Well I can only speak as an outsider who has lived in NZ for sometime , both pre 1980 and post.
First When I went back for a holiday , I was walkng along in chch I think and two young maori girls teenage girls were walking along ( no Shoes, which I find strange !!) but they were singing a maori song and doing the hand actions that went with it, because they wanted to .. That was very nice to see
We also went to the Hotsprings in Rotarua, and the Maori run hotsprings , were staffed by a much nicer person, we really enjoyed the experience.
Contrast that to the lady in the infomation room in Taupo ....
So what I am getting at is that if a person is comfortable and feels secure in who they are, They tend to be a more agreeable peson.
So to feel secure I personally would need to feel Satisfied with what I do . respected by family/peers/and to a lesser extent society and be able to enjoy the little indulgences that I like to do, such as drink like a fish and play around with Motorcycles. Finally and probably most important , have a knowledge of my background , which would aid in my feeling of security. Knowing where and How I arrived here.
NZ went through Huge changes in the 80s ,,( I left in 82 ish and came back in 93 ish and went Whooo what the hell happened here, and through a lot of reseach - there is a wonderful short film which explains everything -)
Long and short those changes ( as Paul in BZ has said ) left a lot of people out in the cold.
Now me, I just buggered off again. Because I can. Dont see why I should put up with $%&% when I dont have to , Plenty of other countries and I can always visit. ( but thats just me ). a global gypsy.( no knickers in a twist there was a reason why I put it like that )
What would happen if you whole past and future is tied up in the country, all your friends, family relations, everything you hold dear is here and around you . ( I dont know that feeling ~) and you couldnt just leave.........
Then due to some strange economic act , that you dont understand nor new anything about. You job goes pear shaped . All you want to do is do a good days work come home have a beer and enjoy life.
So you do the best you can .. ( must have been VERY hard for the older folks who were restructured in the 80s , real tough )
Now after 20 years, the friuts of that economic cock up are now teenagers ...and are, ( going to use the word Feral , because it does discribe the person/people I am thinking about) because they just dont know .. the social surroundings are the norm ( if you want to see it in a nut shell have a look at the big housing estates in England ....trust me on that one)
Not only that they ( the powers that be ) continue this ecomomic blundering , by introducing the "student loan" so that Teriary education would be more availabe to the socially disadvantaged , ( and when I talked to Ministers, back then they all spouted on about only paying a 1/4 of the costs .. - tui ad placed here- )
So how to fix it
Save money in the bank, 2. Educate yourself. 3. be respectfull to others and dont tolerate disrespect towards others , even if its a joke and finally Vote , get involved , do something anything just do it in an educated manner ( why do the powers that be pander to the grey vote , because they have a large voting block , are becoming articulate and vocal ,politically .
I mean I really like nz I really do, but IMHO to be comfortable , I feel one needs an escape plan. either money not dependent on NZ, or assets which are independent of NZ.
The Day NZ removes itself from the influence of the world bank and starts to assert is own authority ,( NZ made is the answer , no I dont mean the crap that we had to put up with when NZ was a closed shop , Take ideas from the global stage and do it better , its what kiwis are good at ,,,) the better off its people will be , both Maori/and any other culture that makes this world an interesting place to live in ,,,
Imagine being white , from Surrey, prodestant , with a constiution so anal it makes you but cheeks hurt ...ooops thats me ... Thank the good lord there is other ways of living life !!!: I am all for it !
Stephen
Dont get me started on the trickle down theory , or Market driven salaries ...Greed is greed ,period ,,no matter how you term it !
PPs.. 5. oh and shoot anyone who is/are responsible for Land transport
"Look, Madame, where we live, look how we live ... look at the life we have...The Republic has forgotten us."
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