Guy Blue
If you really want to deal with institutional racism in New Zealand, this is the low hanging fruit. It is undeniable that this is pure racism in every sense of the word possible.
When you work your way through the flowchart (below) of decision making, any type 2 diabetic can be considered for the better drugs. However, Maori or Pacific ethnicity (at what point do I become of Pacific ethnicity since I was born in the Pacific and so were my antecedents), are entitled to the better drugs without any further justification. However, non-Maori or Pacific ethnicity MUST have specific additional problems to qualify.
Given that some statistics suggest that 30% of the population is obese and 3,000 people per annum die of obesity-related conditions, this is a much bigger ongoing problem than Covid ever was or will be.
The real division that this causes can be illustrated by looking at a blended family or the family of a solo mother who has children by different fathers. In both cases, their children can have the exact same health problems but the child that has or claims to have Maori or Pacific ethnicity can have access to better drugs than a non-Maori or non-Pacific ethnicity sibling.
To further illustrate my point a non-Maori who despite their so-called ‘white privilege’ is living in a caravan park on the unemployment benefit who presents with the same clinical problems as a rich Maori like perhaps Matthew Tukaki or Willie Jackson, will still not be entitled to the better drugs even though Matthew and Willie would be.
With your help Discrimination of the Day will become a regular segment on The BFD.
Let’s highlight the racism and discrimination inside New Zealand together because it is NOT OK!
There is NOTHING positive about discrimination.
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