“The word ‘racism’,” says Thomas Sowell. “Is like ketchup. It can be put on practically anything.” Including vaccines.
Maori, and especially Maori children, have some of the lowest rates of vaccination in New Zealand. That might be because Maori parents are just more reluctant than most to subject their children to a dubious vaccination that they don’t even need (which might be evidenced by the strong presence of Maori-heritage leaders in the NZ “Freedom” movement). A more negative assessment might be that it’s because Maori parents are, on the whole, more neglectful (which, again, might be evidenced by the documented higher relative rates of child neglect in the Maori community, including a homicide rate nearly 3.5 times the non-Maori rate).
Nah — just blame it on “racism” instead.
The Government must accord tamariki Maori vaccination an urgent priority as New Zealand enters the vaccine roll-out for 5- to 11-year-olds.
Our tamariki comprise 53.3 per cent of all cases and 63 per cent of all hospitalisations in the under-12 age group.
Two things to bear in mind: firstly, “cases” doesn’t necessarily mean “sick”; in fact, nearly always, it doesn’t — it just means, “tested positive”.
Secondly, “63%” might sound scary, but it almost certainly includes children who are not even sick, but have been “hospitalised” because their parents have been, in essentially a kind of medicalised child care service. More importantly, a total of just 45 children under 10 have been hospitalised (either way) in the last six months — and none of them in ICU.
So, the idea that a wave of plague is claiming Maori children is a flat-out lie.
The disturbing tamariki figures reflect the higher disease burden on Maori during the current community outbreak. While Maori are 17.1 per cent of the population, we make up 44.8 per cent of cases, 39.2 per cent of hospitalisations and 50 per cent of deaths.
It is only a surge in Pakeha holiday cases while seeking fun under a pandemic sun, and overseas returnees that means we are no longer the highest number of active cases.
Given that covid is a disease that mostly only badly affects the old and gravely unhealthy, perhaps it might be pertinent to question whether Maori ought to be more responsible for their overall health?
While we’re spreading the racist sauce over everything, here’s my dollop: it’s racist to blame white people for “seeking fun”, while not holding brown people to account for seeking too much KFC and Winnie Blues.
But, no, this brown racist blames white people even for being old, whining that over-65 “Pakeha” were “privileged” over younger, unhealthy Maori.
In fact, white people aren’t even allowed to talk to brown people.
Communications must be By Maori For Maori.
Stuff
Nice segregation you got there, bro. Do we get separate drinking fountains, too?
This is all yet another sad outcome of the racism of low expectations. Instead of treating Maori like grown-ups who should be expected to make informed, responsible decisions for their and their children’s health, it infantilises them. As C. S. Lewis once wrote, to be treated as an adult who ought to know better is to be treated as a human person.