It was only when I got to university that I came across people like Thomas Sowell, Clarence Thomas and Dr Ben Carson. These are black people who, unlike the first batch, actually achieved something. However, we don’t seem to hear about these African Americans who clearly did something to help America. In fact the only people we hear about who help America are activists like Malcolm X or Martin Luther King, people whose only achievements were gaining publicity by making speeches and performing in front of the cameras.
In New Zealand, the same thing seems to be happening, with us focusing on activists and musicians as representatives of Māori people. The fact that we think the voices of people who spend their lives protesting and making music as the authority of the issues Māori people face I find insulting and degrading for Māori.
This is simply the disconnect of the Māori elites who make their careers talking about ‘racism’ and ‘colonialism’ without focusing on the actual issues facing Māori, such as the high poverty rate, the low rates of home ownership or the rates of domestic violence. These are issues that Māoridom should be focused on instead of ‘colonialism’ or ‘white privilege’.
I’m thankful Cam has highlighted alternative Māori voices that I don’t think we would otherwise have heard from – figures such as Brian Tamaki, Lee Taituha and Corina Shields. These are the people that Māori should be listening to. Not someone who needs their phone to answer a question from the media and not someone who performs a haka in parliament for clout but real people offering real solutions. Brian Tamaki started a rehabilitation programme to get Māori men out of crime and towards the Lord; Lee Taituha is an advocate for better economic policy and encouraging Māori into entrepreneurship to get off state dependency; Corina Shields raises awareness of government corruption.
We need people like these to be highlighted – not the professional activists we have been used to who are just a distraction. The mainstream media has grabbed the ability to control which voices are amplified as representative of a group or movement. Now, with the internet, we can hear from the people that the Māori elites do not want you to hear speak truth to power. I hope this inspires other Māori voices to speak up.
Dark Jester is political scholar with an interest in foreign interference. Traditional conservative. Came out of a family that fled communism and improved themselves thanks to capitalism but would consider himself a distributionist. This article was first published HERE
In New Zealand, the same thing seems to be happening, with us focusing on activists and musicians as representatives of Māori people. The fact that we think the voices of people who spend their lives protesting and making music as the authority of the issues Māori people face I find insulting and degrading for Māori.
This is simply the disconnect of the Māori elites who make their careers talking about ‘racism’ and ‘colonialism’ without focusing on the actual issues facing Māori, such as the high poverty rate, the low rates of home ownership or the rates of domestic violence. These are issues that Māoridom should be focused on instead of ‘colonialism’ or ‘white privilege’.
I’m thankful Cam has highlighted alternative Māori voices that I don’t think we would otherwise have heard from – figures such as Brian Tamaki, Lee Taituha and Corina Shields. These are the people that Māori should be listening to. Not someone who needs their phone to answer a question from the media and not someone who performs a haka in parliament for clout but real people offering real solutions. Brian Tamaki started a rehabilitation programme to get Māori men out of crime and towards the Lord; Lee Taituha is an advocate for better economic policy and encouraging Māori into entrepreneurship to get off state dependency; Corina Shields raises awareness of government corruption.
We need people like these to be highlighted – not the professional activists we have been used to who are just a distraction. The mainstream media has grabbed the ability to control which voices are amplified as representative of a group or movement. Now, with the internet, we can hear from the people that the Māori elites do not want you to hear speak truth to power. I hope this inspires other Māori voices to speak up.
Dark Jester is political scholar with an interest in foreign interference. Traditional conservative. Came out of a family that fled communism and improved themselves thanks to capitalism but would consider himself a distributionist. This article was first published HERE
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