This country is going to the dogs!

[Zed]

Oddly, quite a few people have told me I'm already off the planet. don't understand why.

Nah Ixion, they just meant that your head was in the clouds!

[Ixion]

Nah Ixion, they just meant that your head was in the clouds!

Yeah, they've said that too.

[Jackrat]

I know a lot of white fat people and quite a few maori fat people too. Most of the white people are really nice people and aren't ashamed about their body. Where as most of the maori's aren't very nice and anyone acting wrong around them will probably get a mouthful. I'm not saying that they are all like that but the majority of them I know are not that nice.

Dang mate you should get out more or change your life style.
I know an meet hundreds of people on a regular basis.
Their just about ALL nice.
Last night I was at Kaikohe an got my truck stuck out behind Te Iringa,the three guys that stopped to give me a hand an then went out of their way to go find a tractor to get me out were Maori guys.
Last week I got a flat tyre half way through the Russel state forest.
The two guys that stopped an helped me crack the wheel nuts, then drove to the local Marae to get some planks of wood to stop my jack sinking into the dirt road were both Maori guys.
Both these things happened right on dark an if these blokes hadn't stopped I'll of spent the night there.
Couple of months back I was out at Te Kaha delivering a tank when I realised
I wouldn't get back to Opotiki before I ran out of legal driving time,I was planning on camping at a local beach, but when I asked a local Maori guy where a good spot would be,he insisted I stay at his place for the night.
These are just a few of the things I can recall right now,but there typical of how I get treated by the Maori folks I come across.
Sure I've been called a bloody Honky by some arsehole,but that was just him an he'll pay for it in the long run with the life he lives.
What goes round.

[MikeL]

Gonna leave the planet boy!

Do you realize how scary that is?

If this planet is just a temporary home, what incentive is there to look after it?

Oops, sorry, just realized that we've been there, done that...

[speights_bud]

...it worries me as to what we are leaving our kids to deal with. Perhaps we are seeing this generation becoming really aware of 'the issues' in a meaningful way as opposed to, say, the Hippy generation or the anti-fur lobby etc?

I agree, look ahead to the generation past ours. i mean wtf are those ppl gng to have to deal with??? Im 16 and if it takes a person of my age (or someone who is 14 like HC) to figure out its all going down the drain then whats wrong with the adult people 'running' this country?. its up to the people to stand up for whats right. What happened to good morals??? over the last 50 or so years i reckon morals have begun to take a backseat in society.

[DingDong]

That's cool. I was waiting for a Maori to reply to see what he had to say to it and I believe you are a good guy from what you just said. Just a shame about those others and the way they treat us white guys.
Example - I was in town the other day with a few mates (I'm 14) and we were sitting at Macca's and some fat, lard ass Maori woman sat at the next table and my mate was saying some funny shit from movies etc and she was like "What you c***s laughing at aye?" and "Oi! You! What you laughing at? I'll crack you!" and to finish it all off..."Damn honkies over there. Fucking dickheads. Yeah don't laugh at me next time I'll smash your face in."

I just don't think that is acceptable to say that kind of thing to an innocent 14 year old with a couple of his mates. We felt unsafe and thought it was damn right rude and racist.
And those would be the first ones to say that the white people are racist and rude! Fucking fat ass bitch needs to be told something about her behaviour towards strangers in public. If I wasn't in school uniform I would of told the bitch to fuck off and find someone her own size(if that was possible!!!)

Some people are very rude, I see where your comming from... you should have sparked a conversation with your mates about the movie "Whale Rider"

[DingDong]

"The first man who, having enclosed a piece of land, thought to himself of saying This is mine, and found people simple enough to believe him, was the real founder of civil society. From how many crimes, wars, and murders, from how many horrors and misfortunes might not any one have saved mankind, by pulling up the stakes, or filling up the ditch, and crying to his fellows: Beware of listening to this imposter; you are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself belongs to nobody." - Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Sweet as

[DingDong]

I know a lot of white fat people and quite a few maori fat people too. Most of the white people are really nice people and aren't ashamed about their body. Where as most of the maori's aren't very nice and anyone acting wrong around them will probably get a mouthful. I'm not saying that they are all like that but the majority of them I know are not that nice.

Just when I thought there was hope you dude... that sounded bad.
Dont worry, Its your social back ground that has lead to your presumptions of other races and at 14 your not to blame... school yard bullies (i was one myself and most, but not all were Maori) have made the decision for you... our world is not going down the shitta, this is just the way things are

[speights_bud]

I must say that living in an area where there is a local Marae the people are generally very outgoing and helpful.
I think that like all people you cannot judge the enire population by the few that you meet and don't happen to be very nice. But i do agree that in the teenage social world is has become more noticeable that 'hoodies' are becoming more and more arrogant. For instance, im in the 6th form at an all boys school. i'm walking along with a few of my mates and this little 4th form punk walks straight into us, telling us to get the f*ck outta his way. What happened to common courtesy and respect for other people? these little shitbags need to be brought back in line, as we have now been instructed to do so by senior management. About bloody time because people are getting fed up with their attitudes.

[MikeL]

I know a lot of white fat people and quite a few maori fat people too. Most of the white people are really nice people and aren't ashamed about their body. Where as most of the maori's aren't very nice and anyone acting wrong around them will probably get a mouthful. I'm not saying that they are all like that but the majority of them I know are not that nice.

I think your original troll was much better...

[Pixie]

It's good that he's concerned enough to post the thread. But the danger lies in believing that it's the fault of one party. Somehow we have been blessed with the most 'do nothing' pollies on earth. Unless it's a senior Ministers pet project of course.
Like saving gay, disabled whales fr'instance.

We only get the MPs we (the ones that can be bothered) vote for.And as the majority of voters in NZ are a bunch of hippy wanabe's we get this shit.

As for proportion government,since when was relegating 49% of the voters wishes to the opposition proportional?
I'd like to see Labour and National et al,forced to form a true proportional government.That would get rid of this doctrinaire crap.
Oh,and give them knives.

PS. I must say,I liked what Winston had to say about having to watch monkey dances,and you can add bloody bagpipes to that as well.

[Brian d marge]

Around 82 , when I left on one of me travels ...NZ was I great little country ..... I come back about 12 years later and say What the F%&'' happened here ,,this wasnt the country I left ,,,,( I remember the gold crises )

Since then I have dug around a bit and found out why ...seems that a US business man bought most fo NZ money ,,then as the price went up he dumped it ...causing a run ,,devaluation etc This allowed a certain few to push their agenda through ,,( not labour not national ,,,but the real people who hold power ,,the new right , dean, kerr , gibbs ,and who ever it is now .....It really doent matter who you vote for ... as the change will only come from dealing with the problem ..ie removing roger and his nomics from any influence on government ( the reason why some bizarre decitions were made they had the financial clout to silence the pressure groups )

One of the reasons why I have a lot of time for maori ...I disagree with a lot of things they do BUT as a group they got off their arse and have from bastion point till now got into a remarkable position ,,,,( if you didnt like it you had plenty of oppertunity to vote or lobby !!)

The student loan system ... I paid for me ,,to travel up and down ..ranting and raving to try and stop the rot ,,,,the attitude I recieved is ..Still mussnt grummble eh I am all right .......

Well 49 percent of tretiary leavers are saddle with stupendace debts and have left ,,,, Parents who have lost their kids to another country ,,,because they did nothing about it ,,as the student loan didnt concern them ..at the Time ....

This as the cia world factbook says has left a LARGE underclass of HaveNoTs ,,,,,,
ie you reap what you sow ....( thoughI would like to see Maori address the health and education system of their own BEFORE they tackle customary fishing ......My 2 cents there )
Have a read of that thesis ,,,its not bad ,,he does foget that Ireland was entering the EEC and recieved a lot of help ( and money I think) ,,,

Stephen

[Big Dave]

Well I reckon NZ is a really cool place. Great natural beauty and wonderful people in general.
I live here cause I want to and have made a great life.

I'd probably start sounding like Zed if I said you should count your fucking blessings. Stop bitching and DO something about it if you think the place needs improving.

There's scores of community groups that need help for starters.

[Mooch]

I'd still rather be in NZ and actually don't think it too bad. Theirs a lot of worse places in the world and I reckon we do pretty well in NZ. Most NZ'ers are nice people and do give a f^ck about whats going on. In london for example everybody walks around like everybodys invisable. I can commute across the city , seeing 1000's of people and not have a single person say hello or even an "excuss me" , not even a smile. I watch people on public transport ignore seats for the elderly , or mothers / pregant mothers .
There's some nasty crime happening.
Couple of examples . A group of 12 yo school boys pack rape a 11 y/o girl and video it on mobile phone , then send it to all there mates at the local school to have a laugh at. A boy of 7 is hanged in a park by a bunch young teens (Lucky found before dying).
A young mother walking in the park with todler is bashed and left paralised but luckly is making a slow recovery. Teanage girl gets murdered in a local parking during daylight.
This shit is on the news every day.
I've travelled most of NZ over the years and have found that on a whole , NZ'er are warm and friendly people. I think the country does very well considering the size and only 4 million people. My ten cents worth. (New Zealander and proud of it)

PS , Stop the whinging , starting to sound like a bunch of poms

[Lou Girardin]

New Zealand. About the same size as Japan and England. Our population - 4 million. England 50 million, Japan 127 million.

Clean water, clean air, open deserted roads. Excellent quality food. Almost no corruption. Stunning landscapes with European alps, quasi-deserts, volcanoes, and lakes. Millions of hectares of public land. Kilometers of wild coastline.

Protected from war, disease, and the rest of the world by large oceans.

And pretty decent people as well. I can't think of another country like it. Maybe Iceland............

I'm happy here with the dogs.

You ARE sheltered down there.
Clean water? Many of our beaches have sewerage overflows into them
Clean air? Aucks pollution is world class, more than London.
Deserted roads?
Corruption? Depends how you define it.
Public land? Until it's all sold off to foreigners. Try to find a place to shoot near Auck.
Disease? We are seeing respiratory diseases that were unknown here 20 years ago. Plus world leading incidence of athsma. Meningitis is at epidemic rates.
This is a good place to live, but lets be realistic.