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There are times when I see a vague similarity between Zimbabwe and New Zealand, except of course that in some macabre ways the Zimbabwean reforms haven't been quite as criminal as much of New Zealand's history has been.
I love these people who say that just because Maori were immigrants too that it's okay to deny them restitution for what was stolen from them. How is that logic meant to work again?
Of course, if anyone dared to write something approaching this in the Herald, he should expect to receive death threats or some such treatment from honest, god-fearing, tolerant, decent Kiwis who just want to put their heads in the sand without all the hassle and complication of things like the truth. After all, how could anything we've done be nearly as bad as that tyrant nigger Mugabe? Hahaha.. of course not. Go back to sleep, children.
Obviously New Zealand isn't as much of a joke as Zimbabwe overall and obviously Mugabe is a deranged lunatic, but if you look at the structure of the reforms (leaving aside other issues such as economic collapse, starvation, electoral fraud, violent crime, etc), they're not actually so barbaric. The confiscations were focused on white farmers who owned many farms rather than just the one, and they were not stripped of everything they own. Of course, there are notorious cases where black marauders behaved violently, and cases where they took more than they were allowed to.
But let's be fair, here. Violence and theft took place here as well, and the European settlers in this country gave no such quarter to Maori as the Zimbabwean reforms did to white farmers. Do you think that when the settlers confiscated entire provinces of land here, that they only took lands from Maori who had more than they needed to survive?
And let's not forget that the Zimbabwean government is currently in the process of returning many white-owned farms to their rightful owners, that were taken beyond what was permitted by the reforms (in other words, beyond the conditions I already set out).
Compare that to the attitude in this very thread, and many others here, regarding restitution to Maori. Even in situations where only partial restitution is suggested, the reaction is virulent and worrying.
Food for thought.
Bah, forget about the past! Needless complications. Draw a line in the sand today! This is the way it is!
Uhh, no. The civilised world doesn't actually work like that. We have natural and statutory laws in this country and you don't get to ignore them just because it makes you feel all queasy inside to do what's right.
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