The song
and dance about Mr Prosser because of his hyperbole about young Muslim
males seems to have died down, perhaps because it was really nowhere near as
big an issue as all the other politicians (except Mr Peters) made out. In
his article in Investigate, Mr Prosser was plainly writing in an
exaggerated fashion, which is what hyperbole means: the use
of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to
evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to
be taken literally. [My italics]
The only reason all the MPs took it literally was because (a) they felt it
was the PC thing to do - tolerance and all that; (b) Mr Prosser became the
scapegoat for all those 'mistakes' that other politicians make - either
intentionally or unintentionally. It meant they could heap all the
garbage on him and make themselves smell clean.
The Green Party made this statement, which is equally full of hyperbole: "...the Green Party moved that
Parliament affirm "that all New Zealanders, regardless of their religious
faith or ethnicity, should be treated equally before the law and that the
rights and dignity of all people, in particular of Muslims, should be upheld,
and that the House acknowledge the responsibility of all New Zealanders to care
for one another, to honour the sanctity of each and every one of us, and act
with justice, equity and respect in all that we say and do." Fine words,
but note the phrase 'in particular of Muslims'. This could easily be read
as putting Muslims on a rung higher than everyone else. Is that what they
meant? Very unlikely.
And note the other phrase 'to
honour the sanctity of each and every one of us.' Compare this to this
clause from the Green
Party's Policy on Women: Review abortion services to ensure equity of
access for women throughout New Zealand. So it's all right to honour
the sanctity of each and every one of us in a fancy, rhetorical style,
but when it boils down to honouring the sanctity of the lives of children as
yet unborn, the Green Party wants to ensure that women claiming their 'right'
to do what they want with their own bodies, can abort these
children.
With one hand the Green Party
hoists itself up a notch with its fine words; with the other it drops back
again into the same old tired slogans.
In another paragraph from the NZ
Herald's report we have: But while some, including Dr Ghani
[President of the Federation of Islamic Associations], said they accepted [Mr
Prosser's] apology at face value, others, including Prime Minister John Key and
Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres, were doubtful. Mr Key's
comment was: if he's apologised he's just doing that to move on.
Huh? Would Mr Prosser apologise in order to stand still? He had
no reason to apologise in the first place, but having apologised he's supposed
to act as if he hasn't apologised. Please, Mr Key. Speak logically
if you will (and remember that every time you open your mouth you tend to
contradict something you said on other occasion; it's all reported by the
media). David Shearer said anyone holding Mr Prosser's sort of views
shouldn't be an MP. Really? I'd be interested to hear what the
criteria are for being an MP. It might be enlightening.
The right honourable Hone Hawawira was so incensed with Mr Prosser he
wouldn't even let him make a personal statement in Parliament. Where was
the Speaker at that time - or has Harawira decided that he makes the
rules in the House now? Note that this is the same Mr Harawira who swore
in response to a question from a student at Waikato University in which the
student, Steve Baron, referred to Māori as a "minority group," (which
statistically, they are). Harawira said Mr Baron was a racist who "lumped
Māori in with other minorities like homosexuals and Asians.....He tried it on
and he got his comeuppance." The same Mr Harawira
who was part of a group that assaulted University students with bats and
hoses. The same
Mr Harawira who said he "wouldn't feel comfortable" if one of his
children came home with a Pākehā partner, but he asked whether "all
Pākehās would be happy with their daughters coming home with a Māori boy? The
answer is they wouldn't." He was asked, since some of his whānau have dated Pacific Islanders
and he didn't have an issue with it, "does that make him
prejudiced?" He said "Probably, but how many people don't have
prejudices?"
Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei said Mr Prosser should leave
Parliament. 'This is hate speech, I'm concerned that NZ First continues
to support him.' Green Party members are very concerned about 'hate
speech'. A 74-year-old
German female pensioner was dobbed in by the German Green Party for carrying
a 'hate speech' sign in a demonstration; Presidential Candidate for the Green
Party, Roseanne Barr, called a Christian speaker 'an accomplice to murder' for disagreeing
with liberal views about gay marriage. The problem is, that what the
Green Party calls 'hate speech' used to be called 'free speech' - in other
words, a different opinion on some particular question.
Act Party leader John Banks said
while he'd probably made more mistakes than Mr Prosser, "he needs to fall
on his sword." It's interesting to hear Mr Banks admitting to making
mistakes - he's never apologised before for most of his blunders since he's
been in Parliament.
So, as usual, the upshot is that if there's a chance
to win points off an MP, or a Party, then other MPs or Parties will do
so. Never mind about governing the country; just waste heaps of expensive
time (even more expensive since the last politicians' pay rise at Christmas) on
issues that are small in the overall view of things. Perhaps Mr Prosser
was foolish to write in such an exaggerated fashion. Nevertheless he's
pointing at a real problem, which is that airport security since 2001 has become
a nightmare: it's expensive, it's time-consuming, and it's mostly
unproductive. And worst of all, the innocent passengers who just want to
get from A to B are the ones that suffer.
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