George
Ardern is the queen of grief. The supreme ruler of mournfulness, heartache and anguish. Sympathy just isn’t enough for her. She has to suffer the pain and mortification that is normally reserved for the families and the loved ones of the victims, not for a complete stranger. The melancholy becomes intense when her grieving involves international visitors.
A minute’s silence a week after the White Island tragedy is headline-grabbing throughout the world. Akin to November 11th, Remembrance Day, when we remember the twenty million servicemen and women and innocent victims who fell in the line of duty during the first World War. Why did Ardern call for the country to observe a minute’s silence because some lost their lives visiting an active volcano?
The only ones who observed this were those who were at the site in Whakatane and the COLs who stood in a solemn circle exhibiting sober reflection as the TV cameras rolled. Really? What I would appreciate is if this same mob would exhibit such mournfulness every time a child is killed by a dropkick adult. Or every time an innocent person is killed by a speeding motorist fleeing police. Death arrives in many shapes and for their loved ones the pain is not graduated by degrees. Whether you are killed on an active volcano or drowned in a swimming pool the loss is just as severe.
Of course Ardern should acknowledge the tragedy but by embedding herself in the grieving process you must ask the question, is it genuine or is it political? I think it is neither. She has found a niche in which she performs well, she receives adulation and positive international coverage. If ever one needed positive reinforcement it’s her because every other thing she touches disintegrates into a shambolic travesty. The tears of grief are much more palatable than the tears of failure.
