Laws and his problem

The trouble with Michael Laws is he makes statements about Maori which are founded in fact but the qualifier never sees the light of day. Embroiled in a conflict over his use of another child victim's photo on his facebook page he responds;

"I have no intention of letting the feral Maori underclass keep killing their kids. They are almost all exclusively Maori ... victim and perpetrator. Look at the local roll call: Karl Perigo-Check, Cherish, Jhia Te Tua ... now Sahara. Notice the common thread?"

Now "feral Pakeha underclass" could have been substituted and the sentiment still founded in fact. Not all of the children killed through maltreatment are Maori. And most Maori have Pakeha blood anyway (stating the tiresome obvious there.)

The simple truth of the matter is the Maori underclass is more obvious because it is bigger. It is bigger because of historical factors; the massive urban drift, and dislocation and isolation of individuals. Grandparents, and older family members, were not involved in the upbringing of children the way they traditionally had been. Substitute whanau developed; gangs. Economically Maori were the poor NZ race and the creation of benefits therefore had a much greater effect on them than Pakeha. The same happened in the US with Blacks and Hispanics. Family formation (Travis Snyder) was hit harder. And, in the main, Maori cultural values didn't hold education and provision for the future as dear. Understandable when only 100 years ago merely surviving was the priority.

From Nga Iwi o te Motu, Michael King offers:

[Peter] Buck wrote in his annual report [as Native health officer], “The [Maori] communism of the past meant industry, training in arms, good physique, the keeping of the law, the sharing of the tribal burden, and the preservation of life. The communism of today means indolence, sloth, decay of racial vigour, the crushing of individual effort, the spreading of introduced infections, diseases, and the many evils that are petrifying his advance.” [Maui] Pomare added: “The Maori having been an active race and always having been kept in a state of excitement by wars and the rumour of wars, can now only find vent for his feelings on the racecourse, gambling and billiard-playing, with an occasional bout in the Land court”.

The traits Buck describes are still evident today.

But there are Pakeha aplenty essentially mired by the same "communism" - living off other people by right. No vent for their energy through work, they look for excitement elsewhere. I do not believe a young Maori male who is unemployed, abusing drugs and alcohol, mentally scarred by his own upbringing and in a gang, is any more dangerous than a young Pakeha male in the same circumstances. The last time I spent a day in court observing proceedings the more desperate types, as confirmed by their ongoing state custody, up on domestic violence charges, were young white men.

But returning to my main point, there are fewer of them in relation to NZ European numbers.

There are things that need saying in NZ. But for mine Laws just puts it too bluntly and in doing so probably goes no way towards improving matters. Quite possibly he pushes some into resentful, reproachful retreat and doubly deviant.

What we actually need is for (some) Maori to do way better. That is up to individuals and those people who have the most influence over them. Their whanau or whatever is left of it. It isn't for Laws to singlehandedly solve.

BUT ... exactly the same can be said for (some) Pakeha.

(I cede the point in anticipation that constant qualification is a pain in the butt and often fail myself to adhere.)