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6:00 am, July 17th, 2023 - 67 comments
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For a political marketing expert, Labour's campaign slogan to examine…
Good point: comparative analysis rules, okay?
I wouldn't. Clueless dork syndrome has all parties in its relentless grasp. I'll be a war of evasive banalities. One of bomber's commentators defined the Labour target niche for us with succinct elegance:
"Transgender Maori vegan cyclist members of the Wellington bureaucracy."
What a shameful outing of prejudice and 'othering' of minorities in the guise of humour…. 'clueless dork' indeed.
Just to add some figures into this issue.
Māori are 17% of our community.
Vegans are 6% of our community.
Transgender people are 0.0-2% of our community.
Cyclists number 21% of our community.
Wellington bureaucrat number 28,054 or 0.5% of our community. They comprise 44% of all of our civil servants.
All in all, our clueless dork has insulted two fifths of the population. If he showed 'succinct elegance', then I'm glad I'm a wordy wearer of ill-fitting hand-me-downs.
Not that I support insulting anyone, but looking at the quoted figures.
That seems like a very high population percentage for Vegans.
Do you have a source for this?
I can't find any official surveys – but one research project from 2021 indicates that there are around 6% vegetarians and vegans.
https://healthify.nz/hauora-wellbeing/v/vegetarianism-veganism/
The site, annoyingly, doesn't link to either source….
It's *possible* that it's this one:
https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/most-kiwis-still-eat-meat
If the number of vegetarians is around 6%, I'd say that the numbers of vegans would be considerably lower….
I'm presuming that the survey informs the NZ Wikipedia data – which has Vegetarians at 6% – and no total for Vegans at all.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country
This is the source.https://healthify.nz/hauora-wellbeing/v/vegetarianism-veganism/
3 or 6%. Not the issue for me, but rather that a group of people in our society were being insulted.
Yep, that's the one I found as well – no total for vegans.
I was wondering if there actually was some data out there – but looks as though there isn't….
Agree that insulting people (regardless of the % of the population) isn't OK.
🙂
I agree that minorities have nothing to be ashamed of. Any attempt to selectively correlate Labour's campaign strategy with a select nexus of such minority groups is proceeding upon a flawed assumption: it's the Greens who are more likely to do what the commentator expects.
The entire point of Labour is to seem different to National in the tiny minds of sheeple. So Labour will inevitable target the soft underbelly of National poll supporters. For another insight into that, tune into 1News tonight. RNZ's deputy political editor told us earlier this morning that they will feature another poll.
You wrote "I agree that minorities have nothing to be ashamed of." Do you agree that minorities should not be disrespected, as our clueless dork did?
The same clueless dork who you quoted approvingly with "succinct elegance".
Sorry, Dennis, but you don't walk away from this one without acknowledging that you approved of, and re-quoted to us, a racist, prejudiced, bigoted and shameful comment.
It's the opposite of "In it for you"!
I don't have that sectarian view of things. Usage of categories in political commentary is endemic, so why anyone would be fussed about any particular usage by leftists or rightists isn't ever likely to be evident to a centrist.
The entire point of any particular usage is whether it is effective propaganda or not. You're aware of how toxic wokeism has become for leftists? Important to learn from such unhealthy cultural trends whenever they occur.
Unless it learns how to do effective political framing, the left isn't likely to get much attraction amongst floating voters. Merely virtue-signalling at them has failed. Are you trying to suggest that such failure can't be learnt from?
"Transgender Maori vegan cyclist members of the Wellington bureaucracy."
This is a political framing of a point of view that is the opposite of what I stand for- literally, in my case, because I have been a political candidate.
Belittling terms have always been around. I choose to object to them when I feel that if I don't object then I become complicit.
I'm old enough to remember 'political framing' aka insults, such as 'bleeding heart liberal', 'pinko', 'commo', 'lefty', 'peacenik', 'and more recently 'virtue-signalling', 'politically correct' and a 'woke' practitioner of the 'politics of envy'.
Are you arguing that we should also be into such political framing in order to compete?
I much prefer 'In it for you".
Yes, you. All those pakeha, meat-loving, car-addicted, straight(-ish), provincial self-employed persons included.
At least, there was no mention of women in our 'clueless dork' friend's statement.
Because that issue raised itself on the Standard with misogynistic rants in the time of PM Jacinda Ardern. I rebutted them, too.
Look where that pile of insults got those mysogynistic 'political framers' in 2020 when women turned out for Labour.
The level of insults in this election is now, and will be high- as a counter to the politics of inclusion, fairness, compassion and "in it for you'.
I do understand where you are coming from, as a result of your articulation of it. There's a spectrum tween framing and insult. Seems to me some folks will see an insult where none was intended. One often sees that with satire, irony, etc. Some folks see a motive that the framer doesn't have.
My view is akin to that of an amateur social scientist: I note framings that achieve resonance because they then operate similarly to levers or portals, inasmuch as resonance tends to constellate collective opinion.
In my view a commentator has a mental interface with the public arena, as well as a tech interface. Each of those being driven by a triad (user/interface/public) plus a tetrad (user/interface/network/public) when you incorporate the systems view. Such is the basis of ecosystemic human relations in the Deep Green view, but one must to go further & include stuff like mimesis/memetics that generate field effects between people & systems.
Toxic wokeism, unhealthy cultural trends, virtue signalling. Dennis Frank, you're seasoning your comments with meaningless rw catchphrases again.
I'm guessing you are a casualty of the meaningless rw culture war against phantoms…Head injury?
Don't do that. You had an argument that you could make coherently, insulting someone doesn't add to that, it just inflames things.
@ macl..
You left out 'fleshist'..
(Def: flesh-eater who sneers at non-flesh-eaters..)
Philip, I left out a lot of things. I am all of those things I listed though I do own a bike that is unusually ridden (unusual in terms of frequency but especially since I don't often pedal as it's battery electric). But it sticks in my craw to read jokes based on 'othering'.
I believe in joking at my own expense so I can take the piss of Irish and Scottish traits happily, being a Mac1, but not of others. One little trick I learned is to tell Irish jokes but change the subject of the humour to a Kiwi- suddenly it's not funny any more!
"How do you get a Kiwi up onto a roof?" "Tell him the drinks are on the house…."
I'm a Kiwi, btw.
Hear hear.
Against my better judgement I ventured over to The Daily Blog for a wee gander. I soon vacated the blog site very rapidly. What a vapid next of vipers the commenters (and of course B B himself) have degenerated into. I used to make TDB one of my daily reads but thank Dog, no longer. I do wonder who 'they' will ultimately vote for, if at all.
You're braver than me JB. I won't go there. Too depressing.
[comment with quotes but no links deleted]
Oops! Sorry…
This last weekend we went on a road trip from Nelson to Hokitika to celebrate a 100th birthday of a whanau and made it a round trip. (Via Reefton one way then Westport the other) Never saw 1 pothole. Never had a ramrade in our parts for about 20 years either for that matter!
Interesting. A conspiracy theorist would deduce that this regional paradise effect was produced by a Labour strategy to grow their support base in the top of the South Island and west coast. As if departmental maintenance is regionally-driven, I presume.
Although such regional bias would be denied by both the departmental heads and the minister, to reassure sheeple. In order to import ram-raids into your region, you must first import the foreigners to establish attractive shops! Worked well in Ak.
Nick Smith both as local MP and as Minister defended his part of the state highway network really well.
Also that route barely gets a major truck.
I do the Crown Range from Wanaka to Queenstown most days, and frankly it's a dream compared to anything north of Taupo.
I've been watching TV coverage of the Tour de France lately. No road potholes, although on one stage the riders had to contend with cobbles, which were very tricky and led to crashes.
Seen this way France looks terrific, with its mountains and picturesque old towns.
What's striking is how much vegetation cover the French have retained. A contrast with good old NZ, where the odd macrocarpa stands in a sea of grass.
My memory of 3000 kms of driving on French provincial roads was their quality, similar to our two-lane SH1 standard but mostly I remember the 70 km/h speed limit. A speed that respected safety, the road surface and the views to be had.
Agreed Mac.
The Crown Range is still 100km/h at the moment and there are regular accidents. I would speculate that many are caused by people being distracted by the wonderful views.
A clear case for either 70km/h or 80km/h between Cardrona and SH6 at the Arrow Junction.
Ad says (above) that he drives it most days-I wonder what he thinks.
Crown Range definitely should be down to 80km.
Seriously what's the point of risking your life.
I came away from France with the conclusion that the french know how to do country…
New Zealand does not…
France is happy to run national debt at 90-100% of GDP. It has been doing so for decades to prop up its excellent healthcare and aged care sectors, with retirement at 60y. Personal tax runs at ~40%.
Loneliness as producer of health costs: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/how-our-cities-could-help-alleviate-loneliness
For second, they just go for extending the Greener cities trend. Third, they just go for rejuvenating centers of cities, which has also been happening for years. Would've been better to devise collaborative projects folks can join into.
Greens giving the Nat/ACT bear a prod: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/greens-launch-maori-land-policy-hoki-whenua-mai-vows-to-return-stolen-land-revisit-claims-and-redress/IH4JRCB53BFAZD2VAJA2GUH774/
I'm okay on the principle of their policy: satisfactory resolution of problems created by past maladministration. Natural justice. I'll reserve judgment on their proposed method until I see if others find any flaws.
Just the 9 comments this morning Dennis-you are losing your touch.
Ha ha BG prob his wife has a sock taped to his mouth at home so he has to make up for it on TS !!
I'm a loner once again these days…
Well I could do more – but I'm just trying to keep faith with all the left-wingers who have gone into hiding…
Yeah…Riiight. Complete with two hands in pockets, pothole plonkers.
Reality….
And beside that, NZ's chronic car culture addiction is just exacerbating any existing problem . To say nothing of the fkn heavy truck trailers rooting the roads/highways.
Should we spend more money on "fixing" something that should be being replaced….by major Public Transport and Rail networks ?
No.
F#$@%ing Joyce back in 2010 permitted trucks as heavy as 53 tonnes on NZ roads. This greatly increases the level of road wear per truck, where truck road wear was already massive compared to a family 4WD.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/change-lifts-truck-load-limit-to-53-tonnes/O2ARXF3BQRBBRTJWMAZY2TDX5U/#:~:text=*%20Trucks%20will%20be%20permitted%20to,up%20from%2012.6m%20now.
https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2010/04/03/heavier-trucks-approved/
I'm expecting Nationals Pot Hole Policy to dovetail with their Corrections Policy next – prisoner chain gangs filling pot holes with shovels and buckets of gravel being dragged behind them. /sarc
Danielo Dolci, a most remarkable man known as the Ghandi of Sicily, organised unemployed men in what is known aa a 'reverse strike' to work on roads in Sicily in the early Fifties.
Instead of prisoners he used the unemployed who showed their willingness to work and thus denied the claim that some use to vilify the out- of-work as lazy. He also challenged the local government, the Mafia and the corrupt by so doing. He also used hunger strikes and non-violent resistance, resisted war and gave up a comfortable existence as an architect for the wealthy, instead to work as a toilet cleaner and gardener in an orphanage after WW2.
https://www.mkgandhi.org/articles/danilo-dolci-a-gandhi-in-sicily.html
National would have no idea about any of that…….
They walked in with Labour, but got the car with National.
It's been done before.
Well…Dom. Thanks for pointing out the Obvious. However do the vehicles you represent..have eighteen tyres and wheels ?
And huge weight? And cause most of the damage ?
Also…Nick Leggett got a mention in the RNZ link.
The same Nick?
Riiight.
Question:
Why are dairy farms allowed right on the edge of the already polluted Manukau harbour..?
Given all we now know..
..how the fuck is this allowed to continue…?
For cow shit/nitrates to be allowed to just pour into the harbour..?
How's a city allowed to keep expanding on already polluted harbours that are regularly closed to human food gathering and recreation due to human sewage over flows??
The Green party appears to have a death wish. The same sort of activist fanaticism that led to anti-smacking debacle that saw the Left in opposition for 9 years appears to be back with the insane suggestion that private property be subject to Maori land claims. Talk about lunatics with a death wish!
Apart from anything else, who is this policy meant to appeal to? It is the sort of insanity you'd expect from a bunch of unwashed anti-capitalist student anarchists living in squat, not a party with mainstream aspirations.
Or, alternatively:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/493846/greens-announce-policy-to-repeal-2008-deadline-to-lodge-treaty-claims
I think it should be mainstream to attempt to resolve the illegal breaches of our nation's founding document by the state. Private property would only be included as it was sold by current owners. Try and read before you react.
Right so your the sort of person who thinks telling every person in NZ who owns their own home or farm or factory, or has a mortgage pursuant to that end, that what they've purchased in good faith can now be subject to a Maori land claim is a vote winner?
It us ridiculous policy no one asked for and seems to be mainly designed as a masochistic desire to upset 98% of the electorate.
The Greens keep whining that they are a serious party. On the basis of this policy I say bullshit to that.
[“… that what they've purchased in good faith can now be subject to a Maori land claim is a vote winner?”
You appear to be implying that land would be taken off non-Māori and given to Māori. This is not true, it’s been pointed out to you that it’s not true, and you’ve repeated it. Even if you didn’t mean that, both your comments can easily be construed by people reading to mean that.
If I see you run this line again, I will consider you to be knowingly lying and I will ban you until well after the election. Only warning.
https://www.greens.org.nz/hoki_whenua_mai_announcement
And you're the sort of person unable to comprehend what they announced and have instead reacted to a scenario that you have manufactured in your head.
Try again:
And who decides the price Arkie?
Current market value at the time………..would have to agree with Sanctuary though that its a very problematic proposition and in reality would have many fish hooks to extract………………
what are the problems and fish hooks you see?
I was trying to recall over the weekend how many times I’ve voted Green, Labour and collectively other parties to date. At a reasonable guess I think about one third each. But there is no way on planet earth I’d consider voting Green in their current incarnation – trying to out manoeuvre TPM to see who can steer hardest left. Meanwhile they drag Labour down with then. Hopefully somewhere in the inevitable election postmortem someone asks the very basic question – what does an environmental based party look like?
If you look at GP policy and listen to GP speeches, it's very clear that the environment is high in their list of priorities.
https://www.greens.org.nz/manifesto_2023
.https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-17-07-2023/#comment-1960174
https://www.greens.org.nz/green_party_agm_2023_james_shaw_s_speech
There’s much more whining around election time – potholes, tax/cut, iwi/kiwi, bene bashing, light bulbs, shower heads and the madness of the nanny state.
In days gone by, such whining might have fetched the whiners a smack as part of good voter correction – whether/weather that's still the case, time will tell.
Grumbler get your gun!
mod note.
It is sad to see that the green party has no real interest in Green issues that really matter. Like a marine sanctuary or an end to bottom trawling. Even the damage of the land and infrastructure through iwi owed forest companies is not mentioned and the taxpayer has to foot the bill. I am interested how all the claims are set vis a vis the billions already paid in reparation and the tax exemption of iwis.
Lets not forget, it is not the "Crown" who pays but the taxpayer.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/5130429/Super-rich-tribes-pay-no-tax#:~:text=A%20law%20change%20by%20the,those%20businesses%20are%20getting%20big.
As an immigrant, settling here some 37 years ago, this discussion is provoking the feeling that I to have to uproot again. It was psychologically some work to feel "at home" but it seems I need to be prepared to move as the situation here is getting more and more unsettling.
In that vain, I think all immigrants and people thinking about coming back should be told in an unambiguous way what they will have to expect and expectations about their contribution.
Look at the policies and you will find what you claim is not there:
https://www.greens.org.nz/marine_policy
https://www.greens.org.nz/environmental_protection_policy
https://www.greens.org.nz/conservation_policy
etc etc
What alarmist b.s. there f.w..
Are you a'fearing a brown people uprising..?
What exactly is 'unsettling' you..?
You aren't just pearl-clutching for the sake of it..?
Do tell..!
Bit of a racist remark there? You will be surprised to know that I have been told twice that pakeha ate only "allowed" to be here to pay for the upkeep of Maori. Seems to be confirmed.
Been told twice…?..eh..?
By two different racist whites..?
Or was it the same one saying it twice..?
And what exactly 'seems to be confirmed'..?
And how exactly..?
By Maori on a hui no less. But never mind, people like you have made up their mind that anybody else is just out to exploit. Thats ok. I will make my decision and thats that.
This idea of mini-ministries (c f. fix potholes) could have merit..
How about a ministry to fix scumbag slum landlords..?
For starters..?
Alternatively you could put the landlords in the potholes.
Heh..!