My gut says it won't damage the Government.
Don’t get me wrong – if I was the opposition I would be prosecuting this as hard as I could, the way they are, because they have a genuine issue and ongoing issue, at least until the Budget, that they quite rightly believe is there for the taking in terms of points, headlines, and moral high ground.
I don’t think that ultimately is true. But I fully get they think it is.
The tide turned yesterday though in Question Time. Not because Brooke van Velden dropped the c-word.
Watching it live, it was quite the moment. Question Time has become dour, there is limited talent on display, and the Speaker is cantankerous and ruins the fun.
But yesterday was alive with frisson. Brooke van Veldon's mic drop moment was pointing out that Jan Tinetti, the questioner, a former Woman's minister, a woman who railed against misogyny, was using misogyny by quoting a misogynistic article, authored by a woman to make her point.
That led to applause and rightly so.
It further exposed the Labour Party, and in fact most of the opposition benches, as frauds who are arguing the pay equity issue using bogus material and fake facts.
The more this is debated the more hope you have that a wider grouping of us will tune in and get into the detail, because it is in the detail the truth lies. The equity laws, or rules, were a shambles and being milked by unions.
But the tide turned because there seems genuine anger within the Government over what Andrea Vance was allowed to do.
When I say allowed, I assume she is edited and therefore cleared.
The odd thing for me is I struggle to get upset at being attacked.
Being a public figure, you are open for this sort of stuff, and I have received more than most. It's water off a duck's back, especially from an angsty journalist.
But van Veldon, Collins and, as Vance calls them, the "hype squad" seem genuinely outraged and it is that outrage that turned, or at least will turn, the dial.
If they argue on fact, and the other side argue on emotion using lies, bogus material, and foul language, they will eventually lose.
Hence the dent so many thought was coming for the Government will never arrive.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
The tide turned yesterday though in Question Time. Not because Brooke van Velden dropped the c-word.
Watching it live, it was quite the moment. Question Time has become dour, there is limited talent on display, and the Speaker is cantankerous and ruins the fun.
But yesterday was alive with frisson. Brooke van Veldon's mic drop moment was pointing out that Jan Tinetti, the questioner, a former Woman's minister, a woman who railed against misogyny, was using misogyny by quoting a misogynistic article, authored by a woman to make her point.
That led to applause and rightly so.
It further exposed the Labour Party, and in fact most of the opposition benches, as frauds who are arguing the pay equity issue using bogus material and fake facts.
The more this is debated the more hope you have that a wider grouping of us will tune in and get into the detail, because it is in the detail the truth lies. The equity laws, or rules, were a shambles and being milked by unions.
But the tide turned because there seems genuine anger within the Government over what Andrea Vance was allowed to do.
When I say allowed, I assume she is edited and therefore cleared.
The odd thing for me is I struggle to get upset at being attacked.
Being a public figure, you are open for this sort of stuff, and I have received more than most. It's water off a duck's back, especially from an angsty journalist.
But van Veldon, Collins and, as Vance calls them, the "hype squad" seem genuinely outraged and it is that outrage that turned, or at least will turn, the dial.
If they argue on fact, and the other side argue on emotion using lies, bogus material, and foul language, they will eventually lose.
Hence the dent so many thought was coming for the Government will never arrive.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
3 comments:
We are concerned by maoris disrespectng parliament rules and we are concerned about the use of a disrespectful description of women's bodies to describe a woman herself, a truly misogynistic behaviour no different to the Posey Parker occasion.
In one case the rules provide sanctions in the other the public voice provides the sanction.
In both cases it is about disrespect. In these examples, disrespectful going to the heart of social structure.
These events seem to reflect
the current social norms for NZ.
Hello fellow c***s. I am a proud c*** and I confirm I also have a c*** created in utero. I think it is time we normalised such terminology , even if it is uncomfortable at first. That takes away the stigma and trivialises statements made by Ms Vance and her ilk.
So own the word and the power fellow c***s.
Personally, as a Christian, l think there should be boundaries to the language we use when referring to matters that may offend people of other faiths.
It is simply an unnecessary impediment to creating peaceful coexistence between the nations of the world - each to their own.
However, we should not be too worried about the human practice of one’s faith being lampooned in public. It should be strong enough to stand the comments made by humourists of all descriptions.
After all, most religions set standards that are virtually impossible to achieve so the lightening of the burden is probably a good way to help achieve salvation.
We need to laugh at our own human frailties a lot more.
The following story is one example of what l mean .
It is the tale of a traveller on a flight to Rome.
After boarding the aircraft and locating his passenger seat, our hero found that his neighbouring seat was occupied by an elderly gentleman in a white robe and sash but also wearing a matching white scull cap.
Not being religious, our traveller failed to realise the significance of the old man’s unusual attire.
He was more interested in the crossword puzzle that seemed to hold his undivided attention.
After takeoff and about an hour into the flight, the old man finally looked up, smiled and while gesticulating at his crossword, offered a greeting with a question attached .
“ Greetings and Peace my brother - l wonder if you could help me out with this final piece to my crossword? “ he said.
“ Of course, happy to help” was the reply - “what is the clue?”
“ Um, a four letter word ending in “.unt” referring to an important part of the female species”
Being a man of the world, our hero quickly realised he was in danger of exposing himself as someone who indulged in basic language with most of his mates so, not wanting to offend the old man, he wracked his brain for something that might answer the seemingly loaded and potentially embarrassing question.
A brief period of silence followed that was eventually broken with his gasping reply
“ I believe the word you are looking for is “aunt”.
An expression of relief came over the old man’s face
“ Good Lord” was his response “ you are so right. Why didn’t l think of that!
Got a rubber?”
We are all failed human beings so why don’t we acknowledge it when the opportunity arises.
Post a Comment