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Sunday, September 9, 2012

Gerry Eckhoff: Hone H


The thought of Hone H streaking across the political scene in the conventional sense is just too horrible to contemplate yet that is exactly what he does. One can be grateful he does at least have the good sense to remain fully clothed but his actions are precisely those of the fad of some years ago. HH sheds the inhibitions that most people sensibly retain, in order to gain personal attention and disrupt the main game - wherever possible.

His latest description of National Members of Parliament of his ethnicity as “niggers” is simply and coolly designed to attract attention to himself as the real game in town pauses briefly to digest his most recent disgrace.
Had any non Maori described HH in a similar vein for what ever reason they would have been branded as the ultimate racist. Not so HH. The media glibly report his latest utterance as if it was entirely predictable and therefore acceptable.

The real question is - why do the media still report him? The TV media need only to totally ignore his puerile outburst and focus on those who are prepared to engage in civilized debate. It would seem however that TV especially has a vested interest in reporting his every utterance.

The smart people in sport quickly saw that a sure fired way of stopping streaking was not to allow such disruptive behaviour to be shown on television. Isn’t there a lesson there?

Surely the news editors of TV stations can agree that HH is now persona non grata. Censorship? Yes it probably is but then if a non Maori politician had used the N word their political fate would have been sealed.

So where is the race relations conciliator’s opinion on HH choice of word?

Predictably the silence echoes around his comfortable ivory tower. His Eminence the conciliator might just as well have said:

“N word?  I heard no N word” (Ah that’s because it was a written word Your Eminence) .

“Besides a brown fellow cannot insult another brown fellow and be held a racist”.

Really?

That’s a bit like believing that a black miner in South Africa will feel so much better having being shot dead by a black police man as distinct from being shot dead by a white police man.

Finally, and with apologies to William Shakespeare:

                       Out out  Hone Harawera
                       You are but a walking shadow - a poor player
                       That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
                       And then is heard no more. 
                       Your tale is one told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
                       Signifying nothing.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

John Hadfield (alias Hone Harawera) has a seriuos case of DNA confusion as to his own ethnic makeup.

Duncan Brown said...

"Why do the media still report him?" Because both media and bloggers recognise that people like to be shocked and offended and feel self-righteous. With apologies to yourselves, "Breaking Views need only to totally ignore Hone's puerile outburst and focus on those who are prepared to engage in civilized debate." The greater question is how to report the incident and not glorify the incidental...

Anonymous said...

Gerry wrote: "The smart people in sport quickly saw that a sure fired way of stopping streaking was not to allow such disruptive behaviour to be shown on television. Isn’t there a lesson there?"

Back in the 1970s, a streaker interrupted an Australia-New Zealand cricket test by racing unclad across the pitch, where Greg Chappell was facing on 99.

Incensed at having his concentration broken by this microbe, Greg Chappell chased the streaker all the way to the boundary fence, repeatedly belabouring the offender's rapidy reddening arse with his bat.

Weakened by his chastisement, the streaker was readily apprehended by police and removed to a more appropriate location, where he doubtless got a bit more of a tickle-up.

There is indeed a lesson in there!

Dave Hill said...

Having spent most of my life in the media John Hadfield knows the value of shock tactics to get media coverage his pathetic party cannot buy. Combined with this is the new generation of journalists who have been brainwashed as part of their training with the Maori treaty view.
My daughter while training at polytech was being 'taught' about the treaty, among the lies the presenter said the Maori were the first people here, my daughter asked what about the Mori Ori, she was told there were no such people and that it was a myth told by the white man to discredit Maori.
Is it any wonder that our news media are sympathetic to idiots like John, sorry Hone.