Is xenophobia becoming “Kiwi As”?
Like most people who saw the above clip (broadcasted on TV One, and then promoted on the TVNZ website under Video Extras), I was appalled at the remarks made by Paul Henry. I was surprised that most people seemed to think that the ‘racist’ part was the mispronunciation of the name. Sure, it was very rude especially considering it was referring to an elderly lady, but any offense caused by that mispronunciation was nothing in comparison to what followed. Paul went on to say that the name “Dick Shit” is “so appropriate, because she’s Indian, so she’d be dick-in-shit wouldn’t she, do you know what I mean? Walking along the street… it’s just so funny”. That’s just ugly, Paul.
Now, Paul may not be a great intellectual personality worthy of much attention, but his antics (and the support he’s receiving) nevertheless hint at something disturbing about New Zealand society. The truth is, I feel anyway, that we have a serious and growing xenophobia problem. And the real worrying part is that it is often disguised as “humour”, or accompanied with downright denial. Most sane people will agree that xenophobia doesn’t need to become “kiwi as”, but pretending it isn’t a wide-spread problem is only going to allow it to become just that.
Bet you won’t see this billboard in downtown Auckland…
