,
That’s certainly how it looks.
Then again, who the hell knows? That's the problem with playing cute -- you don't get to turn around and pretend to be shocked when wild surmise and self-serving leaks fill the hole. I don't think trade agreements are intrinsically evil (which strikes me as a fair characterization of elements on both the left and right), but I'm not the only one in that mushy middle who's being asked to take waaay to much on trust.
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Up Front: So Farewell Then, UCSA, in reply to Russell Brown,
I can see how a design which put the toilets in the basement of a three-level building might get refused.
There's a disturbing number of buildings in this world that make you wonder whether architects have to wear adult nappies for life as part of some bizarro initiation ritual into the profession.
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Hard News: About Chris Brown, in reply to Russell Brown,
If we want to stop crime … want to stop domestic abuse, we need role models like Chris because young brown guys listen to Chris Brown.”
Bitch, please. In other news, the latest round of the Serco Follies involved the alleged serial rape of a trans woman who should never have been in a male prison in the first place. So please excuse me if I think the last thing anyone in this country needs as a role model is someone who threatened to kill a "faggot" over a parking space. Ever. I'm glad that Mika would be cool being around that kind of person, but I sure as fuck don't. There's no reason already vulnerable Maori/Pasifika LGBT youth should be expected to take his reformation on faith.
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Hard News: About Chris Brown, in reply to Musonda,
I don’t want to defend Brown – or Turia, just to point out that it seems as though every corner of the media/political establishment has coalesced far more quickly and effectively in their opposition to Brown than would be the case if he wasn’t brown (the colour).
I can only speak for myself, but I stand by this Tweet:
Let’s get real that race, class (and gender) are NOT created equal in NZ, but I’m not joining Team Chris Brown to have that korero.
And, honestly, I don’t want to derail into a discussion of hip-hop lyrics. Not because an awful lot of them aren’t absolutely fucking vile, but because an awful lot of pop culture is absoloutely fucking vile and that a whole warehouse of canned worms I can’t even start to open here without pulling the mother of all derails. I will happily argue that George RR Martin’s treatment of rape and violence against women in A Song of Ice and Fire is ghastly on so many levels (and the television adaptation is even worse) *, but I’d never say that is a reason to bar him from entering New Zealand. Because that’s not how our immigration laws work, wither you think that’s right or not.
My issue with Brown’s defenders has nothing to do with his race, and a lot with the horrible spectacle of people who should know better just ignoring his long record of abuse, harassment and intimidation. And while they’re not my stories to tell in this forum, I also have reasons not to share Turia et. al.’s trust that Brown’s really changed his ways.
* And I have to note here, that there are plenty of women geeks whose opinions I respect, and are in no way rape culture enforcers/apologists, who would make arguments to the contrary. It's complicated, because pop culture and the people who make and consume it don't magically exist above and beyond a society that's fucked up and broken in so many ways. As Danielle rightly says, we've all got to make our own way through that maze.
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Hard News: About Chris Brown, in reply to william blake,
Dame Tariana Turias’ stand on this issue seems to be based in a loving Christian gesture to a sinner.
Perhaps, and maybe they’ve taken this at face value:
US singer Chris Brown says he wants to go to Australia to use his influence as an entertainer to raise awareness about domestic violence.
He was commenting in a tweet to news at the weekend that he is unlikely to be given a visa to perform in Australia because of his domestic abuse record.
The singer is scheduled to go on tour in Australia in December, and tickets went on sale on Monday.
He was told on Sunday that he had 28 days to appeal against the decision.
“I would be more than grateful to come to Australia to raise awareness about domestic violence,” Mr Brown tweeted. “I’m not the pink elephant in the room anymore."
To which my only response is: “Gurrl, I’ve heard that song before and just because I got played like a cheap fiddle doesn’t mean you have to.” This is what shocks me most about the Chris Brown Fan Club – which has now gone global, BTW. We’re not talking about five naive bunnies fresh off the farm, but women I thought would have the nous to do some basic homework on the man they’re supporting. Something our host managed to do with little difficulty.
It’s very easy to “forgive” someone who never reduced your face to a bloody pulp, or threatened to kill you for parking your car in the wrong place. But it’s damn easy to make the victims of abuse somehow marginal when they should be at the center of the story, and the safety of all women more important than some toxic man’s feels and income stream.
Because in the end, I don’t believe Chris Brown. I don’t trust Chris Brown. I wouldn’t dare presume to “forgive” him for the pain and humiliation he’s caused others, because it’s not mine to give.
And nobody’s convinced me to change my mind.
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Hard News: About Chris Brown, in reply to Russell Brown,
What really makes me heart-sick about the story you linked to is this:
Dame Tariana Turia, former co-leader of the Maori Party, also said she would support Brown's visa application. She said young people needed to relate to other young people and Maori youth would be more likely to listen to Brown on the subject of his reform than their elders.
Yeah, and what exactly does Brown have to say to young Maori and Pasifika? If you're rich enough, and are surrounded by enablers whose own bottom lines depend on you, you don't have to face any meaningful consequences for your actions. (Actions, need I add, most people of colour will NEVER afford to lawyer up to mitigate or avoid entirely.) That if you're a celebrity you can show ZERO commitment to dealing with your painfully obvious difficulty with keeping your fists to yourself? FFS, lets not forget Frank Ocean was subject to a death threat and homophobic abuse over a parking space.
Oh, and let's keep reminding Maori and Pasifika women and LGBT of one more way in which their lives don't really matter at all. You can never really be reminded of that too many times.
I don't know what's more depressing about this farce: Watching women I have vast respect for squandering mana they'd almost literally taken lifetimes to accrue? Or that they did it so quickly, and for so little?
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Just leaving this here, because I’m too freaking grossed out and angry to say anything remotely constructive…
Chris Brown is about to get new high-powered support for his bid to enter New Zealand – this time from three Maori Dames, a Lady and a former Women’s Refuge boss.
The support of five new prominent and powerful Maori women comes after former Cabinet minister, Dame Turiana Turia, spoke in support of Brown being allowed to enter the country.
Promoters for Brown have sent an invitation to a press conference today, saying it would see the “National Urban Maori Authority speak out in the wake of Dame Tariana Turia’s strong support of Chris Brown.”
It brings support from the upper reaches of Maoridom along with the heft of the National Urban Maori Authority, which runs the commissioning agency dispensing whanau ora funds – including into domestic violence programmes.
In what way is any of this even remotely appropriate?
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Hard News: About Chris Brown, in reply to simon g,
Some of the commentary online seems to be “Judith Collins must be wrong, ergo Brown not that bad” – which is cock-eyed nonsense.
Thanks for saying that, because prudence made me delete my response to that line of spin. Yes, I'm perfectly happy with Collins being held accountable to her record as a minister of the Crown but I'm less than convinced this is the time or place for political point scoring. Especially when I've not exactly seen any Government giving any consideration to amending the Immigration Act to make domestic violence convictions grounds to decline visa applications.
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Hard News: About Chris Brown, in reply to Russell Brown,
Genuine question: have you always held that view of the Clean Slate Act? Do you think no one should be allowed to move on after paying their penalty? Should someone busted for a joint or shoplifting in the 1980s still have trouble travelling or getting a job?
Here's a tangential question I've been waiting for someone to answer. If Chris Brown was a New Zealander what would be his chances of getting a visa to perform in the United States under identical circumstances? Serious question, because the relevant section of the US State Department website isn't exactly a model of clarity.
The c-word nobody seems keen to use here is Class - or more precisely money to lawyer up. If you've got a promoter who stands to lose an awful lot of money if a tour gets cancelled because your headliner can't get a visa, that's one thing. If you're on the other side of the Tasman, and nobody else gives a shit who you are... well, I've heard Christmas Island is lovely this time of year.
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And yet, Kanoa Lloyd makes some strong arguments in her Newsworthy column Chris Brown and Our Domestic Violence Double Standards. Most notably, that such immigration sanctions have been almost exclusively visited on black entertainers: “If you’re white, you’re still welcome. We’re much more certain you’ve learned the error of your ways.”
And she’s not wrong, but shouldn’t our response to that be “well, perhaps we need to address the institutional racism, conscious or not, here” NOT “well, we should let this abusive dude in because fair’s fair…” Which, to be fair, is not what Lloyd is arguing at all but I’ve seen others trying to put that spin on it. Which is disturbing, but not on her.