Dame Susan Devoy: Sense of pride more important

Human nature never ceases to amaze me.
The furore over the "Wellywood" sign to be erected in Wellington has reached such gigantic proportions that it appears the project may be shelved.
Strategically placed on the Miramar hill, I think the Wellington Airport company saw the Wellywood sign as a comedic, tongue-in-cheek way to promote the successes of Peter Jackson's movies, but it seems not everybody sees the lighter side with even the Prime Minister expressing his dislike.
I respect and admire people for having strong opinions, having the courage of their convictions to stand up for what they believe in, that is our entitlement for living in a democratic society. But given the issues we currently face it seems unbelievable that people would go to such lengths to protest against a sign. Heaven help me.
In New Zealand a woman is murdered every five weeks by her partner and a child is abused virtually every day but we don't start Facebook pages to highlight this scab on our society's landscape and nor do we march or create havoc in order to get people to stand up and take notice.
Have we lost a sense of what's really important?
The reaction quite surprised me. Generally we are quite an apathetic lot. Look at the voting turnout for local body elections. When we have an opportunity to decide how and by whom our city is governed, the dismal voting turnout (seldom beyond 50 per cent) demonstrates we really can't be bothered.
This sign business has got up a lot of people's noses. It has raised a lot of issues around identity, branding and symbolism.
Wellington, according to Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, has worked incredibly hard to build a reputation as the nation's political and cultural capital and, in particular, as a city with a creative edge in the film industry.
And they are worried that a sign may undo all that good. They must feel incredibly insecure about their standing in the world and let's be honest the rest of the world probably won't know or won't care, apart from those in Hollywood of course.
If Wellington defines itself as the cultural capital of the world it makes me ponder as to how we would define our fair city.
Imagine if we desecrated Mauao with a tacky sign. I wonder what the reaction would be if a $10 note was emblazoned on our famous landmark depicting the "$10 Tauranga" trademark we have become famous for. I continue to get good-natured ribbing from friends who still believe Tauranga is best known as God's waiting room or the bible belt of NZ.
But seriously, notwithstanding the iconic Mauao and the main beach, I'm not sure we have a real identity within New Zealand. I look to Napier as the home of art deco and now even Cambridge the Home of Champions is well on its way to establishing itself as a centre of sporting excellence.
Even as a region we always seem to be the poor cousin to Waikato. If it is a genuine amalgamation of two regions then when I see the Magic netball team or the Chiefs rugby team I only see a sea of red, black and yellow and nothing that associates them with the Bay of Plenty.
I appreciate a sign, a brand or even a festival will not define us, having a sense of pride and a feeling of belonging is far more significant.
Perhaps those protesting in Wellington genuinely believe that Wellywood is a serious threat to their sense of pride.