Racism and Fake News

The way the media has vilified and characterised Kiritapu Allen over the past week is nothing short of a disgrace and a clear display of nuance racism in this country.
Sociologists have argued that racism exists in many forms and levels across our communities. In fact it is so complex and comes in so many shades throughout contemporary society that it can be impossible to identify correctly or precisely on each and every occasion.
You’ve got a Member of Parliament who has a stellar track record since her short tenure at government which has seen her rising through the ranks after entering through the party list in 2017. Within six years Kiritapu was gaining recognition as a strong performer within the Labour party and in the 2020 election was voted in as MP for the East Coast. She was Minister of Conservation, Minister for Emergency Management and then promoted to Minister of Justice in 2022.
Simultaneously Kiri has also dealt with stage four cervical cancer; a relationship break up with young children involved and steadily declining mental health. This is a significant cocktail for anyone to handle but she was not cut any slack. They kept piling it on until she cracked.
The media in this country need to be held accountable for the way they turn news into clickbait smear campaigns badly disguised as nuance racism. They held back parts of the story to sensationalise another claim like the infringement notice she received. This is not a criminal notice, it’s a telling off. Clearly she had one or two drinks somewhere and she was not over the legal drinking limit, but all of a sudden it’s a hanging offence. If that’s the standard the media are putting on Kiri, then none of us should have a wine with our meal.
Secondly, headlines lit up saying she tried to abscond and they got the police dogs out. Anyone familiar with Evans Bay in Wellington knows that 500 metres up the road is visible in both directions, even at night, so what was that about? A drunk hori trying to get away, allegedly, and at this point they are just allegations. We must all look to see what actually occurred, not what can be surmised from some photos and hearsay. Kiri’s level of responsibility is heightened because she was the Minister of Justice. Her personal life fell to pieces and her professional life followed. Hopefully there is some bodycam footage that will give us credible transparency over all the speculation being delivered by the media.
It's the telling of this story about a high profile Māori figure that is wrong and the fact that other politicians have not faced the same level of scrutiny nor assumption over fact.
(John - Was it Todd Muller drug driving??? I can’t find the context.)
Other Ministers have lied and scammed their way out of a job yet not the subjects of colourful, repetitive clickbait. Michael Wood was insolent about the obvious conflict of interest with those Auckland Airport shares; Stuart Nash breached Cabinet rules and then bragged about it on radio. Both were using their positions for their own personal gain blurring the lines of the powers they actually had versus what they thought they had. Fact, not fiction.
It's the way in which Māori are positioned in this country regardless of who they are and what they have done. For example, we don’t get name suppression orders.
The wealthy guy from Tauranga who is facing over 20 sexual assault allegations against nine women in court right now, he’s got total name suppression. Why? Sir James Wallace was found guilty but still had name suppression two years later, and he attempted to pervert the course of justice. Yet earlier this month, the name and identity of the central Auckland shooter Matiu Reid was revealed on the same day that incorrigible incident occurred.
Clearly there are different rules depending on your race and bank account.
I just completed a book out about colonisation by an author (name) who vindicated it by saying you have to look at it in perspective. You can’t judge people on the morals of today by looking back. I’m saying that’s how you got those morals because you did look back and you had to change your conduct. If you are grinding me down in my own country, why can’t I uprise and why wouldn’t I?
There are certain trigger mechanisms that raise my ire like those amongst us positioning other people by giving them a label, much like myself who has been radicalised later in my life. I give everything a go, I went to their art schools and their law schools, I tried to be a nice white-brown man but I was never good enough for anyone.
There are a lot of good white people out there, including my late Mum, but there are also a few nasty, feral people who hold us to a higher account in a very negative way.
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