This is not about insecurities. This is about suffering material and health related consequences of racism for a lifetime and then finally when you have the chance to make one small gesture making it and then getting shit on by an entire nation who believes the only beneficiary of racism should be them.

[–] AWOL_muppet 1 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Fair point - I'd moved on from this example of the tiered pricing to the big picture of 'how does a society eliminate racism' in principle.

You are right about this.

I do wonder what might the future look like though, when we're all trying to 'get one back' either due to responding to the systemic racism or ...bear with me here, the hypothetocal is a little gross: counter-responses: lets imagine pakeha with perceived past hurts in response to similar gestures? (as im sure there are quite a few completely blind to their privilege and so on...). I'm not saying they did the wrong thing at all with the gesture, I'm merely trying to find ways to avoid escalating things (which in hindsight sounds dangerously like 'peace at any price', but I don't think it is...).

[–] BalpeenHammer 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This all sounds like "shut up and take it bitch" to me.

After subjecting them to a lifetime of racism you don't think the victims should be able to act the same (not escalation, just acting like the pakeha do). An immediately a cry goes out and hands start wringing about what the future will look like if everybody did the same thing pakeha have done to the Maori (and others) for the last century.

Why do the minorities have to turn the other cheek and smacked with the hammer over and over again? Why can't the pakeha de escalate and turn the other cheek and shut up and take it?

[–] AWOL_muppet 1 points 3 weeks ago

Oh for sure, heartily agree. Didnt mean anything akin to 'shut up and take it.

Those 'in power' should absolutely lead by example (and there's bound to be plenty of time before the victims can actually pull back from 'defence mode' - now I'm starting to think of it in the same context as abusive relationships, however). Sorry, my analogies are all over the place!