Spotting Racism

Further to our postings on the complexity and often unknowning nature of racism, Don Brash, Hobson's Pledge and other items, we have a further example in a Tallkback

Pn52

letter published in the NZ Listener, on August 25-31, page 72.

I'll start back-to-front, with a letter  a non-racist could have written on the same topic:

A no doubt well-meaning opinion was airing on RNZ National's Insight on July 29 that schools should be compulsorily teaching Te Reo. There may be good reasons for Maori and others who wish to to learn the language, but to impose it all school children is unacceptable.

A fair enough opinion.

Instead we had this:

A well-meaning but deluded minority was airing the outdated opinion on RNZ National's Insight on July 29 that schools should be compulsorily teaching te reo to preserve Maori culture and New Zealand history.

Time is moving on and Maori are a small minority of the population and rapidly growing smaller.

There may be no danger in minority groups clinging to cleansed versions of the past for nostalgic and sentimental reasons, but to impose it on everyone is unacceptable.

Don Boswell (Eastbourne, Lower Hutt)

Diagnosis: spotting the racism in the letter

"To preserve Maori culture". Is that the only reason? One could add, to help better pronunciation, knowledge of our place names and enjoyment from a better knowledge of another culture; to help us to better understand the world from a Maori perspective; to help foster better relations between Maori and Pakeha; to make our a better bi-cultural nation as we move towards being a multi-cultural one.

"... and  New Zealand history" . I'm not sure whether NZ's history or Maori within it. Either way, the Pakeha-cleansed version of our past is only now being written and acted upon, so now is a good time to learn.

"Time is moving on". He implies an inevitability about Maori and NZ, and implies those wishing to speak Te Reo are trying to turn the clock back.

"Maori are a small minority and ... growing smaller". 15% is not small and their number is growing. Their proportion of the total population is decreasing -- as is that of Pakeha -- largely due to immigration. In time, we will become a multi-cultural society. But let's make more effort to get biculturalism right first.

"No danger". A negative way of expressing something. Are there no positives or "minority groups" or to other New Zealanders?

"Clinging". = the futility of it all.

"Cleansed versions of the past". It is only now we are recognizing just how cleansed our history was.

for "Nostalgic and sentimental reasons". Patronising. Does does he know Maori reasons?

So, why is this racism? 

 I doubt Don Boswell, like Don Brash, thinks of himself as a racist, and like Brash he's probably quite civil to Maori as individuals (it's Maori as a group that gets him) -- not that there will be many Maori in Eastbourne. 

It is not because he opposes the teaching of Te Reo in schools, or because he thinks Te Reo is generally a waste of time. These are his personal opinions, and he's quite entitled to them, and to tell others what he thinks.

The racism is in the tone, the intolerance, the futility and barely-hidden ridicule of Te Reo -- and by implication, Maori as a group-- that permeate the letter. 

If body language can express racism, so can the choice of words and the tone of what is said or written. 

Look back to the letter that could have been written and then to the one that was. 

And don't say Maori should be able to take criticism. They should just laugh it off.  That's what a racist would say.
--ACW.