The New Zealand Parliament has voted to impose record suspensions on three lawmakers who did a Maori haka as a protest. The incident took place last November during a debate on a law on Indigenous rights.
New Zealand’s parliament on Thursday agreed to lengthy suspensions for three lawmakers who disrupted the reading of a controversial bill last year by performing a haka, a traditional Maori dance.
Two parliamentarians — Te Pati Maori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi — were suspended for 21 days and one — Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, from the same party — for seven days.
Before now, the longest suspension of a parliamentarian in New Zealand was three days.
Oh go fuck yourself. Can the haka be intimidating as hell? Oh god yes. But you should also be able to recognize the difference between active intimidation and a powerful protest. Especially when YOUR COUNTRY IS KNOWN FOR IT.
Weirdly their ancestors weren’t intimidated when it came to colonizing and stealing their land.
It’s scary now that doing a racism is considered a little more uncouth
Doing a racism is the well-known cultural tradition of the white people and our ancestors.
Weird thing for people to downvote. Acknowledging a painful truth ≠ endorsing it.
I think it is still pretty painful to acknowledge for a lot of people, honestly, so it’s not surprising. At least they’re only downvoting and not jumping into the usual rounds of whataboutism. The goal is to learn from history, not to justify anything that is done or make anyone feel bad, but I’m also not going to apologize for it if it does make people feel bad. To those downvoters: If it makes you feel bad, you know what will make you feel better about it? Do something to make things better. I’m not saying you have to, I’m just saying it might make you feel better about acknowledging the history. Your call.
I bet they were, right up until they killed everyone.
They saw it as a threat because they’re threatening the natives way of life and they’re scared of being in the shoes of the oppressed
Something something “when you’re used to privilege, equality feels like oppression.”