Just recently the Human Rights Commission launched a “Voices of Racism” campaign. For those that don’t know it’s basically a web site where you can hear people saying apparently racist things.
The first thing to note is that there are one or two voices, all definitely Pakeha sounding. No Maori sounding voices, Polynesian sounding voices, Indian sounding etc. I mean what happened to inclusiveness?
Next, it’s very obvious that the Human Rights Commission hates Western culture.
Here is an example to show you what I mean.
“You’re so loud”
Apparently this is racist because its “a rejection of other cultures” and we all should “challenge the belief that Pakeha and Western culture is the norm.”
Well, some cultures are loud and if you don’t agree you’ve never sat next to a table of Samoan girls. And “Pakeha and Western culture” is the norm in New Zealand. Go to India and Indian culture is the norm. Go to China and Chinese culture is the norm. In any case how is it racist to state a fact? Are facts racist now?
Next, apparently stereotypes are “racist”. Stereotypes are actually incredibly useful as they act as kind of “shortcuts”. Also stereotypes are grounded in reality. No one suddenly woke up one day and thought, “I know, I’ll create the stereotype that Asians are bad drivers”. And let’s face it, the stereotype of the “whinging pom” didn’t come out of thin air.
Here’s an example:
“Why spend time with those kids – their parents don’t care anyway.”
I’m assuming here that we’re meant to assume that the “parents” are Maori, which is kind of racist in itself, but never mind. Here we have the stereotype of the neglectful Maori parents. Racist? No. Fair? Depends on reality. If the statistics show that Maori are far more likely to neglect their kids then it’s a fair call.
Another example:
“Are you the first person in your family to get a degree?”
Racist? Depends. If the person being talked to looks like they come from an impoverished place then it’s probably a fair call, even a compliment.
There’s also supposed examples of workplace discrimination which are apparently “racist” such as “We think you’re best suited to your current role, there’s nothing we’d promote you to in this organisation” and “That’s just the way we do things – feel free to go elsewhere”.
To be fair the Human Rights Commission do include examples which, to me at least, are clearly racist, such as “Can you put someone else’s name on the paper? An ethnic name isn’t a good look for us”, “Aren’t women in your culture just there to breed”, and “What makes you think your culture’s so special”. The problem with those examples is that it’s difficult to believe that they are in any way common examples.
But getting back to the Human Rights Commission and their “unconscious racism”. Why are there no Maori voices? Why are there no Indian voices?
What about a Maori voice saying “Go back to China you disease-ridden pricks!”
Or what about an Indian voice saying “Get out of my dairy you black bastards!”
Obviously only Pakeha’s can be racist, at least according to the Human Rights Commission. All in all, though this is a good reminder that there is no racist like an anti-racist.
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