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Let's Talk About It

Entry 1837, on 2017-02-15 at 13:42:57 (Rating 4, Politics)

A common theme I have seen last week when New Zealand celebrated (and I should put that word in quotes because there seems to be more angst than celebration) its national day was that "we need to talk about it". The "it" in that sentiment seemed to be something like race relations, our history in general, colonialism, and other subjects of that sort.

But I wonder how genuine this wish for "talking about it" really is, because it seems that people are only allowed to talk about it if they take the side of political correctness and don't offer any alternative ideas or even mention any opinions which don't fit in with what the "political correctness police" want to hear.

A classic example of this happened recently when a member of a local council mentioned on social media that he didn't think the Maori language was worth saving, and that effectively it was on life support.

If we are going to have a discussion about indigenous rights in general, and the preservation of the Maori language in particular, then surely that is an opinion which is worth presenting. It might be right and it might be wrong, but at least let's accept it as a genuine possibility and discuss it.

But that's not what happened, of course. Because in these politically correct times a "discussion" involves only hearing one side of the story and not even mentioning anything which might seem to go against that view. So this person was subject to general scorn and derision, will probably be forced to apologise, and might face other disciplinary actions from the council he works for.

This is not a discussion. When a discussion involves only saying things which are approved by a controlling group it is called propaganda, and that's what all of the "acceptable" pro-Maori views I have seen recently really are.

The fact is that you could make a very good case to say that the Maori language is, in fact, on life support, and that the money being spent on it might be better used somewhere else. That would be my view, and I know I would be attacked for it if I presented it in a forum where the left wing nutters I have been unfortunate enough to have to associate with recently reside.

And remember that I'm not saying this as a far-right red-neck conservative. I am politically quite far to the left and am definitely liberal by any reasonable measure. But there's just one aspect of left-wing politics which I reject: political correctness and the mindless posturing the left are often involved in.

In fact I would be far more amenable to arguments supporting the Maori language if it wasn't so much considered a topic which is protected in the way I described above. It is the bungling and bureaucratic attempts at making it more acceptable which have had the complete opposite effect and made it less so.

This isn't a unique view either. I think the silent majority secretly hold it and, if it was acceptable to have a real discussion on the subject, its popularity would become quickly apparent.

But repressing alternative views doesn't make them go away. I would have thought that after the debacle in the US presidential election recently that the left would have realised that people don't like being told what to think. I'm convinced that political correctness and the repression of alternative opinions are major reasons why the left was rejected there (and yes, I know that Clinton won the majority vote, etc).

So if we are going to talk about this let's actually talk about it, instead of having a one sided monologue of politically correct propaganda which is occasionally interrupted by alternative views which are quickly repressed by the thought police.

Forget about compulsory Maori language teaching and forcing one group's customs onto another. People don't like being told what to do. They like even less being told what to say. And all the political correctness in the world won't stop them from thinking what they want to think.

Comment 1 (4659) by OJB on 2017-02-16 at 11:39:05:

An article by Rodney Hide, in the Herald, "Rodney Hide: Cost of te reo Maori in schools too high" makes some good points on this topic, as well. Haven't seen much reaction yet so I'm not sure if his ideas have been shutdown or not.

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