An artist’s impression of how the silo will look.
Immediately following the Christchurch massacre nearly 20,000 people signed petitions asking for Jacinda Ardern to be in line for the next Nobel peace prize. The three little words that captured the world?s attention were ?they are us?.
This was masterful marketing, because the Christchurch Muslims are New Zealanders, albeit very different from the traditional New Zealander. Ardern convinced the world that we live on a level playing field where any variety of religious persuasion is welcome. Ardern portrayed us as totally inclusive.
Ardern sold the concept of inclusion into a world being torn apart by hate and violence, making her a paragon of religious tolerance and an overnight sensation.
Our Aussie neighbours have their own way of expressing support for the merry throng of Ardern admirers. Quote.
A silo in Brunswick in Melbourne, Australia will feature a large mural of New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern hugging a woman in the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings.
More than $11,750 was crowdfunded in just over a day for a street artist to paint the Tinning Street silos with a photo of the leader wearing a hijab and the Arabic word for peace written underneath.? End of quote.
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But without further catastrophic events how long will this wave of popularity last and how will Ardern maintain traction?
Her American liberal ally, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, has the solution in shutting down social media. She said ?social media poses a public health risk to everybody.?
That?s the way to keep brand Ardern alive – by shutting down public discussion and silencing dissenters.
The media is instrumental in making this ploy work. They only present news that promotes inclusivity and they shield or play down Ardern dissenters.
The French government stifled dialogue on the cause of the Notre Dame fire. Before the fire was contained and with investigators nowhere near they suggested that renovations had sparked the fire. This pre-empted the investigation and shut down unwanted discussion about the most likely culprits.
Academic and religious historian Peter Lineham argues that the Crusaders name should be dropped because it refers to a period of history that should make us feel uncomfortable. ?Rather than discussing the subject he’d rather we forget about the history of the Christian-Muslim conflict.
Here and overseas, measures are taken to prevent discussion by putting them off limit. Politicians, media, academia and bureaucracy are on a mission to stop “hate speech” which can be interpreted as being any unwanted discussion.
The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, completed a Bachelor of Communication Studies in Public Relations and Political Science at Waikato University in 2001, which equipped her very well for selling a story – but not well for delivering on promises. This Achilles heel will deal a fatal blow eventually.
Ardern campaigned on a reduction in child poverty; she promised light rail from the Auckland waterfront to Dominion Road and Mount Roskill by 2021, and 100,000 affordable homes for the poor. She hasn’t delivered on any of these, instead throwing us an additional fuel tax and killing the future of the New Zealand oil and gas industry.
When are we going to hear ?we?ve done this” instead of ?let?s do this”?
Ardern markets well but ends up ducking and diving for cover when asked for details because that is not her area of expertise. Details are delegated to the many working groups paid handsomely to complete the work we expected her government to do.
Brand Ardern will be hoist by its own petard for not delivering on promises. She is a modern example of the snake oil salesman.