Stuff apology

Firstly, well done for your comprehensive coverage this week of the topic, Our Truth, Ta¯ Ma¯ tou Pono.

Such reparation as can be arrived at is well over-due. The tribes, bless ‘em, fought the Brits to a standstill and should never have been sidelined (as were the Amerindians and Aborigines, and worse, to the lasting shame of their respective countries).

A humane society must care for the underdog.

That said, I have several times noticed recipients of free meals throw away their fags and stow their beer bottles before entering to eat.

This is a failure of social propriety which makes me grumpy.

Having lived and worked in Samoa, I am aware that Polynesians, a most generous people, have their own world-view.

So, ‘‘live and let live’’ could be modified to ‘‘live and help live’’ to benefit us all.

Clive Shaw Timaru (Abridged)

Naturally, I must reply to the comments written about me and my letters to the editor, printed with the numerous Stuff apologies in The Timaru Herald.

My letters are not all about Ma¯ ori and Ma¯ ori settlements, but some of them are.

I would like to point out that every letter I have written to the editor was about details that had already been printed in The Timaru Herald and I had only been commenting on facts already published. So, I don’t think they can call me a racist.

Since the printing of the article about me and my letters, I have had numerous phone calls and emails from readers, some I don’t know, supporting my letters and expressing their disappointment with your attitude. One, has even cancelled his subscription.

D H Darling Timaru (Abridged)