James Meager's maiden speech was widely praised by the media where he took aim at opposition MPs. He sits down with Hikurangi Jackson to discuss whakapapa and identity.
Brilliant. Incredible in this day and age he has to apologize for calling himself 'part-Maori". If he had said he was "part-European" no-one would have even blinked. He is stating a DNA fact that probably applies to most, if not all, those who label themselves "Maori" and for whom selective cultural identity and activism is their chosen fashion.
Every maori is a victim. Whether they know it or not. I was like him, I thought Maori activists were all Extremists and radicals, UNTIL I took the step to start my own journey into Te Ao Maori, to learn Te Reo Maori, and to find out who I am and where I come from. Your views on small businesses and the economy don't make you who you are. Those are superficial opinions. What you have inside, your blood, your Mana, your spirit, make you who you are, and until you understand that, and I mean REALLY understand that, and you can not understand it until you allow yourself to fully understand where you came from, what those before you endured to allow you to be the man you are, and you can not allow yourself to do that until you open your mind to that journey. Until you do that, you absolutely ARE a victim, whether you agree with it or not, whether you like it or not. Because to understand your own history, is to understand the history of your people. And when you understand the history of your people, you will understand that you ARE a victim.
