We have witnessed the violent intolerance of mob rule that
was countenanced from its elected government and actively supported by a compliant,
fomenting media.
There are no winners here, except the forces of division and
intolerance.
The tragedy is transgender rights, celebration of transgender humanity and its mainstream acceptance may always be tainted by the violent, self-congratulatory extremism on display in Auckland’s Albert Park.
The very intolerance that protest movements object to can be
mirrored in their own protest if it becomes extremist or violent. It is implausible
to play the victim and then be the bully, trampling on the civil rights of
others. Free speech can die if it is not even allowed to turn into hate speech,
let alone corrective debate. The bullied become the bully. Any righteous claim
of vulnerability gets destroyed in the venal power of mob rule.
Just like the parliamentary occupation protest, all
participants and wider community are likely to be lumped in with the
extremists. In this case it appears the whole protest was baying for the blood and
public humiliation of the diminutive middle-aged woman, Posie Parker, forcing her
exit from the country. Parker believed the police could not provide or guarantee
her protection (If true this begs the question who can they protect?). This is hardly
an example to the watching world of a tolerant society that advocates diversity
and inclusion. Overseas tourists and business venture will look at this with
dismay. Rational debate was not allowed. Speech and the rule of law was overwhelmed
in the eruption of self-righteous indignant counter protest. Law, order and the
protection of the individual was undermined.
The NZ public has no appetite for violent and disruptive
protest following the occupation protest which effectively shut down the Wellington
city CBD. There will now be a probable hardening wedge between mainstream
society and the reactionary protest movement. Parents are simply not going to
want their children exposed to the violent, paranoid, self-righteous victim
culture that was on active and prominent display. The movement’s public
manifestation is now one of violent intolerance and it seems to be spreading
with supportive rallies in Christchurch and Wellington. In fact families could
now prefer protection from, rather than exposure to, any contact in civil
society with protest participants and their wider community. This was the
manifestation during and after the parliamentary occupation protest. A protest
can produce more societal division than the words that were never spoken, the
lies that were never told.
The counter protest can enable the opposite agenda oxygen
and a moral high ground. Intolerant bigotry may never be exposed. The vast
majority of New Zealanders want a peaceful existence where they can enjoy the
fruits of their labour through participation in a tolerant liberal democracy.
Posie Parker never mattered to most of us but her forced exit does. The images
of violence will be etched into public memory just like the final day of the
parliamentary protest. Actions speak louder than words, especially when
graphically displayed in mainstream media and to the world.
The Ghandi version of peaceful protest carries sincere
weight and longevity of re-inclusive peace. The power to educate and forgive.
This would be a far more powerful and effective form of protest than the
violence and hateful rhetoric New Zealanders have been witness to. If the parliamentary
protest had left peacefully and of its own accord mainstream NZ may have
accepted more fully the anti-mandate, pro-freedom messages. Likewise, if the
anti-Posie Parker protest had conducted itself peacefully this weekend.
Elected senior Labour and Greens politicians need to look in
the mirror. Hipkins, Wood, Davidson, Whanau et al, all either tacitly approved
of the counter protest or were participating and even driving it. Division and
differences on the back of identity politics, picking socio-economic winners and
promoting ideological agendas are driving a restless sea of division in this
country.
The legacy of the 6th Labour government is fast including
one of ongoing civil unrest and societal disaffection and division.
I believe the violent furore and controversy of the last few
days surrounding the Posie Parker speaking tour will harden latent bigotry
bringing only a ‘pot of tears’ to the transgender rainbow and the wider politics
of equity, inclusion, minority rights and diversity.
Alistair Boyce is the owner of the iconic Wellington pub the Backbencher.
9 comments:
I would go one step further and suggest it is normalising aggressive censorship by those that don’t want to know there are different perspectives- not necessarily even opposing perspectives. As we get those gasping for air and those squashing the air out of them we get desperation. The more desperate, the more violent, the more vicious. And the more scared people become. So much for live and let live. More do as I say or die (metaphorically at present).
“ In fact families could now prefer protection from, rather than exposure to, any contact in civil society with protest participants and their wider community. This was the manifestation during and after the parliamentary occupation protest.”
You ignore the fact that a large chunk of society had already happily segregated themselves from the parliament protesters by dint of going along with mandates and vaccine passports. It’s highly unlikely that poor behaviour - provoked by unnecessary and violent police action by the way, made a blind bit of difference to the views held by such people.
Mentioning a baying mob of mentally deranged crybullies suffering imagined victimhood in the same breath as those who suffered actual state-sanctioned oppression and held a peaceful protest is grotesque in my opinion.
You wanted us parliament protesters to go home? What would that have achieved? Perhaps a salving of your conscience? Put all the dispossessed and broken protesters out of sight and out of mind so that the guilt and shame of what people like you allowed to happen doesn’t haunt you?
There was never anything to fear from the parliament protesters. There is everything to fear from the tranny Red Guards.
Labour and the Greens remain in this years election race due to women's support. They're toast in October if the weekends events begin to shift that support.
It's clear now that Labour Greens do not support Women's Rights. As for Michael Wood, his "river of filth" would be a better metaphor for the mob on Saturday. That they have not come out and condemned the violence is a shocking reflection of their values - Far Left, woke, mysogynist and in support of physical assault
New Zealand is not a democracy, it is a hypocrisy.
Kevan
Well I thought the Parliament protest was peaceful. There's Been protest at Parliament before than this and it was all allowed. However the protest we're talking about clearly wasn't allowed. No not ever!
So I was saying it was a pretty well organised protest that was peaceful except for the overbearing presence of riot squad for the protest that wasn't allowed.
I believe from what I saw there were agitators brought in by our authorities to provoke an ubrupt end to this well organised and peaceful protest for a cause that was pretty reasonable which was to stop the mandated mass vaccination of our entire population pregnant women and children for an experimental untested vaccine which is killing people and harming large percentages of the populations around the world.
Please your sanctomony is deplorable.
What I would say is violent protest is 9 million out on the streets in France.
And just to add, I was extremely grateful to those brave people who did go and protest at Parliament for they spoke for many more people that felt bullied by the vitriole and abuse coming from all sides.
It was a terrible time in my life something that will leave a memory for the rest of my days.
One of the biggest con jobs perpetrated ever done by a bunch of self serving crooks who wish to benefit from people's misery. The profits alone for Bill Gates due to his philanthropic investments were 200 fold. Which is just vulgar.
People around the world would call him a philanthropath. Philanthrocapatalism is another useful term used to describe the fortunes which have been made. But philanthropath describes him et al perfectly.
Also to add I don't think the inconvenience to Wellington CBD bears any relevance when compared to the lockdown in Auckland on account of one case to which the lockdown had no effect on the outcome of further such cases.
The lockdown made it impossible to travel to Wellington in order to get passports renewed before exiting NZ in a shroud of hysteria and silencing of any dissent. Upon departure too was a troubling time, so glad we managed.
It seems to confirm that the struggle is becoming clearer- in the exposing that which is false unhinges that which is truth , so that eventually - foundations of what leads to wisdom, responsibility, respectfulness, right choices and actions are lost in the confusion and nullified.
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