Posts by Che Tibby
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@rose, welcome to pa system!
but...
this is not a reflection on NZ service culture .... it is the result of the unintelligent transplanting of lean production techniques.
i dunno aeh... culture is a way of being, not just of doing. even in nzl-owned places here in wellington you get the same "she'll be right" attitude to service and complaints. it's lazy, haphazard, and undermines the entire industry.
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yup. new zealand service culture.
patchier than a grannys quilt.
half the trouble is that all our professionals are lodged in the half-decent places, and all the remainder are students who don't give a shit. as soon as they can they're becoming the customers.
i had a similar experience a week or two back when booking travel. i went back into the flight centre to ask about changing days, what ti would cost, etc.
the person behind the counter provided the absolute minimum of information, which i found frustrating. i asked to be provided with *advice*, not just info, and was promptly told that this person "would not be spoken to like that!"
sooo.... apparently providing advice is not a travel consultant's job.
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But when a super power becomes upset what then? That was the more chilling message and I am sure the Chinese Government and many of those involved in the rallies knew they were sending it.
my thoughts exactly.
sure, the protesters were out there for a chinese domestic market, but at what cost to the perceptions of a chinese minority on the part of "ordinary new zealanders"?
we've already got big-time xenophobia in segments of new zealand society. exercises of power within the sovereign borders of this country can only add fuel to "sleeper-cell" paranoia.
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i agree. great post.
but every conception of nationalism depends on a selective and conscious retelling of history
and that statement is right on. the retelling creates the national imagination, and that in turn creates a "national conversation" that ends up dominating the way a nation projects itself overseas.
for example, i only need to say, "land of the free, home of the brave" and everyone knows who i mean.
my question is how you see this "unified motherland" projection effecting little places like new zealand?
i get tze ming's point about not all chinese buying into the mythology, but dissent is meaningless when china reacts by projecting its power the way it has. especially because the projection is all about drowning out dissenters, chinese and other.
do you think this type of reaction is only because of the olympics? or could you imagine another situation where china mobilises its non-resident citizens to voice the party's position?
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to my mind their demonstrations clearly renders them unfit for a whole raft of New Zeland jobs. How could the the civil service.
tom, i was in some student protests back in the 90s.
should i be giving up the current job now, or would you like to have any other aspects of my past reviewed before i tender the resignation?
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And meanwhile I'm in yr city reveiwing yr signature waterfront eventz?
i left the lounge after midnight and managed to wade through the hordes of yoof with nary a sideways glance from the more leery of them.
left me feeling like i'm still the tiniest bit 'street'.
pot-belly and greyhair not withstanding.
next time you're in town shout out. the wellingtonista chaps will line up to play cards with you. me? you can always count on me.
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Methinks if the flags were the Stars & Stripes and the chants were "USA, USA" - vocal responses in the blog world and the other media would be slightly less muted.
my thoughts were similar.
what if these crowds were saudis waving green flags and protesting their right to not be stereotyped as terrorists?
the media would be in a lather.
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At least they didn't beat anyone up - unlike Auckland.
seems that the 90s, with all the talk about chinese human rights abuse has been forgotten.
1. we're all about "terrorism".
2. the $$ is mightier than the pen and the sword. -
<em>Busted</em>, Mr. Masked Barfly.
che <--- is not a wellingtonista. (which the barfly is).
@stephen, if only we'd known you were interested! you're on the list.
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I went to a play at Circa last night
i was at the hawthorn lounge playing baccarat with tom beard and hadyn green.
i let the side down somewhat by not wearing a fez or waistcoat.