When James Shaw thanked ‘Pirimia Jacinda Ardern, or baby mama’ many of us swooned at its cuteness, while others silently cringed. Asks Lana Lopesi, how much do we really know about the term ‘baby mama’? “Yeah this one right here goes out to all the baby’s mamas, mama’s mamas, mamas, baby mama’s mamas.” – Outkast … Read more
An announcement: We will no longer be responding to all the tired old opinions on Māori language and culture trotted out by people with no lived experience of being Māori in Aotearoa. Instead, we will rank them here. You know what’s tiring? Like, so deep-in-your-bones exhausting your very marrow puts on trackpants and goes back … Read more
This week I was sent screenshots of hateful, antisemitic Facebook posts. Part of honouring our incredibly brave Holocaust survivors is calling out bigotry wherever we see it, says Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy Last year the Human Rights Commission launched New Zealand’s first anti-racism campaign. It called on everyday Kiwis to recognise the seeds of … Read more
Comedian James Roque responds to the exhortations online that we should just lighten up and learn to take a joke over that Christchurch restaurant menu. Last week I read a tweet about an Asian fusion restaurant in Christchurch named Bamboozle, which had a menu that consisted of offensive made-up food names such as “Ho Lee … Read more
Christine Ammunson is a Samoan New Zealander who was brought up on The Black and White Minstrel Show, Golliwogs and Little Black Sambo books. You’re allowed to let the past go without disrespecting those you love, she writes. As a kid in the 1970s I used to watch the BBC variety hour The Black and White Minstrel … Read more
You know him as a white supremacist and dangerous idiot. New Zealander Julie Hill knew Richard Spencer as a fellow language student – one who was loathed by classmates and teachers alike. This post originally published November 17, 2017. For one day last decade, I became BFFs with white supremacist, coiner of the term “alt-right”, … Read more
PICK ONE: This content was made possible by the NZ Human Rights Commission. The Commission is calling on all Kiwis to stand up to racism by giving it no encouragement. No respect. No place. No power. For more information on how to get involved, visit www.givenothing.co.nz
In August a group of New Zealand researchers presented a report to the UN detailing the effects of racism on Māori. Simon Day spoke to AUT’s Dr Heather Came about the causes and cures for New Zealand’s racism. When Dr Heather Came listened to the New Zealand government delegation present to the United Nations Committee … Read more
Building magnate Sir William Gallagher’s recent comments calling the Treaty of Waitangi a ‘fraud’ have been roundly condemned. But he’s not the first to believe it, writes Scott Hamilton. Sir William Gallagher knows a lot about fences. He joined his father’s fencing business in 1962, and has turned it into a multinational company that he … Read more
Why the strange fixation with broadcasters using te reo? Probably because it raises questions about the legitimacy of the country they imagine themselves to live in, writes Danyl Mclauchlan. I have this theory about Māori Language Week and the outrage it routinely provokes from a mostly older, mostly Pakeha subset of the population; outrage that … Read more
How many hate crimes occur in New Zealand each year? Good question. Joe Higham explains why, to stop crimes motivated by prejudice, we first need to start recording them. On the 23rd June 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU. The consequences of the Brexit decision, both positive and negative, are yet to … Read more
You know him as a white supremacist and dangerous idiot. New Zealander Julie Hill knew Richard Spencer as a fellow language student – one who was loathed by classmates and teachers alike. For one day last decade, I became BFFs with white supremacist, coiner of the term “alt-right”, and one of the world’s biggest fuckwits, … Read more
Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy responds to an anti-Semitic speech at an Auckland mosque. People who deny the Holocaust took place are many things, but most of all, they are liars. Whether they are visiting Iranian clerics or whether they are members of a “White Pride” group – they are all liars. Holocaust survivors are … Read more
An innovative piece of theatre has resurfaced a long forgotten story with a lasting effect on race relations in New Zealand. Simon Day spoke to director Katie Wolfe about The Haka Party Incident. New Zealand is full of racism, from your uncouth uncle to the systemic institutional racism of New Zealand’s justice and education systems. … Read more
Duncan Garner’s recent column on immigration and K-Mart underpants has had the unfortunate – though highly predictable – effect of reigniting New Zealand’s often-poisonous ‘immigration debate’. But there’s a better way, writes Jess Berentson-Shaw. Immigration has never been an easy thing to talk about in New Zealand. When it gets raised in a public forum, … Read more
Let’s address that ‘Chinese-sounding’ panda in the room, writes Ally McCrow-Young. I woke up today to eagerly download my voting papers; it’s finally time to cast my overseas vote, which, as a nerd who teaches political engagement, I always find to be both fun and a real privilege. But this year I have to say … Read more
For better – and sometimes for worse – Colin Meads had a near matchless influence on rugby. Jamie Wall charts his influence. New Zealand and the rugby world is in mourning after the passing of the iconic Sir Colin Meads, a man who transcended both the sport he played and the society he lived in. … Read more
The horrific events of last weekend at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, brought back memories for Hye Ji ‘Erica’ Lee, a Korean New Zealander who studied there six years ago. In 2011 I was a student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, as part of an exchange programme with the University of … Read more
‘This is not my New Zealand.’ Ahead of her speech to the UN this week, the Race Relations Commissioner calls on politicians to stand on principle and do right by the victims of institutional abuse. Earlier this year I was on the same train in America where a week before a man had murdered two … Read more
Alex Casey watches the return of TVNZ’s So This Happened, the online series giving a voice to women’s experiences of harassment. There is an inevitable, incredible thing that happens when you put a bunch of women in a room together with enough space to talk freely. No, we don’t shriek like banshees at the moon, … Read more
Māori are the greatest victims of New Zealand’s war on drugs, but many Māori leaders are opposed to ideas of decriminalisation or legalisation. Professor Khylee Quince spoke to Simon Day about why tikanga Māori needs to be at the heart of drug reform. It’s a stat the needs to be repeated: although making up … Read more
It’s easy to dismiss a stray look or comment as simple rudeness, but often it’s more than that. Philip McKibbin (Ngāi Tahu) argues that casual racism is both endemic and more damaging than we give it credit. I keep thinking about the wink the bartender gave me. I didn’t know then that he had just insulted my … Read more
Jack Tame reflects on his reaction to a very stupid email on Breakfast – which has now had over one million views on Facebook – and explains why we still need our bubbles burst. I think it’s time to lay off Janice. She cannot have expected this response: Multiple Janice-from-Friends memes, ‘Living Next Door to Alice’ … Read more
Racist abuse is not welcome in our game. By launching We All Bleed Red, Canterbury has courageously become the first union to tackle discrimination head on in this way, writes the race relations commissioner, Dame Susan Devoy Until you’ve run out onto a sports field and had someone call you a “black c—” or an “ape” then you’ll … Read more
A range of viewpoints is a good thing. But giving a platform to noxious, hateful, racially inflammatory propaganda is quite another. So why is Newstalk ZB so keen on Katie Hopkins, asks Branko Marcetic. Few would accuse Newstalk ZB of being a fountainhead for enlightened ideas. This is, after all, the radio station that lets Mike Hosking … Read more
Every month host Alex Casey is joined by comedian/writer Michele A’Court and Mana magazine editor Leonie Hayden to discuss what happened in the world of women over the preceding four weeks. Fresh from the Auckland Women’s March, they return this year with help from their legendary sponsors at BON tampons. With a much-needed glass of bubbles, and in the safe bunker … Read more
When a brown-skinned man darkens his face and jokes about being black, that’s colourism – the belief that people with dark skin are inherently inferior to those with lighter skin – in action, writes Miriama Aoake. This is an edited version of a post which first appeared on Medium.com. Last week Jimi Jackson (Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi), … Read more
Earlier this week we published a post by Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes detailing her sexual attraction for actor Idris Elba. Following a critical response published today on The Pantograph Punch, Emily made the decision to take her post down. She explains her decision here. There are a lot of lessons I try to teach … Read more
Knight of the Realm Sir Bob Jones rose from his crypt yesterday and immediately yelled the first racist thing that came to mind. Hayden Donnell asks why we keep enabling this sad bully. The mummified remains of Bob Jones spluttered to life yesterday, coughing up dust and cat fur and dialling into Newstalk ZB. Jones … Read more