For some time, I have been starting to feel uneasy with many things being said & done by others who also consider themselves 'progressive' or left wing.
The absolutism and extremism of conservatives is fairly well known, but what I think is happening is the extremes of both ‘left’ & ‘right’, seem to be on the rise.
The two topics that I will focus on mostly, are the transgender discussion & the moves to support & respect Maori culture, here in New Zealand/Aotearoa. I grew up in this country, and will always consider myself a Kiwi first, even though I have spent a lot of time in Australia & other countries.
I remember two great lecturers I had at Canterbury University in the 1980s: Rob Stevens & Nicola Swainson. Both were Political Science lecturers (one of my majors in my degree, along with Sociology). Both lecturers had come from Southern Africa, and both had strong grounding in Marxist analysis of history, exploitation & oppression. At the time, South Africa was under the grip of Apartheid & the two main liberation movements there were PAC & ANC (Pan African Congress & African National Congress). I remember Rob in particular, talked about the need for analysis, not just morality. It is vital to understand the systems that lead to exploitation, not just the experiences & feelings of those impacted. The ANC was closely aligned with the South African Communist Party, had multi racial membership, & had a clear understanding that racial hierarchy was used for the economic exploitation of black people under capitalism. The PAC was race based & was very focused on the oppression experienced by black people, with less focus on economic exploitation. The PAC was very strong in the school’s movement of students against having to learn Afrikaans. Protests by these students saw hundreds of them murdered especially in Soweto in 1976. The PAC had support from China which had also supported the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, very moralistic & culturally twisted where people were grouped into good & bad. Very charismatic. The ANC in contrast had support from the Soviet Union and I think its methods were more structured & planned.
The tendency to moralise and define others as good or bad, can so easily turn into division & war.
These lecturers have left a strong influence on me and how I try to analyse what is going on.
I think this analytical approach has also favoured me in my understanding and effort to think critically, something that can assist all of us in how we view other people & situations. Critical thinking has started to be taught in more schools in recent years. The idea to seek out various different sources on any topic, the more divergent the better. In the process, we aim to figure out for ourselves what makes sense & what we consider to be true, or what might be the best strategies moving forward. While this approach is being used in some schools, I believe that this strategy is vital for all of humanity.
So many people grow up believing what they are told by family, teachers, peers, society, media, government etc. It is so important to be able to think for yourself, and it is a great thing to study alternative ideas & opinions in an open objective way to make sense of any situation. We are not seeing this as much presently as in the recent past.
Political meltdowns that we have been seeing around the world, but especially in the US with the election of Trump in 2016, seems to show this extremism intensifying, and people moving into polarised groupings. We have seen this with Covid/ vaccines & Black Lives Matter and many other topics. The rise of conspiracy theories has been part of this process too, and where as once there was more middle ground, it seems that many have moved to one camp or the other.
The Covid pandemic has been a challenge for many countries and many people died especially during the original wave & the 2021 Delta wave. Omicron still kills, but not on the same scale, but then again many have received vaccines helping them handle the virus better, and many vulnerable already died in the first two waves. Despite the obvious seriousness of the disease, there have been people in denial about Covid with ideas like that Covid does not really exist, it’s just a cold, its all a strategy to implant you with nano technology! There have been people I know who challenged any lockdowns that had the aim to reduce spread. Here in NZ & Australia, there has been a much lower death rate because of those lockdowns & high vaccine uptake, but what it has fuelled is a belief that Covid was exaggerated. All you have to do is examine the US where lockdowns often failed to happen to see their death rates. Over one million dead. Not on the scale of something like the Spanish Flu or black death, but still a high mortality all the same. To most who believe that vaccination is a useful strategy to reduce disease, it is also understandable that many others would feel caution, getting something new, that has been offered to most of the population in a short period of time. But the background to the situation was the rise of alternative facts. We saw this happen when Trump was President, but often it was a reaction against radical ideas being promoted by some on the left as well. The extremes have been fuelling the rise on each side. The unwillingness to see two sides to a situation can be seen in the vaccination issue. It has become more apparent that some people have died from vaccination or got seriously sick and some have been unwilling to acknowledge this, which amplifies the anti vax viewpoint. But on the other side, we can see how those who received the vaccine had a much higher survival rate from the disease. It is almost like many people are incapable or unwilling to see two opposing ideas: vaccines can save your life or prevent serious illness, but for some there can be serious problems from a vaccine. Overall, as I see it, being vaccinated is a smart plan to stay alive, but it also can have risks.
Another idea that has become a more regular thought for me in the past couple of years is that old statement ‘a little bit of education can be a dangerous thing’. More people have benefitted from some education, can now read or write, but have they learned to question or examine? Education is life long learning. The smartest people know that they do not know it all, and there is always more to learn. We see a lot of people believing things they read or hear without questioning or looking for the facts or looking for other aspects on a topic.
Moving on to the Transgender debate. For me being gay, it has always been a no brainer to support women’s rights & transgender rights. An injury to one is an injury to all. And conservatives have often attacked all three. But what about when the case being made for transgender rights conflicts with women’s rights or as some perceive it?
This is where it seems that some on the left just do not think. Morality to support transgender in all regards has led to a meltdown by some women’s rights activists. The PC tendency by some progressives to label anyone as bad or unenlightened if they do not support a particular view has turned into an ideological war over things that are extremely uncommon, but issues all the same. People like JK Rowling or Posie Parker have been defined as anti-transgender and even fascist, but are they really? I would say maybe in some ways, but we need to examine carefully what is being called for by transgender ‘supporters’.
The two issues that have created the most conflict have been transgender & bathrooms & transgender & sports. Its kind of sad that there seems to have been limited effort by women’s groups & transgender groups to figure out a solution, because in my view, both groups have valid concerns and it should not be used to turn into an attack on women or transgender people.
The concern on bathrooms is that some women do not want to be in a bathroom with a man who is transitioning to be a woman. It is easy to see how that could come across as transphobic, but I can also see how some women may feel unsafe. It may not seem an issue for some, but many women have been abused by men, such as JK Rowling claims, so this has made them much less trusting. It’s a complicated situation where there are concerns on each side, and if not managed properly has potential to turn into an attack on transgender. I think the solution lies in the creation of a gender neutral bathroom. I do not think this discussion should be involving men really. I think this is something for women’s groups & transgender groups to work out together. It is important that women understand the challenging situations & attacks that occur against transgender & it is also important that transgender people understand & respect the danger that some women feel with a male body in a shared bathroom. As a placard said at a rally here in New Zealand last week, ‘trans rights are women’s rights’; it is vital that women & transgender come together to support each other & understand each other’s concerns. What has been happening too much is denying the other groups concern, shutting down conversations & pushing others to be silent or adopt their view.
I actually find the situation of transgender in sport as totally bonkers. I totally get why some transgender or supporters want to end any exclusion, but at the end of the day the fact is that a person who is transgender is not biologically the sex they identify with. For trans women, as various scientific studies show, they will almost always have an advantage over biologically born women in physical strength & speed. To allow a trans woman to compete against a woman who has grown up as a woman, means that the competition is not fair. It sounds nice to include everyone, but realistically if that is going to happen, they may as well make all sporting events male & female combined. Then most medals would be won by men! A bit like women being excluded in Ancient Olympic times. I think these changes have been occurring because many do not want transgender to feel discriminated against, but who misses out because of this? Women in competition would.
The problem with these extremist ideas being pushed by some progressives is that while many such people think they are sticking up for a minority, I actually see the danger in that it creates division over an issue that many would otherwise be reasonably tolerant about. When people feel pressured, some cave in & conform while others become resistant, defensive & dangerous. To move towards genuine acceptance comes when people feel free to choose, not when they feel pressured. When you are labelled as transphobic for disagreeing on some issues, this just creates conflict & division.
Recently, Georgina Bayer passed away. Georgina had been a successful mayor then MP in NZ, a very popular leader who was transgender. There was little opposition and much acceptance of her leadership.
When NZ brought in civil unions first, then later gay marriage, it was an easing into a new idea, rather than forcing people to accept which could have led to resistance. Easy steps.
Maybe I am getting older, but many studies suggest that being hard line on viewpoints is a young adult thing and as we get older, we are more peaceful and see two sides to an issue. Maybe it is a biological change or maybe life experience to see different opinions, or maybe both.
Trying to do anything in a hurry often leads to conflict. Easing people towards change is the best strategy I believe. Adapting to new ideas & procedures seems to work so much better.
The danger of reaction against transgender, gay or women’s rights is still around, so if we push a policy that others do not agree with, it can lead to opposition and that can lead to attacks & violence. But if we embark on policies that bring about improvements that people are willing to support, we build from there. Gradual change.
Many protestors will feel that they won with the speaker Posie Parker making a swift departure from NZ last weekend. But how it looked to me was shutting down a conversation that we need to have. Some of her ideas are totally flawed, but her topic of women & transgender in sport or bathrooms are issues that need discussing, not shutting down. I think Posie could be backed by right wingers in the US and that is what I have heard. But that does not equate that everything she has to say is transphobic or invalid. Her response to the neo nazis in Melbourne doing the heil Hitler salute outside her meeting showing their support for her, had her saying that people can’t be damned based on association. Far better would she have been to totally condemn such a group and what they stand for, but to my knowledge she never did that. Now people wonder if she is soft on fascism. Great to see that the Victorian government plans to move legislation to make the salute a crime. I thought it already would be. It certainly needs to be. NEVER AGAIN!
Posie's arguments fall short in other areas such as wanting to ban drag, which ultimately would suggest that men & women have to wear different clothing! I don’t think many people want to see that! Fluidity and freedom for all including children to be as they are without pressure to be certain ways, can lead to more integrated humans of the future, I believe.
Finally, to write a little about issues here in Aotearoa/NZ for restoring rights of the first nations. A tricky path that some have put us on. I do not believe in co-governance. I think how it has been rolled out by the current government has increased division. Many NZers are feeling threatened that we are being turned into two nations, when I always thought the way forward is integration of Maori ways with Pakeha ways. Blending. Cooperation. Mostly, the concepts of sharing have been much greater in Maori society. Real incorporation of Maori values into our society would mean a huge rethink on land & house ownership & having more equity in our societies. And how we treat the environment. So there might be consultancy groups on ways to incorporate Maori values into government, but it would all be one government. And these changes would evolve with the population. This is about inspiration & connecting to shared visions, not imposing ideas & rules on each other.
There are a lot of NZers doing it tough, and support and other things always need to be based on need, not race. Truth is, because of the impacts of colonialism, there are significant issues for the Maori population, but not all are the same. And of course many poor are Pakeha or other backgrounds. A friend studying the Waitangi Treaty once told me the tribunal to examine land lost etc was not about addressing poverty, but ownership. Colonialism has made many Maori disconnected from tribal roots too, so government always needs to be about representing all Kiwis and ensuring they are all provided for. And that means everyone, all races & backgrounds. There are cases for Maori divisions within government departments due to significant need or strategies that will work, but it must always come back to needs based, not simply race based.
As I have always maintained, any hierarchy or division of wealth, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or anything else is a basis for unfairness & needs to be addressed.
The move to create signs using only Maori was I believe done, by people who are doing things in a hurry, and believed it was the right thing to do. But they did not think about the impact. It just created conflict & opposition. Had the government moved from English only to bilingual signs, there would have been general agreement, but instead we have more division. Government letter heads now have Maori department names in larger bolder writing, and English is smaller. Again, I see this as promoting an unequal message. This will create opposition. It is not about swapping dominance by one for the other. It is about meeting as equals.Throw in a growing population in NZ of working poor, of all races, and anything that seems divisive will become so. So we must not let that happen. All policies need to be planned carefully based not just on what someone thinks is right, but also how it will work & how the average NZer will respond.
A progressive government would move in steps. And anyway, Bilingual would gain agreement. Bilingual is the glue to cement a united future for the nation.
When I was a child, we had a tiny book that had Maori placenames & their meanings. I loved knowing that the language of this country had names for places that had meanings. I loved learning the Maori names of birds & trees. These words resonated for me as a Kiwi. The same with many designs in Maori having similarity to the designs in our plants such as the koru frond. Who would not love all that?
As I have discovered as a teacher, a lot of change comes generationally, and students learn like sponges, soaking up new knowledge. Most of my teaching has been in Australia, and I have loved seeing how students embrace Aboriginal music, language, culture & justice issues.
The best aspects of all cultures will be included in the growing minds, as long as it is offered and not forced. As long as students and others are taught to critically examine & understand history & the development of social & economic justice for all. We need to all stand as equals.
It is important that well meaning progressives do not intensify opposition to acceptance of transgender people or Maori culture & language because they corner people and push too hard. This what I think is happening at the moment. I think Labour & the Greens have strengthened its hold on some of its followers, but I think a lot of people have been turned off by a sense of decisions being made that they have not agreed to. And a sense that there is no allowance for alternative thoughts or views.
It is important that all people feel equal. Anything that tries to elevate some group above others, whether done by conservatives or progressives will lead to conflict & a sense of injustice.
Tolerance & justice & fairness & equality: these are the traits to foster in and for all of humanity.
Do
trans athletes have an unfair advantage? – DW – 07/24/2021
Professor
of physiology says transgender athletes have advantage in speed, power |
Stuff.co.nz
Chris
Hipkins condemns physical violence at protest after Posie Parker doused in red
juice | Newshub
What
has JK Rowling said about trans rights? | The Independent
Marama
Davidson refuses to apologise publicly over 'white cis men' comment | Newshub
The
worrying rise in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in the United States |
(thedailydigest.com)
Why We
Should Embrace Māori Renaming | Newsroom
'When
will this insanity stop?': Agatha Christie books latest to get 'woke rewrite'
(msn.com)
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