Entry 2406, on 2025-07-29 at 13:01:23 (Rating 4, News)
It seems that every little change, no matter how insignificant, today is treated as if it is some sort of big deal. Maybe this is just people concentrating on the trivial, but also it might be a sign of a deeper problem. The latest manifestation of this is the wording on the New Zealand passport, or should I say Aotearoa passport, because that is the issue: should the usual name, "New Zealand" appear first or the "Maori equivalent" (which it might or might not really be), "Aotearoa"?
You might ask "who cares?" and many people don't, but there are also a lot of people who have strong feelings on this, on both sides. So why does the order of wording on an official document have so much significance? I think it is a surface indicator of a deeper issue.
If you haven't realised it by now I am surprised, but we are in the middle of a culture war. The two sides are the conventional and the woke. If you read this blog you will see many examples of where I discuss the problems with the woke mindset, so it should be fairly clear which side I am on, but I do have to admit that woke-ism is not entirely without merit, it's just that it goes too far, just like every other ideology of its type.
So the passport issue is a part of a process some call "Maorification": that is, applying Maori cultural elements to the greater society of the country. Again, there is no problem in having this to an extent, but many people also feel this has gone too far.
For example, there are constant calls, and attempts at implementation, to rename major place names which currently have English names with their Maori equivalent. So the city I live in, Dunedin, might be renamed to "Otepoti" (if I remember correctly). Is this a good thing? Well, I don't think so. There are already many places around the country with Maori names, so what's wrong with others, especially those with Western origins like our major cities, using English names so we have some balance?
And the same applies to the country as a whole. There is a great deal of debate over what Maori called the country, and even if they had a name for it at all. There certainly seems to be good reason to suspect that Aotearoa, the usual Maori equivalent, is not particularly legitimate. We could rename the country, because many other countries have done this already, especially after gaining independence from colonial powers, but that doesn't mean we should.
I hope that what I have said so far is fairly moderate and reasonable, although I suspect some of the more extreme individuals on the woke side might already be trying to decide whether I'm a fascist, Nazi, or racist, or more likely, all three. But even though I try to think of these things in a moderate and centrist way, I do find myself becoming increasingly combative regarding this issue.
Because, as I said above, it really has become a culture war, and I am firmly on the side of Western beliefs and traditions, although I don't follow them all. For example I think Christianity has some merit, but I don't believe it is literally true.
So, even when a minor or purely symbolic issue arises, like the order of words on the passport, or the name we refer to cities or the country as, I tend to reject any attempts at emphasising Maori culture and beliefs. Pro-Maori activists are my enemy in this war, and I will do whatever I can to obstruct their efforts.
Note that I am not against Maori people as a whole, I am against "pro-Maori activists", which includes a lot of people who aren't themselves Maori and also excludes a large proportion of the total Maori population. So it's not a race I am against, it is an ideology.
I have taken up this conflict in a fairly low-key way. I write blog posts (like this) exposing the excesses of woke activity, I debate people on-line (and off-line on occasions) who I see as being too woke, and I refuse to participate (as much as possible) in efforts at Maorification. For example, if someone greets me with "kia ora" (Maori for hello, and many other things) I reply with "hi" or, if I am in a particularly obnoxious mood and want to make a point, "bonjour"!
But I am still fairly practical about this. When the more woke elements of the media, especially TVNZ, throw in the occasional Maori word, I just accept it, even though there are many phrases they use over and over and I still don't know for sure what they mean (I also suspect that the majority of New Zealanders don't know). But if they "babble on in the idiot language" (a deliberately provocative phrase I sometimes use) for too long, I just turn the TV off and watch some old Top Gear episodes on YouTube instead. You should try it. It's amazing how good a remedy for rampant woke-ism that is!
You might think I am exaggerating the problem or getting upset about nothing, but I don't think so. I know that the "thin end of the wedge" or "slippery slope" argument is often an informal logical fallacy and should be avoided, but my opponents in this controversy have shown that they are never satisfied and always want more. I think we should stop that, and this is war!
Comment 1 (8256) by Jim Cable on 2025-07-29 at 14:25:38:
The first of the maori-name-change attempts was at Russell in the far north, where te tiriti activists campaigned to have it changed to be named "Kororareka". The name supposedly translated as being "the soup of the little blue penguin" - a luxury said to have been given to an ailing Maori chief which revived him.
I wrote to the mayor of the far North Council to advise him that if "Kororareka" had been at any time the name of the area, it would have had to have been accorded AFTER the establishment of Russell, because Maori were unable to boil water until the settlers introduced them to the use of pots and pans. (Prior to European settlement, Maori had no pottery or metal-crafting skills and thus no means to contain water to boil it)
As, by the submission of Maori, the chief had been fed soup - which necessitates the boiling of water - the name of the township of "Russell" obviously predated any Maori name for the area.
It's interesting as a footnote that when the matter was examined by (I think) the Geographic Board, the name of Russell was determined to continue as the official name.
Comment 2 (8257) by OJB on 2025-07-29 at 15:08:42:
Yes, we get a few wins in this battle, and more recently now that the government isn't quite as woke as it was (still too woke for my liking).
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please leave a message below.
You can leave comments about this entry using this form.
To add a comment: enter a name and email (optional), type the number shown, enter a comment, click Add. Note that you can leave the name blank if you want to remain anonymous. Enter your email address to receive notifications of replies and updates to this entry. The comment should appear immediately because the authorisation system is currently inactive.
BLOG PAGE