I fear for this election and I fear for this country. It is becoming increasingly obvious that the most dangerous thing you can do is to open your mouth, because someone, maybe a political opponent, an Indian or a thin-skinned politician will be offended. This country is being reduced to a nation of politically correct idiots. Free speech is fast disappearing under a blanket of easily offended numpties in parliament. I’m fast losing interest in the lot of them.
This is starting to look like the most boring election of all time. While mechanical drones will still be active in Europe and the Middle East, here it looks like we will be hit with political drones. Imagine meetings and debates devoid of humour because some little petal might be offended. It’ll be incessant droning from all of them about their policies and how the economy, health, law and order and education will be so much better under each of them. No humour though: watch what you say! If you speak and someone gets offended then that’s what the election will be about – policies will take second place.
Robust debate is dying as a form of political sparring using words that can be regarded as humorous or insulting depending on your point of view and how fragile you are. The left are awash with this sort of fragility, but, to a certain extent, the leadership of the National Party can be tarred with the same brush. Showing fragility is not an election winner. Voters are looking for strength and decisiveness on policy. They are not impressed by seeing a string of politically correct cry-baby politicians on the six o’clock news wailing over a sentence. Take Nash’s comment about Katie Nimon being the laziest politician because she took time off for maternity leave. It was hardly a world shattering insult – just an electorate contender having a go at the incumbent.
The reaction from the left and the National leadership was entirely predictable. Up jumped all the wokesters to express their shock/horror and absolute disgust. Do they realise what a pathetic watch it is? They could have said something along the lines of ‘He won’t win votes for a silly comment like that and Katie’s quite capable of defending herself against that nonsense.’ Instead, being the politically correct little creatures they are, they took the misogynistic angle, leaving Nimon looking like a ‘poor little woman’ not capable of looking after herself. The opposite, of course, is true. She’s more than capable and will win in November.
Next, Paul Henry decided it would be a good idea to shoot Chris Hipkins. Not literally of course. He went on Radio Hauraki and played a game of ‘shoot, shag and marry’. This is so-called entertainment on Hauraki, but not to the Labour Party and others. In the confines of Hauraki’s few thousand listeners, any damage would have been minimal to negligible.
But, of course, it got to the left-wing media and this was the start of the story. According to Ayesha Verrall these comments were “completely disgusting”. She didn’t appear to have a problem with Henry choosing to shag Winston or marry Luxon. Tim Costley, the National MP appearing alongside Verrall thought Luxon would have something to say had it been a National MP. I bet he would. In my view it’s a mindless game reflective of the station’s small audience and shouldn’t be taken seriously – nor should any comments about it.
Prior to that we had Shane Jones and his ‘butter chicken tsunami’ remark regarding the number of Indians that might come here under the recently signed FTA. This is slightly more serious, as you’re risking offending a prime minister and his country. Rightly or wrongly you’re not going to stop a man renowned for the use of colourful language. NZ First feel strongly on this point and Jones was expressing that view.
There is no doubt all three could have expressed themselves better but if you look at who they are we should not be surprised at what they said and how they said it.
If we take everything that is said too seriously, we are in danger of completely losing our sense of humour. The left never had any but the right must keep a semblance of it otherwise the election campaign will be one that voters will lose interest in. I ask politicians of the right to stiffen up and show some spine. Remember, laughter is the best medicine. It’s a contributing factor to what makes the world go round. We can’t do without it.
