Many of you would have read my post about the death of another set of twins. Like the media and probably the police, I too jumped to the conclusion that it was yet another senseless death caused by a maori family of an innocent child.
In traditional Finn style, I went for the jugular, a tad over the top. I perhaps didn’t orchestrate my thoughts very well although I do wonder if the responses would have been different if it was indeed a double murder. Possibly so.
The problem I see is as follows;
It's dangerous to criticize maoridom yet there are clearly huge problems here. If you want to blame someone then the Government and Tribal leaders are a good start. They have created a separatist society and have done maori a huge injustice.
If you dare to say anything critical of Maori, charges of racism will surely follow. And therein lies part of the problem, most New Zealanders bend over backwards not to be racist or to be seen as racist.
So for years the most egregious things have been going on in New Zealand and we pretend not to see, because if we notice and say something or try to do something about it we are intolerant racists and cultural imperialists. And if we cannot avoid noticing the blame is put not on the perpetrators but on what is ancient history now, the settlement of New Zealand over 150 years ago and the 'displacement' of Maori in that process.
The Kahui twins murder and their families refusal to co-operate with the police may represent a tipping point. Maybe New Zealanders of all stripes and hues will take a fresh look at what it means to be a New Zealander. But I doubt it.
A classic example is this - Iwi need more funds to fight abuse - Turia
Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia has lashed out at claims child abuse is part of Maori culture – but says whanau must "step up to the plate" to address the situation.
She has also called on the Government to better fund iwi non-violence programmes, which she said had more success reducing abuse than mainstream agencies such as Child Youth and Family Services.
Am I the only one who thinks this stinks, using the death of the twins to demand more money from the taxpayer? You could throw a billion dollars at the iwi and not a thing would change. This is proven and we’ve been doing it for years and the only thing that has happened is we get more and more of demands like Tariana's.
It doesn't work!!!
A recent news article - Call for utu over twins
Even hardened criminals have been sickened by the injuries Chris and Cru Kahui suffered – they are threatening retribution against family members covering up the deaths.
It emerged a few weeks back that Auckland gang members have warned the family to name the killer – or killers – or face retribution for bringing shame on maori.
Auckland gang members threatening their own retribution on the killer for "bringing shame on maori". They need to take look in a mirror. They are hardly enhancing the mana of maori themselves.
Finally the third news story that grabbed my attention was this "Texas development 'cultural theft'"
A planned $30 million Maori-themed development in northern Texas called Kiora Park is cultural theft, maori say.
The proposed 250-apartment development in Plano, near Dallas, is being promoted as having a New Zealand architectural theme "by incorporating elements from homes in that region".
"We will use visual and other elements from the history and culture and maori folk art from New Zealand to produce a strong and memorable theme," the company's website says.
The website, which has a repeated fern leaf motif, does not give details on how the maori theme will be realised.
maori activist Ken Mair said the themed development was a form of cultural theft. He questioned whether it could also be intellectual property theft.
"If it's clearly identified as maori and that's the foundation of where they're coming from they should have a substantial discussion with appropriate maori people, hapu, iwi, whoever, to seek our permission," he said.
Mair said it was extremely ill-mannered to proceed without maori permission and guidance.
Does "ill-mannered to proceed without Maori permission and guidance" translate to "hire me as a consultant"? Pay Backhanders?
From the same story there is a sign of common sense and a glimmer of hope from Alan Duff. Author and Books In Homes founder Alan Duff said Maori had bigger problems than concerns about cultural branding.
The US housing development was not offensive, he said.
"What's offensive to maori is those (Kahui) twins getting killed and the family not talking to police. That reflects badly on maori and that's what we should worry about.
"Greece is not up in arms because Las Vegas did Ancient Greece themes in their casinos. Why are we so precious about things that don't count?"
Perhaps Maori should look to Alan Duff for leadership rather than Tariana Turias or Ken Mairs.
Stop holding hands out for money and get on with fixing up the problems in their communities.
I don’t have all the answers, but I won’t sit on my hands and be quiet about it either. I'm sick of having this bullshit thrown in my face in just about everything I do in life. I really feel that NZ has lost it’s identity and values. I would like to see the maori people succeed in NZ as a whole as they play an important role in our identity. This will require HUGE changes in thinking and action. I’m just not sure “we” have the balls or dare I say it, really give a shit about our country anymore. I'm sure that maori's that are contributing members of our society are not very happy with the status quo.
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I get bored after only a couple of sentences. Very short attention span unless there's naked girlies involved.
Originally Posted by Finn
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