Recently the most fraudulent and extremist Prime Minister on the whole planet save maybe one, Fidel Castro’s son, announced the creation of the ‘Centre for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism’ or as it’s supposed to be known these days, as using the English language is a white man’s construct, ‘He Whenua Taurikura’ that can be roughly translated as The Land of Prosperity in modern woke Maori which is in many cases a white man’s construct, ironically. Of course although white men very likely chose this name they were the right white men and they know that they’re of white privilege (unlike myself for example). Whenua in these woke days also carries allusions to Tangata Whenua which is where most New Zealanders, Maori and Pakeha, would have become familiar with the word. Today ’Tangata Whenua’ exclusively refers to Maori in a way that implies that they were here first. But in the 19th century the term used for this wider, albeit a subtly different, meaning of Maori was Tangata Maori. Tangata means people and the same term for the Pakeha also applied, Tangata Pakeha. Whenua also has another meaning, that of placenta or afterbirth.
But if we were to break this term down sans the wokeness of the last 30 years or so then in first half of the 19th Century the word Whenua is more like ‘local’ or ‘hosts’ although a wider meaning at the time could be ‘world’. It wasn’t just applied locally either there is reference to Tangata Whenua in a story about the English in India in Papers Past. In this Indian case the English are Tangata Whenua which seems to mean more or less ‘world people’ or ‘people of the world’ or maybe ‘worldly people’. To be honest I still haven’t nailed this down completely, I need some more context. But there is no reason to believe that it couldn’t also apply to Pakeha in New Zealand at the time if they were for example hosting a hui (meeting, gathering). A later 1890s story adds further complexity as it is clear here that they are referring to people that were in New Zealand pre-Maori (a controversial topic these days). Who knows what happened between 1850 and 1897 for this further complexity to rear its head. No doubt it’s also encouraged some amateur Pakeha historians keen to meld history to their own political motivations. But it is nevertheless clear that ‘Tangata Whenua’ never meant Maori in any 19th Century sources, or at least none that I’ve seen.
Of the other words in the phrase Tauri is ‘to bind’ and Kura is ‘scarlet’ or ‘red’. So what is this? One could suspect reasonably that it is a too smart by far Labour Party or woke construct. ‘He Whenua Taurikura’ refers in our woke times to ‘Land of Prosperity’ in Maori, although the Prime Minister’s office translates it as ‘a country at peace’ maybe as a reference to Fahrenheit 451. But an even trickier reading, or translation, might be ‘to bind the land to the red’ which takes us back to the likely origins of the word, in afterbirth. Is this maybe a reference to re-birth then, as a dystopian communist hellhole? The three main politicians of the current Labour Government Ardern, Robertson & Hipkins (all Pakeha) are indeed communists from their youth and in fact they hung around in the same communist (or ‘socialist’ for the woke who might pass by) groups. I’m too lazy to see if the phrase predates their government but if it does well maybe the origins of the term are in Cologny rather than Pahiatua.
Anyway somewhat divisively for Ardern (i.e. completely normal behaviour for her) she decided to put two wokeheads in charge. Professor Joanna Kidman who abuses all and sundry from one end of Twitter to the other but only if you’re white, unlike Joanna.
Joanna describes herself as Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Toa Rangatira. (Ngati means ‘tribe’ or ‘tribal group’).
These are all on her father’s side (Ian Kidman) as her mother (Fiona Kidman) is of Irish and Scottish background. But there’s not a Ngati Caledonian to be seen in any of her online profiles. And although I’m not that up on the New Zealand elite her mother and father do seem of that group and many gongs are listed on their pages.
The other director of He Whenua Taurikura is “Distinguished” Professor Paul Spoonley whom I’m not terribly familiar with. So here’s Dane Giraud on Paul Spoonley noting that Spoonley himself may be a victim of the hate speech legislation he so desires. Dane knows what the hate speech legislation is really about by the way and has been one of the main supporters on NZ twitter of the gender critical side of that particular argument.
Undoubtedly Ardern is still trying to play on her Christchurch Call maybe the highlight (for her, not for the rest of us and certainly not for the victims) of her Prime Ministership.
She’s also very recently been to see Silicon Valley and undoubtedly restrictions on free speech and dystopian tyranny were discussed. In that area her two new allies, Fiona and Paul will be only too keen to throw New Zealanders (Maori & Pakeha) to the wolves.
They must be stopped.
To any government agents passing on by, yes I do have your domain names. 1 million for each thanks and yes you can be sure that much of any of the proceeds would be used to fund free speech rather than tyranny. Soz about that.
An incoherent riff
I know, I know, I know... the whole 'who shall wash them'... were the words that were mine, how quickly I forget them, my own words. How quickly I get tangled up in another's. Although I did say who, not how.
And suddenly I am 'white', which is really no color at all. White and privileged and yet I've been stumbling around for years barely able to breathe. White and fragile as well and expected to read the manual of the other.
So many manuals, before I venture anywhere. And I mistakenly thought that if I just looked at another and treated them with love and kindness that was enough.
But suddenly backs turned and visibly bristled. Histories reinvented or simplified. Suddenly the divide is so wide I cannot cross it (and feel terrified to even speak to it, as so much frustration and anger is being tapped into and amplified, almost as if purposely?!?!), but still I insist love is enough.
Manuals of me in another's pocket, written by who knows who? Can I just call you human and hope and pray you may come to know what that means, if you don't already?
I do not insist you read the book of me, identify me as this or that.
(this is not directed at the writer of this post)
Is this true?
https://petersweden.substack.com/p/climate-tax-cow-burps