Opposing Maori seats is not racist
If you want to know why Donald Trump is getting so much support,it is because of the politically correct who try to close down debate. We see this in NZ, where some people who don’t believe in free speech have complained that Mike Hosking expressed an opinion against Maori only wards on Council. They call him racist.
Stuff reports:
A “racist” editorial outburst from TVNZ personality Mike Hosking may have landed him in hot water.
After TVNZ’s Seven Sharp aired a segment on the abuse New Plymouth mayor Andrew Judd received for proposing a Maori ward for local government councils, Hosking added his own two cents.
“Sad to say I’d never personally attack him obviously but he’s completely out of touch with middle New Zealand,” Hosking said.
He went on to say: “There’s nothing wrong with Maori representation on councils cause any Maori that wants to stand for a council is more than welcome to do so and you can sell your message and if you’re good enough you’ll get voted on.”
In a statement Radio New Zealand received from TVNZ, a spokesperson for the broadcaster said a formal complaint had been laid against Hosking and a committee would review the complaint in the coming days.
“In terms of the dialogue between colleagues, there has been some discussion about this piece as you’ve seen – robust conversation and differing viewpoints are not unusual in the current affairs environment,” the spokesperson said.
One complaint on Seven Sharp Facebook page came from a medical student called Kera May.
“Deeply offended by the racism exhibited by Mike Hosking on your show tonight. If anyone is “out of touch with Middle New Zealand” (which includes many Maori like myself thank you very much!) it’s you Mike.”
This is what people hate. Sell appointed guardians of speech who proclaim anyone who disagrees with them to be racist.
It is not racist to oppose Maori only seats on local bodies. It is absurd to suggest it is.
One can agree with all the sentiments about wanting Maori to get better outcomes than they do at present, but also be against Maori only seats because you think they are a bad solution. Being against a particular solution does not make you racist. It is called political debate.
For example the Government has a programme called Whanua Ora designed to help (mainly Maori) families. Now one might oppose this programme on the grounds some of the spending is low quality and it has high overheads. That doesn’t make you racist or not wanting to get better outcomes for Maori. It just means you disagree with that particular policy.
Ms May’s complaint is ridiculous. She is saying that anyone who disagrees with her is racist. This sort of politically correct attitude of trying to control what people can say is what leads to demagogues like Donald Trump.
What we need as a country is an intelligent discussion and debate on the pros and cons of things like Maori only seats – not just calling people who disagree with you racist – a term that is used so often now it has become near meaningless.