Quit using the ‘P’ word

Re the Opinion piece (July 9) on the ‘‘P’’ word, which is patronising to put it mildly. I detest this racist epithet with all my being. Why? Because I am a New Zealander, first, last, full stop, period, end of. Why newspapers and the Government insist on identifying me by my race and don’t see this as being racist escapes me.

If Ma¯ ori wish to be identified as Ma¯ ori, that is their choice. Equally, it is my choice to be identified as a New Zealander. How do you identify Kiwis of Chinese or Indian descent? Are they ‘‘P’’ worders too, or do you choose not to identify them by their race because it would be considered racist!

Perhaps you should read a letter to the editor of October 17, 1960, from a writer whose great-greatuncle was a signatory to the Treaty of Waitangi, who advised that ‘‘the ‘P’ word was never used in polite society and most certainly, never written’’. Perhaps your paper could follow this advice.

Jim Bagnall, Ohau