Free speech as a cover for hate
“No one’s exercise of free speech should make another feel less free.” — Moana Jackson
I am fuming y’all.
Don Brash and a group of his mates have raised $50,000 to sue Auckland Council for their decision to stop two YouTubers, famous for spreading bigoted views, from booking a council venue.
They weren’t banned from the country — just banned from a venue owned by the public.
Brash says his group are protecting ‘free speech’. But we know that’s not true. Brash has spent the last decade trying to shut down any and all speech in te reo Māori.
His lobby group, Hobson’s Pledge, has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars shutting down Māori participation in politics.
What Brash cares about is stirring up racial divisions and maintaining his own power.
Do you want to know what really makes me mad?
Earlier this year, Renae Maihi launched a petition that gathered 75,000 signatures asking Parliament to remove business mogul Bob Jones’ knighthood, following a column in which he proposed a “Māori Gratitude Day” in place of Waitangi Day where Māori would serve non-Māori out of “gratitude for existing”.
The column and Bob Jones were widely described as racist, as he has been described many times over the last 30 years. Here’s a quote from something he wrote in 1988 (the year I was born):
“An objective outsider assessing the state of affairs in this country would be excused for quickly concluding that Maoris [sic] are genetically an inferior race.”
He later goes on to say that he doesn’t actually think that in a long-winded rambling piece that hurts my heart to read. Here’s another quote from that same ‘article’:
“To an increasing degree, the Maori [sic] is a passenger in contemporary society, a modern “white man’s burden” and that should not be.”
Bob Jones has been able to get away saying these kinds of hateful things under the guise of “free speech” for my entire life.
But now, with the shoe on the other foot, he is suing Renae Maihi for defamation for starting a petition to defend Waitangi Day and Māori people.
Renae is a wahine Māori (Māori woman), grassroots filmmaker and Mum. Bob Jones is one of the wealthiest men in the country who has been given a huge platform for spreading his views.
In my view, Jones’ lawsuit is an attempt to silence Renae’s voice, and the voice of others, who dare speak out against racism. Because if she loses, she will have to pay for Bob Jones’ legal costs.
I think that’s wrong. So, earlier this year, we launched a Givealittle campaign to raise funds to tautoko (support) Renae. It has raised $19,000. That’s $31,000 less than what Don Brash and his mates have managed to raise in a matter of days.
My question is: Where were these defenders of “free speech” when it was a wahine Māori standing up for her people against one of the wealthiest men in the country?
In Germany, they have greater protections against hate speech than we do here in Aotearoa.
Volksverhetzung is a concept in German criminal law that refers to incitement of hatred against segments of the population.
The way this works in practice is that some views such as racism or denying the Holocaust, are deemed unconstitutional and can be denied a public platform. Everyone has a right to gather and protest, but the people of the city can decide if you get to protest on the side streets or the main routes.
Maybe we need something like that here in Aotearoa?
Over the next 12 months, we have a long-term campaign plan to:
- Uncover the impact of hate speech on human rights and minority voices by collecting people’s stories and generating a people powered report like the one we did last year on mental health;
- Protect democracy from mis and disinformation by researching the spread, influence and patterns of fake and misleading news and its impacts on public harmony;
- Unleash the power of digital tools to build a vibrant, transparent democracy by modelling a better way.
We also plan to support Renae all the way to her court case early next year.
If you would like to help us with either of these efforts, we would love that.
Click here to donate to Renae’s fighting fund
Click here to donate to our campaign to defend New Zealanders from hate speech
Around the world we are witnessing the rise of opportunistic politicians fuelling racial division to maintain their power. Politicians who point the blame for society’s problems at people of colour or people with less money instead of the massive multinational corporations who have accumulated more wealth and power than entire countries. Bill Gates has more wealth than 140 countries. In 2018, 82% of all created wealth went to the 1% with billionaires making enough money in just 12 months to end extreme poverty forever.
We can’t allow that trend to grab hold here. We must stand up for what’s right. The world is counting on us to show a better, kinder way.
I believe we can do this.
The other way you can help protect human rights today is by supporting E-Tangata, an independent Māori and Pacific media platform. Click here to read a piece written for E-Tangata about free speech by constitutional lawyer and wise elder Moana Jackson, and chip in to support if you can.
References:
- Auckland ‘alt-right’ event cancelled due to ‘health and safety’, Newshub, 6 July 2018
- Don Brash’s free speech group raises $50k to sue Auckland Council, Newshub, 10 July 2018
- Don Brash’s scathing statement on Te Reo usage, Newshub, 29 Nov 2017
- Twitter is ridiculing ‘racist propaganda’ Hobson’s Pledge, The Wireless, 23 June 2017
- Why we need Māori wards, The Spinoff, 14 May 2018
- The Bob Jones knighthood petition has been delivered. Will anyone listen?, The Spinoff, 28 March 2018
- Straight Talking About The Race Crisis, North & South, 1988
- Sir Bob Jones files defamation proceedings against filmmaker accusing him of ‘hate speech’, NZ Herald, 6 June 2018
- Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz, German Criminal Code, Federal Ministry of Justice, Germany
- You can read more about the views of one of the speakers here at Hope Not Hate.
- Countries billionaires could buy, Forbes, 30 Sep 2009
- Reward work not wealth, Oxfam Report 2018
