Nathalie Jaques
I always knew that New Zealand was a pretty racist country, but I never expected one of its national papers to publish something on par with a KKK press release. Paul Holmes is not unknown for his racist sentiments and yet the Herald opts to keep him on staff as an opinion piece columnist. Though… with the likes of Garth George and Paul Henry fuelling our media what more can we expect? Perhaps our national media is just a cesspit for racism and bigotry. It isn’t outside the realm of possibility that the Herald sets a certain level of misanthropy as a prerequisite for employment.
The opening to paragraph to this vomit-inducing hate speech (in blatant violation of the section61 of the Human Rights Act 1993) Holmes characterises the Maori as ‘a group of hateful, hate-fuelled weirdos who seem to exist in a perfect world of benefit provision.’ Let’s just pause for some self-reflection on behalf of the Reich Minister of Propaganda Holmes. The first and most obvious response is that the crowd he ham-fistedly refers to was actually an ethnically diverse body of protesters ranging across various gender, ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. It is a pity that selective viewing is a foundation stone for journalism these days. In addition, could anyone live up to the archetypal role of a ‘hateful, hate-fuelled weirdo’ more than prejudiced Paulie? If the life of luxury enjoyed by Maori, and by extension Polynesians, that Mr Holmes indicts is so enviable it is a wonder he doesn’t step out of his middle-class bubble to join them in their free ride on the back of the long suffering middle-classes. It would seem that my conception of what constitutes as existing in a perfect world of benefit provision is diametrically opposed to that of our propaganda pioneer. Certainly being white, male and self-entitled eases access to the social ladder allowing those who get to the top to kick it away from the ledge and spit on those remaining on the ground.