In Parliament last Wednesday, Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi said the government “will not waver in its mission to exterminate Māori”.

Tad hyperbolic, don’t you think?

  • absGeekNZ
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    2 months ago

    As a minor party, they need to do something to pull attention to themselves and the issues they care about.

    But you are correct, there is a fine balance between getting attention for the issues you care about and becoming a parody of yourself.

    Ask yourself the question, would we be discussing this and thinking about these issues if they had been less extreme?

    • IlovethebombOP
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      2 months ago

      would we be discussing this and thinking about these issues if they had been less extreme?

      If they had been less extreme, we’d be discussing the message, not the messenger.

      • absGeekNZ
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        2 months ago

        Maybe. Or would it just fly under the radar of public consciousness?

        I think this particular instance has moved into the parody territory. But it is so easy to miss the mark, what gets reported on is not decided by what issues we care about, but by what will generate interest.

      • Rangelus
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        2 months ago

        You always bring up the messenger and ignore the message. No-one else here does that so regularly.

        This is why formal logic should be taught in schools. Saying that the way the messenger gets their message across is the reason to ignore the message is the very definition of Ad Hominem.

        • IlovethebombOP
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          2 months ago

          The message was that the government is trying to exterminate Maori, did you not read the article?

          • Rangelus
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            2 months ago

            If you think that’s the message TPM is trying to get across, then you are dumber than I gave you credit.

              • Rangelus
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                2 months ago

                It’s not a particularly nuanced statement in the first place, is it?

                You know full well what their intent is with this rhetoric. You know full well the point they are trying to raise. The fact that you insist on arguing about the messenger and tone of message shows you don’t want to engage with the problem being raised in good faith.

                • IlovethebombOP
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                  2 months ago

                  don’t want to engage with the problem being raised in good faith.

                  Do you think TPM is engaging in good faith with a statement like that?

                  • Rangelus
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                    2 months ago

                    I don’t care about the tone, I don’t think they are serious, I think they are using hyperbole to bring attention to the issue. They are a minor party, I doubt we would be talking about it otherwise.

                    I am capable of engaging in the discussion without focussing only on the tone of message and dismissing everything else.

      • BalpeenHammer
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        2 months ago

        You are discussing the messenger, everybody in this thread is discussing the message. That’s because you are obsessed with identity politics.