The PM’s arrogant speech at Harvard, where all she had to do to warrant a round of applause was to take a sip from a glass of water, was a grandstanding opportunity to talk about – her. How ironic that she talked up her gun control ‘success’ so that the “sea of crimson gowns erupted with emotion”.
She made that claim despite gang activity in New Zealand that sees communities traumatised by drive-by shootings over turf wars and gun crime reaching never-before-seen levels under her watch.
Given the recent spate of Winchester thuddy-thuddy shoot-ups, these statistics will now be worse. Her gun buy-back scheme was a colossal waste of money that left the gangs in full control of weaponised warfare. Not to mention stabbings, domestic violence and assaults in general, all of which are on the increase.
Crime statistics show “assault victimisations increased by 12.4% (+6,750) compared with the previous 12 months” for the year ending 2020.
Ardern also had a crack at those she described as “keyboard warriors”. She described them (kindly of course, as much was made of her kindness in that same speech), as those who dare to tap away to voice their opinion. She said:
“In my mind, when I read something especially horrific on my feed, I imagine it’s written by a lone person, unacquainted with personal hygiene practices, dressed in a poorly fitted superhero costume – one that is baggy in all the wrong places.”
stuff.co.nz/national/politics/128774793/jacinda-ardern-uses-harvard-speech-to-lash-keyboard-warriors-attack-disinformation
Back to the days of the great unwashed then. Those of us who are “ordinary or common people who do not have a lot of money, power, or social status” are called out as being dirty, poorly dressed loners in voluminous garments. How kind of her. This was in her speech described as “Democracy, disinformation and kindness”.
Even political commentator Josie Pagani thought the PM’s speech was “slightly sneering” and she “noticed the ‘jarring’ description of keyboard warriors and questioned whether it is time for the ‘be kind’ message to run its course.”
The “be kind” mantra was a marketing ploy as part of our indoctrination about Covid. Jacinda Ardern would be well advised to let well enough alone and put it to rest.
If she can’t demonstrate kindness, she has no business demanding it of others.
While again playing dress-up (surely cultural appropriation?) at Harvard she demonstrated unkindness, disinformation, and autocracy all in one speech while being lauded for her success and rewarded with a fake, sorry, honorary doctorate. In Law, no less, yet another discipline of which she knows nothing.
She used her address to call for social media to clean up its act, saying she was concerned about violence, extremism and conspiracy theories. However it was her comment on New Zealand’s move to ban assault rifles and gun reforms after the Christchurch terror attack that got her the loudest applause. It wasn’t New Zealand’s call, it was hers and it was misguided.
She also wants “more action by social media companies to try to tackle the spread of misinformation and radicalisation – saying it was becoming a threat to democracy”.
As long as the media say what she wants then all is well. But, have a different point of view, and we are guilty of peddling ‘disinformation’ or its cousins ‘misinformation’ and ‘malinformation.’ Her hypocrisy is staggering.
She talked about how in the past, when she used social media:
“We found a place to share information, facts, fiction dressed up as facts, memes, and more cat videos than you ever thought possible.
“We found a place to experience new ways of thinking and to celebrate our difference.
“But increasingly, we use it to do neither of those things.
“I doubt anyone has ever created a group titled ‘political views I disagree with, but choose to enter into respectful dialogue with to better understand alternative perspectives’.”
Jacinda Ardern’s Harvard University Commencement speech
Having been allowed the freedom herself to experience new ways of thinking and to celebrate difference as she did, she now demands that we do not have that same freedom and that we be despised if we express our opinions.
Did she meet with the Freedom protesters who wished to enter into respectful dialogue?
Did she allow the Speaker to torture those peaceful protesters?
We all of course know the answers to those questions. As I said, her hypocrisy is staggering.
Reuters in 2020 said:
“…Ardern, who made a name for herself by crushing COVID-19 in the country and healing the nation after a massacre of Muslims by a white supremacist, faces a challenge to show her leadership extends beyond crisis management and kindness.
reuters.com/article/us-newzealand-election-newsmaker/new-zealands-ardern-storms-to-re-election-with-be-strong-be-kind-mantra-idUSKBN2720HI
She did not crush Covid. She crushed New Zealand. She didn’t heal divisions. She created them.
Her leadership does not extend to kindness, nor to crisis management. She lacks the ability to run a tight economic ship in the dangerous waters of inflation. Her Captain’s calls have led us onto the rocks of a cost-of-living crisis, of rampant inflation, of greater poverty than she could ever have dreamed of, along with truancy levels that are frightening in their implications for the future of this country.
“Truancy levels in New Zealand are now some of the worst in the OECD.”
https://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=353560
The truancy level is not a concern just in reading, writing and arithmetic. It is an issue that extends beyond childhood leading to increasing crime, increasing gang membership, lower employment and income potential, increased drug use, increased rates of incarceration, decreased numeracy and decreased problem-solving skills. It is a disastrous outcome for a country that once prided itself on its literacy and numeracy achievements.
Jacinda Ardern is the biggest threat to democracy that this country has ever seen and she has ample time to do yet more damage before the 2023 election. She is absolutely correct when she says that “democracy can be fragile”, and its fragility and destruction are visible in our once democratic country. How right she is to say “the foundation of a strong democracy includes trust in institutions, experts and government – and that this can be built up over decades but torn down in mere years.”
Six years is all it has taken for her to destroy it.