I am not interested in attacking people because of their skin colour. I am interested in talking about patterns that repeatedly show up in official statistics, court reporting, and real world outcomes in New Zealand and overseas. These are uncomfortable conversations, but discomfort does not automatically make something racist.
When I raise these issues, I am talking about trends, not individuals. No group is a monolith. No statistic applies to every person within a demographic. But refusing to acknowledge patterns because they are politically inconvenient does not make them disappear. It just guarantees they will never be addressed properly.
Here are a few examples that regularly trigger outrage when mentioned.
- Mass immigration from India is changing aspects of the traditional Kiwi way of life. That does not mean Indian people are bad. It means rapid population change places pressure on housing, infrastructure, social cohesion, and cultural norms. You can observe this without hating anyone, yet pointing it out now gets you labelled a racist almost instantly.
- White European men are over represented in convictions involving the download and distribution of child exploitation material. This is not an insult, it is a statistical reality backed by court cases and sentencing data. Ignoring this does nothing to protect children. Talking about it honestly might.
- Vietnamese criminal networks have been repeatedly identified in police operations and court cases as playing a significant role in New Zealand’s illegal cannabis trade, embedding themselves within the organised crime landscape.
- Indians are notorious for using and producing fake degrees which are then being used to apply for jobs and visas in New Zealand.
- Chinese groups have been repeatedly linked to the decimation of rockpools and coastal ecosystems. Anyone who fishes, snorkels, or lives near affected coastlines has seen this firsthand. Again, this does not mean all Chinese people behave this way. It does mean enforcement, education, and cultural expectations need to be addressed rather than ignored out of fear of offence.
- Māori are over represented in child homicide statistics. That is not an opinion. It is a grim and tragic fact that should alarm everyone, especially those who claim to care deeply about Māori wellbeing. Pretending this is racist to mention only ensures the most vulnerable continue to suffer.
- White men are overrepresented in sexual offending against children.
- Māori and Pacific students have lower average achievement outcomes and higher school disengagement rates.
- Māori and Pacific children are over-represented in Oranga Tamariki care and protection cases.
- Chinese importers have been repeatedly linked by Customs and Police to the illegal importation and distribution of tobacco in New Zealand, costing taxpayers millions in lost excise.
- White Europeans have higher rates of suicide by number, particularly among men.
- Pacific Islanders and Māori are over represented in violent offending statistics. These are not moral judgments, they are data points. Data that policymakers, social services, and communities should be confronting head on.
Calling this race baiting is easier than engaging with the substance. It allows people to feel virtuous without doing any work. But real progress does not come from pretending everything is equal and fine when it clearly is not. It comes from honesty, accountability, and targeted solutions.
If we cannot talk openly about trends without being shouted down, we will never fix the underlying causes. Silence does not protect communities. Truth, handled responsibly, just might.
You do not have to like or agree with anything I say. But accusing me of race-baiting every time I reference observable patterns says far more about the state of the debate than it does about my intentions.
Matua Kahurangi is just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes. He blogs on https://matuakahurangi.com/ where this article was sourced.
11 comments:
You need to say more to substantiate your comment that “Mass immigration from India is changing aspects of the traditional Kiwi way of life.” How exactly is it changing things here? You offer stats for your other points, but this one seems merely a statement of a political position or of personal discomfort. As such, it leaves you more vulnerable to the charge of race baiting.
It is an indictment of our society now where having any criticism of organisations for (lets say, fraud) gets you labelled a racist should those organisations be any colour other than white!
Fraud is fraud, crime is crime and dishonesty had no shades, but here we are.
Now of course if you happen to fit a certain demographic being criticised is seemingly a racist stance, go figure!
Thank you for your clear honest reporting of the realities of multi racial NZ.You’re a breath of fresh air.
The [il]logic involved is applying group characteristics to individuals. Innocuous example (and not to be taken too seriously!):
Dutch men follow football and eat raw salted herring;
Barend Vee is a Dutchman;
Therefore Barend Vee follows football and eats raw salted herring.
In fact Barend Vee despises football and the thought of raw herring makes him retch.
Stereotypes featured prominently in the White Australia Policy e.g. portraying the Chinese as members of triads and tongs as a justification for forbidding Chinese immigration.
Once it is understood that individuals are not microcosms of the populations from which they are drawn, we can have rational discussions about ethnically defined social groups in our society.
Barend, you seem to have misread the piece. It is made clear that if the majority of people that follow football and eat herring are Dutch, this does not mean all Dutch follow football and eat herring.
What he is saying is if you wish to try and stop those that follow football and eat herring , your efforts are best placed by targeting the Dutch community.
The sexual violations , in England , of young white girls by predominantly male Pakistani gangs and accusations of racism if you proclaim this fact is a glaring example of what is trying to be explained here.
These are facts that have to be addressed but the police and government out of fear of being labelled racist , have failed to act.. Consequently the problem got worse.
It is concerning that Maori have such high stats. on infant deaths . This needs to be addressed and researched to find out what arethe factors around this high occurrence -eg solo young mothers with boyfriends who are not the victim's father, lack of support, drugs and alcohol
? Only by facing the appalling statistic
can we begin to reduce the frequency.
Te Pati Maori and other radicals avoid it all together. Why ? That is another factor that needs addressing.
Thank you Matua.
I have come across a proportion of Dutch South Africans who are opinionated . I am trying to decide if it is racist to suggest that and what is the cause.
CXH, you got the first bit wrong there. To say that X is an activity carried out by most members of group Y is NOT to say that most people carrying out activity X are from group Y.
Forgetting about the salted herring, there are more football supporters in Spain than in Holland (and they are more passionate about their footie than the Dutch). So while most Dutch men follow football, it is incorrect to say that most football followers are Dutch men.
Moreover, if you have problems with football hooligans, you principally target the community that generates the most hooligan trouble, regardless of whether they have the greatest football following or not.
Anon 1128, there is no such thing as a 'Dutch South African'. The Afrikaners (which is their proper name) are descended from immigrants who came from Holland, France, and what is now Belgium. Most were Huguenots escaping persecution. The Dutch they brought with them evolved into the language we now call Afrikaans. Nota bene that they never claimed any part of South Africa for the Netherlands, and hence they lost their Dutch nationality. The other White group in RSA are the British South Africans. Unlike the Afrikaners, they retained the nationality of their home country or the home country of their immigrant forebears because South Africa was annexed by the British Empire.
The Afrikaners are referred to by some as "Africa's White Race".
I won't comment on whether they are 'racist' or not but will point out that affirmative action programmes have left many well-qualified Afrikaners out of work. Being made second-class citizens in their own country because of THEIR race is certainly 'racist'!
I am sorry If I wrongly omitteed words 'of Dutch' Extraction , to distinguish them from those of other extractions . Those of Dutch extraction make up the majority 50-60% of the population while Huegenots are around 25% and German 15%. of all Afrikaners. I am perfectly aware of the terminologies and racism they face in South Agrica having interacted. with them quite a bit . I have also observed , curiously those Dutch from Europe find them opinionated as well and actually avoid them ! Still working on whether my attitude is racist or not or some other word would be appropriate . They feel they are also discrimminated against here in NZ.
Hello and greetings, Anon 456. I am myself Dutch and spent 6 years in Botswana where I got to interact with quite a few Afrikaners. I found them a hard lot to get to know and, for the older generations at least, a people with a huge chip on their shoulder. They haven't forgotten the Boer War (the war that gave rise to the expression 'concentration camp') and are sore about being sold out by the West (as they see it) after the fall of the Soviet Union. Now as targets of Black extremists and criminal gangs they feel their backs are up against the wall and nobody cares a damn about them, in fact treats them as sacrificial lambs. That's until Trump identified them as victims of systemic racism - I'll bet he's popular with the Afrikaners!
Truth is to be sidelined if it does not fit the narrative. A young work colleague of mine several years ago had recently left secondary school. Anything deemed negative about Maori history or Maori, even if factual, was out of bounds. He was told by his teacher that they were factual but ''hate facts'' and therefore were a no-go. Bit like msm
Post a Comment
Thank you for joining the discussion. Breaking Views welcomes respectful contributions that enrich the debate. Please ensure your comments are not defamatory, derogatory or disruptive. We appreciate your cooperation.