Instead a bunch of victims who by dint of their political career ambitions, feel obliged to turn up at Waitangi.
There they adopt day long funereal expressions and walk very slowly behind fat people on to the marae where they are then accosted by fat semi-naked men waving spears in their faces and poking their tongues out at them.
Following that massive embarrassing spectacle comes the real horror, namely sitting listening gravely to endless tedious platitudinous speeches, many in a language few present understand. I have not the slightest doubt that every politician present would gladly exchange that tortuous day for a severe flogging.
Were it otherwise, former attendees such as past Prime Ministers Palmer, Bolger, Shipley, Clark, Key and English would continue to attend and likewise other office-holders who hitherto felt obliged or with military personnel, were forced to attend.
Good Lord, not even Jacinda made it this year and she’s only a couple of weeks free of the Prime Ministership.
Obviously she would deny it but I’d bet 100 to one she lay in bed that morning chortling with Gayford at being free at last of this nonsensical burden.
In fairness this can also be said of many other statutory public holidays such as the ridiculous provincial holidays despite provinces being abandoned over a century ago as administrative regions, Labour Day, a foreign monarch’s birthday and so on.
Exceptions are New Year’s day, New Year’s Eve parties being common-place, Easter, celebrated solely by the fast declining Christian population and Anzac Day which in recent years has for no apparent reason had a minor resurgence in public ceremonial participation.
In that respect New Zealand and Australia must be the only nations on earth that celebrate a military defeat.
Imagine France celebrating Waterloo or Japan Hiroshima.
The obvious standout widely celebrated public holiday is Christmas day, albeit now totally stripped of its original religious raison d’être.
Sir Bob Jones is a renowned author, columnist , property investor, and former politician, who blogs at No Punches Pulled HERE.
4 comments:
A holiday is a holiday is a holiday.
In Lebanon they celebrate Easter and Xmas twice a year, once as per the 'Latin' calendar and once as per the 'Orthodox' calendar (Gregorian and Julian respectively). And of course all Muslim holy days both Shia and Sunni.
Half the time I didn't know what the supposed significance of the day off was but couldn't care less either.
So keep Xmas, Easter, provincial days, etc etc........ add to them, even...... a holiday is a holiday is a holiday!
(Yes I am being just a wee bit facetious but woe betide the govt that cancels public holidays.....)
Bit harsh. At least Anzac Day is associated with a good ol' war movie that we can all watch while holding hands and crying as the Anzacs cop one for Empire.
If a similar movie was made about the 1840 Treaty-signing then we might all get behind Waitangi Day. Mel Gibson as Hone Heke?
Maori have special cause to remember the fallen in wars to protect this colony. They lost 850 of the total 12000 NZers in WW1 so have little to boast about(not that this stops the display at Waitangi). But had the colonists not made similar sacrifice in WW2 and the Germans, Japs (or Russians) triumphed, maori would have a lot more to worry about than imaginitve Treaty reinterpretations. As it is, behaving as they are, when the Chinese invade they will likley treat them as the Yugars
You missed an opportunity to exercise your talent for satire, Bob, by not applying your Monty Python pen to the Ratana charade. what does it say about our political leaders when they join in a celebration for a fairy tale prophet and expose themselves to what a visiting diplomat fittingly described as
"the bizarre antics of near-naked savages." For me the highlight of the performance is the appearance of the Ratana band symbolising the quality of equality we hold dear with all shapes and ages dressed in their own version of uniform and tootling their own version of a tune with a retinue of cheerful children in tow and all having a jolly time. Instead of the po-faced seriousness with which we seem to approach these things we should adopt the spirit of the Ratana band to the Treaty and the nonsense that flows from it.
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