Monday, February 06, 2012

De Bres stop kidding yourself

From the front page of today's Dominion Post:
The race relations commissioner has criticised some Pakehas' "lack of generosity" towards deprived Maori as Waitangi Day celebrations have again turned violent..... Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres criticised those Pakeha who still resisted moves to give "special treatment" to disadvantaged Maori, thousands of whom suffered inequality.

"I still have a sense that there is a lack of generosity in some Pakeha attitudes to Maori and there is a lack of will to see measures taken that will help to remove that disadvantage and there is a lack of understanding of this notion that it is actually fair to deal specifically with people who are suffering unfairness."

The very person charged with improving race relations stirs up ill-feeling with these sorts of comments.

What does "special treatment" to "disadvantaged Maori"  consist of? Is he talking about affirmative action? Within the welfare-state model New Zealand operates under (which I don't support) I don't particularly care if Maori get funding to do their own thing, for example Whanau Ora. Or run their own schools. Or their own health clinics. Or their own youth courts. I think the jury is still out on how (relatively) successful these initiatives will prove to be.

But if 'measures to remove disadvantage' includes the vast transfer of cash to fund the DPB for example, which is now a firmly entrenched part of Maori culture, then yes, I do feel a distinct "lack of generosity".

And I think I have amply explained why over and over. It is Pakeha generosity that has allowed the deprivation of Maori to accelerate through welfare benefits. It is the benefit system that has absolved Maori (and other deprived people) from becoming better educated, skilled and responsible.

So when we read a headline that says,

Pakeha urged to be more generous

it is hardly surprising if some of us bristle.

Charles Murray closes his book about the failure of the US war on poverty, the war on the particular disadvantage of African Americans, with this salient observation:

"When reforms finally do occur, they will happen not because stingy people have won, but because generous people have stopped kidding themselves."

8 comments:

mistralman said...

Joris debris should be fired.

Manolo said...

This weak government should muster some courage and sack Joris immediately.

Anonymous said...

As a New Zealander of European descent, you Pakehas can pay me too!

Anonymous said...

When reforms finally do occur, they will happen not because stingy people have won, but because generous people have stopped kidding themselves

B*llsh*t

When the reforms finally do occur, it will be because good, upstanding moral citizens have hanged the liberals from the lamp-posts

Anonymous said...

Which unfortunately will be after the socialists and communists have driven this country bankrupt.

Unfortunately, there is no way out of this - we can't even roll back simple things such as interest free loans, working for other people's families etc.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, there is no way out of this

The leftists cannot change the laws of mathematics.
2 + 2 = 3 (when tax is included in the calculation)

So there most certainly will be a way out: either through massive civil unrest when the money actually runs out, or when some politicians recognize reality.

- there will be no NZ super for anyone currently under 50. The money simply isn't there.

- 5% KiwiSaver over say 50 years of salary is nowhere near enough to fund retirement

- by 2017 the health service will be bankrupt again, there simply isn't enough money to keep paying for "healthcare"

and most of all:

- there are no fundamental economic reasons why NZ's economy is any better than Greece, Spain, or Italy. Rather, because of where we are, the international finance markets haven't noticed how screwed NZ actually is.

As the treasury put it: "the Government’s fiscal credibility is at risk". Or in English - NZ is screwed.

Anonymous said...

Joris has to go. He is an unrepentant communist and is heavily biased against New Zealanders of European descent.

It is time to strip that racist and hateful bigot of his Orwellian title. And if Joris had any honour he would leave our shores and return to his native homeland. That 'man' has done a lot of harm to our nation.

Paulus said...

Expunge the Ministry.
Most if not all is rubbish in a real world.