Racism difficult to discuss here

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

With all the recent events around a comment made and then shared about “not enough Maori were killed” when James Cook landed I have decided it is important to unpack why this unfortunate statement is a belief held by some members of our community and why it is so difficult to discuss.

Racism, bigotry, sexism and all of the “isms”are difficult to discuss because they show us the less pleasant side of our humanity. They aren’t characteristics we wish to be known for and not topics we willingly enter into on a daily basis. I have been inspired by Dr Camara Jones who was a guest here recently. When we see racism, she believes many ignore it, turn away from it or minimalise it but if we are to truly change racist attitudes, we need to decide to act and speak up.

That is what I believe this whole issue is challenging us to do — speak up and change the conversation into a more meaningful engagement and chance to learn. I am an advocate of more education around why racism continues to cause such hurt in today’s world.

Dr Jones shared some metaphors for racism and said there are three types of racism. The first is institutionalised racism, which is about differential access to the goods, services and opportunities of society by “race”. Examples of this are found in housing, education, employment and income, medical facilities, clean environment, information, resources and voice. It explains the association between social class and “race”.

The next is personally mediated racism where there are differential assumptions and the abilities, motives and intents of others by “race”, then differential actions based on those assumptions. This leads to prejudice and discrimination.

Internalised racism is the process where there is an acceptance by the stigmatised “races” of negative messages about our own abilities and intrinsic worth. This is where we see self-devaluation, “white man’s ice” is colder syndrome, resignation, helplessness, hopelessness. We accept limitations to our full humanity.

When we look at the ongoing disparities and inequality for Maori it is evident these three types of racism are embedded in systems and the people who create the systems. For many Maori internalised racism has been generational and continues to hold many back from reaching their full potential.

Recently at a meeting I attended to discuss child wellbeing it was mentioned that we used to hear young people talk about being an astronaut or having a bigger vision for their future careers and that is simply not the case now. Studies show that low expectations on children by their teachers leads to them having lower aspirations. The loss of a vision of greatness is because of belief in oneself, and for so long many young Maori have simply come to believe they are not good enough.

Dr Jones discusses a number of impacts racism has not just on individuals but on society as a whole. One profound impact is that racism is sapping the strength of the whole society by wasting human resources.

So where to from here? New Zealander of the Year Taika Waititi has a great message about racism in a video supported by the NZ Human Rights Commission. It’s a simple message — “give nothing to racism”. Racism starts small. Sometimes it lives in everyday actions and comments that we laugh off, nod in agreement to, excuse, and therefore accept. But we don’t have to. We can stop casual racism from growing into something more extreme. We can give it no encouragement. No respect. No place. No power. We can give it nothing.