We’ve let racism slide
On Friday last week thousands of high schoolers around the country walked out of class to protest the Government’s inadequate response to climate change. The country was divided. Were these kids just lazy, no-good truants or were they activist heroes?
Then the country didn’t care. Because the worst terrorist attack in New Zealand’s history happened. Scores of people going peacefully about their lives were gunned down. It was a tragic and defining moment in our country’s history.
The man who is charged with the attacks is a white supremacist.
In the time since this terrorist attack, many pieces much more eloquent than this column have been written. They’ve explored our language around the attack, ‘‘this isn’t us’’ – a well-meaning phrase that flies in the face of Muslim
New Zealanders who regularly face bigotry.
They’ve asked why here, they’ve spoken about the huge gaps in our gun laws, they’ve expressed complete rejection of racist philosophy, and in among it all there have been in-depth think pieces on ‘‘Egg Boy’’ (the Australian teenager who broke an egg over the head of right-wing Australian politician Fraser Anning).
Many organisations have done their best to amplify the voices of the Muslim community during this time. Not enough have. I’m aware of the irony of me writing this column, making this point.
At the end of this column, or even right now, go spend your time listening to our marginalised communities who’ve been crying out for our attention for years, who we’ve routinely dismissed until the worst happened and we couldn’t look the other way any more.
I can’t speak to the unimaginable pain the Muslim community in New Zealand and around the world must be feeling right now. We have failed them, and we can’t go back.
The last two times I gathered in Aotea Square were for a protest against the Muslim travel ban in the United States and then last week for a vigil. I am embarrassed to say, when I gathered there in protest I felt like I was protesting something offshore, an international problem.
My privilege blinded me and as is so often the case with people of privilege, I was not the one to suffer the consequences of my ignorance.
Moving forward, Pa¯ keha¯ New Zealanders need to do better. I’m not saying all New Zealanders need to do better, I’m specifically pointing at
Pa¯ keha¯ . This is a problem with white people.
We have fostered the poison that is white supremacy. We may not have held the gun, but we created the society that told him he could. Now is not the time for #notallwhitepeople.
Now is not the time to point out the good people. Now is the time to appreciate we are as bad as the worst among us.
We have let racism slide because of the awkwardness and embarrassment of pointing it out. We have laughed off bad jokes so we could move on. We’ve given platforms to people who stoke hate.
We’ve hesitated to raise our refugee quota. We have mispronounced Ma¯ ori place names, because it doesn’t matter. In small ways every day we have helped create a society where white culture is valued over and above everything else.
We may not have meant to, we may be already trying to do better, but there’s always more that can be done. We have a responsibility every day to be aware of our privilege and the systems that we implicitly endorse that enable white supremacy.
Let’s follow the lead of the kids who protested on Friday. When we see something wrong, say something and have the courage to do something.
You could start by just saying Taupo¯ right. It’s not that hard.