Look Who's Talking! Michelle Boag, accuses the Opposition women MPs who staged a walk-out from Parliament, in protest at the Prime Minister accusing them of "backing rapists", of "parading their victimhood". Coming from a former president of New Zealand's victimisers-in-chief - the National Party - this is pretty hard to swallow!
“PARADING THEIR VICTIMHOOD” is how PR maven and former
National Party President Michelle Boag characterised Wednesday’s walk-out by
Opposition women MPs. Justifying her lack of sororal solidarity, Boag,
explained that: “Every other woman in New Zealand who’s been the subject of a
sexual assault doesn’t get the opportunity to do that. They weren’t saying,
‘Look, if you've had these issues, here are all the people you can go to for
help’, they were standing up and saying, ‘Poor me’.”
This is, of course, no justification at all, merely an
attempt to divert attention from the behaviour of the Prime Minister and the
parliamentary protest it inspired. The Green Party and Labour Party women who
rose to take offence at John Key’s accusation that they were “backing rapists”
– some of whom had their microphones turned off by the Speaker and were ordered
from the debating chamber – are members of the House of Representatives.
And that is precisely what they were doing. They were representing all
those women outraged by the Prime Minister’s willingness to tap into the
dreadfulness of rape for no better purpose than to score points off and
distract his political opponents.
As Boag, herself, reminds us, not every victim of sexual
assault gets the opportunity to do that. Or, as Green Party List MP, Jan Logie,
put it: “We used what we could as representatives of others in the country to
point out that to him, as a leader, he needs to take responsibility for his
actions and their consequences on others.”
Rather than pouring scorn on the women from the Opposition,
Boag should have been upbraiding her sisters in the National Party for not
having the courage to join the Opposition women’s protest. Then again, perhaps
the National women were happy to go along with their party leader’s cynical
exploitation of such emotionally-charged words as “rapist”, “murderer” and
“child-molester” to distract the nation from their government’s failure to
adequately defend the rights of New Zealanders detained in Australia’s
concentration camps.
Perhaps, if New Zealand was blessed with a Women’s Minister
who was happy to describe herself as a feminist, a mass walk-out of all
women MPs might have been the result. Perhaps, if the last two Ministers for
Social Development, both of them women, had been willing to educate their male
colleagues about the endless, wearing, anxiety of being a woman without
resources or influence, with two or three children to house, feed, educate and
keep healthy on a Sole Parent Support benefit of $295.37 per week, there would
have been no need.
Because then, their empathy aroused, those National Party
men would not have been willing to countenance any reduction in the monies
allocated to Rape Crisis Centres and Women’s Refuges. Nor would these
compassionate conservatives have tolerated for a moment a Police Commissioner
who was unwilling to impress upon his senior officers the unequivocal legal and
moral obligation to prosecute any young man who intoxicates, violates,
and humiliates on-line, any young woman.
Knowing how committed his male colleagues were to addressing
New Zealand’s appalling record of domestic and sexual violence, the Prime
Minister would then have understood that accusing the men and women of the
Opposition of supporting rapists, murderers and child-molesters was tantamount
to announcing his intention of instantly surrendering the office of Prime
Minister to someone more protective of its worth and dignity.
This essay was posted
on The Daily Blog and Bowalley
Road on Friday, 13 November 2015.
36 comments:
I remembered Michelle Boag parading her lack of ethics around the time of the wind box affair. You got to admire the woman's brass bound balls, she hasn't let it affect her in the least :-). Comments on anything and everything. And often on afternoons with Jim. Must be some sort of rehabilitation program :-).
Oh bollocks Chris.
It was pure political pageantry by the opposition. Nothing more, nothing less.
Not everything National does is right nor not everything Labour does is right.
The truth is that most Kiwis would likely prefer the dangerous element on Xmas island stay put rather than come back here and wreak havoc on the innocent.
I think Key is as slippery as the next guy, but Labour looks like they care more for some crims than they do about the average law abiding Kiwi.
Sorry Chris, I have been in tense and overwhelming situations, you stand your ground, you don not walk out, it is a sign of weakness and the other side wins. The second walkout was organised and futile. The walk outs over the two days were cowardly and shows to me little mettle for the strength and fortitude needed to run a country for continued growth and stability. Good on those Labour and Green MPs who did not desert their trench, but unfortunately they were exposed. National won.
The thing is Michelle was dead right.
The histrionics from these perpetually offended was nothing more than a statement that "it's all about me".
Michelle Boag in a studded dog collar, explains a lot.
As a despicable tactic from Key as part of the National Party's gutter politics, it has worked in the short term. The anger by women of integrity in the House has been illustrated and it was right to do so. Now we must have equality of anger on behalf of our suffering humanity in this gulag Australia has fashioned. That should be first and foremost, and an attempt to improve the situation for all the detainees.
It's possible the average Kiwi would prefer to have them stay in Australia Jason, but that's actually not what the argument is about. The argument is about their treatment while they are in Australia. And in fact that's not what the column was about either. But what did I say previously about low information voters.
Anonymous 1914 your statement is bizarre. Intense and overwhelming situations, whatever they are, you act according to the situation not to some sort of lined belief. How on earth you can suggest that women admitting to being sexually assaulted – which they did by walking out – is cowardly I just don't know.
I suggest Greg, that you walk a mile in their shoes before you suggest that "it's all about me." Jesus Christ the lack of empathy here is appalling.
We should refuse sporting contact with Australia.
As is the way now with a PM who is never held accountable for his lying outburst in the house it is time for accountability in what is said by any and the actions of all in what the do and say in relation to democratic governance of this nation
We need a new moral order or the values of the older times of conduct that is acceptable to all who live by the Golden rule
The govt is morally corrupt and has been thru most of its time in power in many areas of social interaction and is now the cause of such disrepute to the citizen who uphold decency in this country that we as a nation are facing the disintegration of what I grew up with being a society that had respect for all decent walks of life and upheld them in law which has been severely corrupted by various parliamentarians since the demise of the Labour party in the 70s and further corrupted during the 80s and National govts to the present
We as a nation need to bring accountability firmly to the fore in the governance of this nation to maintain and reinstate its sovereignty
Amazing you can't see a grandstanding political stunt when one is performed in front of your eyes.
You have accessed an excellent image of Ms Boag Chris. She presents as a modern-day parody of Mona Lisa. The background simulates the landscape that Leonardo da Vinci painted behind his subject.
For what it is worth I'm going to leave a link to Phil Wallington’s John O’Shea Memorial Address to the 2015 SPADA Conference.
http://www.screenz.co.nz/spada15-the-john-oshea-address/
This is a long speech so I realise that, as many people now have 20 second attention spans, very few will get to the end of it. However, it goes to the heart of much which has been discussed in Chris's recent columns and the comments in reply, so it is well worth the effort for those who still possess the ability to read and apply some intellectual honesty while doing so. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_honesty) .
To genuinely believe,in the whole context of what was said,that Key was somehow unreasonable, or "off the wall "...is in my opinion at least, verging on psychiatric delusion . Unfortunately, a sad indictment on those pursuing this untenable belief :-(
Where in the media has there been an accurate and full tabulation of what crimes the prisoners have been convicted? Without that information only part of the story is being told and therefore, discussed.
There are certain things which should be fundamental principles understood and practised by all Members of Parliament.
Rape is a horrible crime. It should not be the subject of political game-playing. That should be a fundamental principle understood by every Member of Parliament.
Key was certainly political game-playing. The women of the opposition in walking out were not doing the same thing. They were standing on principle.
best figures available appear to suggest of 585 Kiwi section 501 cases to date around70-80 are for crimes listed as murder, manslaughter, rape and sexual offenses.....begs the question for all those who claim these deserve no support whether the remaining over 500 (or 86%+) deserve it and how serious their offenses are or even if they have committed any?
...but hey don't let facts disrupt deep seated prejudice or base political opportunity.
Key is contemptible, Boag beneath contempt.
It's great that there are men like Jayson to explain to women when they can and can't stand up for themselves.
You mean Key raving about mythical murderers andvrapists. Oh, we saw it
No. I think I'm pretty sane. Key has been supporting Australian efforts to return his mythical 'rapists and murderer's to NZ via concentration camps. Just hours before his rant he was firmly telling journalists they were free to come home any time. Meanwhile opposition parties were saying 'these people should be able to stay in Australua'. Then Key threw his dead cat and immediately thereafter staryed telling us he was protecting us from his mythical 'murderers and rapists'. The only possible delusion I can see is among those who think Key hads any more depth than the paper that PR instruction to divert attention from his appalling lack of moral fibre was written on.
The crimes committed by these people range from the very serious to minor. Some have committed no crime. It's really not the point. Almost all of the offending is historical. They're being deported because they're bad bastards, although some probably are. They have all served their time. They have simply been caught up in a badly framed 'anti-terror' law framed by a slightly mad, certainly stupid conservative govt in Australia. The point is - people are being redacted to remote concentration camps for doing no more than falling on the wrong side of a law passed AFTER they had been through the justice system, served their time and we're getting on with their lives. further. Key's govt has done nothing to prevent their return to NZ. The point is that people are having their human rights abused and the Tories do not care. But Key was noticing the tide turning - New Zealanders don't like that sort of injustice. So Key's dead cat moment wad deliberately intended to confuse the issue. And now had some people believing he is trying to protect them from his mythical ' murderers and rapists '. What crimes these people historically committed is.not tje point. The point is that two conservative govt's think it's ok to drag people out of their homes and fly them to concentration camps thousands of miles away.
It must be writ somewhere that Michelle Boag is a person of some importance and that her words matter for some reason.
She relies on people thinking that what she says has some special status and we should heed her oracular pronouncements.
The sooner she is told to naff off the better. Getting wisdom from Boag is less likely than getting a snow storm in Death Valley in the middle of summer.
To me the issue is the unacceptable treatment of detainees in Australian facilities. Impact anyone in NZ can have? Not much , the riots barely made page 1 of smh.com.au.
Beyond that it's all political point scoring, not trying to make a difference. Polical point scoring lowers any contribution and confuses message and motivation.
Seven years is a long time to be persistently embarrassed by a government and its acolytes.
"This is a long speech so I realise that, as many people now have 20 second attention spans, very few will get to the end of it. "
Insulting people is a GREAT way to get them to listen to something you think they should hear. :-) I wish I'd thought of that when I was teaching.
You know, I trolled on over to Brendan's blog to comment about his attitudes towards Muslims and women, but it seemed a waste of time – because no one actually ever comments on Brendan's blog columns. Which leads me to believe that no one actually reads them. So I'll comment here, and hope more than one person reads it :-).
Brendan, you constantly comment on the Muslim religion, in spite of the fact that you don't believe that people with no "theological qualifications" should speak on Christianity. You have consistently refused to reveal what your theological qualifications are for commenting on Islam. I notice on your blog site today for instance, you say "to no one's surprise" Muslims committed an atrocity in Paris.
The other day you made a statement including "mentioned sex in my presence." Which I took to be a trivialisation, both of sexual assault, and of those women admitting that they have been sexually assaulted. You have consistently refused to say either who said that, or what you meant by that, but to me it seems at this is one of the reasons why women don't like admitting they have been assaulted.
All this, while claiming to be a Christian. In my opinion none of this is particularly Christian, but then I'm a tad cynical about religion. But in my experience, it always seems to me that it's those who tout their Christianity in public who are the least Christian.
Many of the people I went to school and university with were evangelicals, and were constantly quoting WWJD – or what would Jesus do. Perhaps you should ask yourself, when confronted with radical Islamic terrorism, or the question of sexual assault on female MPs, what would Jesus actually say? I doubt it would be "someone mentioned sex in my presence." because if my memory serves me correctly, didn't Jesus have compassion for those who were sinned against as well as sinners? Didn't Jesus wash the feet of a prostitute? Admittedly it's a long time since I did any Bible study, but I can't remember Jesus actually being sarcastic about someone who had suffered. Yet you are. I get the feeling that you would not be the Samaritan who stopped to help the man by the side of the road, but would be one of those who turned his nose up and condemned him. I could perhaps recommend 2 Timothy 2:24 or Ephesians 4:31. for a bit of reflection.
Not that you are alone in this, the lack of compassion amongst certain sections of society (and those commenting here) for those female MPs who have gone public, and the assumption that they are doing it purely for political reasons I find quite shocking. But they on the whole don't tout their Christianity like you do.
Perhaps you should man up Brendan and give us all an explanation/apology – or be more Christlike and keep your mouth shut.
Sorry Chris, a little off topic, but I really have to get this off my chest.
Well said Jayson, I cannot believe the untruthful drivel written by some of the commenter's.
David Slack's satirical take on the detention camps issue. Hilarious.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/74003477/David-Slack-You-have-two-hours-starting-Now
bob
'grandstanding'? These particular politicians don't see themselves as media performers or travelling buskers. They are serious about their role and responsibility to the people. You don't see this approach in many politicians and the ones you watch no doubt rarely display it which is why you are so surprised. This is a learning experience for you - to see responsible politicians at work.
Good comment GS at 11.05. I couldn't agree more. I too have read Brendan's Blog, a mixture of quasi-factoids and religious guff.
Perhaps Brendan you should take a peek at these lads and actually learn something. Maybe even Michelle Boag could learn something from them too.
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheAtheistExperience
@GS 15:11-10:21
"Insulting people is a GREAT way to get them to listen to something you think they should hear. :-) I wish I'd thought of that when I was teaching."
Reverse psychology ":0).
Homer's brain: Don't you get it? You've gotta use reverse psychology.
Homer: That sounds too complicated.
Homer's brain: OK, don't use reverse psychology.
Homer: All right, I will!
Choosing the worst possible photo you can find of someone that you wish to denigrate is really scraping the bottom of the barrel Trotter. It hardly contributes to the discussion in any way what so ever but them you don't really want to do that anyway do you? It's the sort of thing the tabloids are so good at. What about a photo of yourself showing looking suitably pompous and confused?
Terrifying visage. Channelling Maggie Thatcher
Homer should have replied "there is no reverse psychology, only psychology." :-)
Pathetic load of hysteria from the left.
Key was referring to Davis as the supporter of the worst of Aussie crims about to be sent here. Left women suddenly saw a chance to change the subject which was a bizarre political error I think. Game set and match to Key who actually was about to lose but was saved by the lefty women, probably sick of listening to the likes of Davis, Little and Key grandstanding alpha males and thought 'What about us for a change'!
Some people seem to be missing the point or other points. Firstly, very few of these people are rapists and murderers. Most of them are if anything petty criminals, and some of them haven't actually committed a crime at all.
Secondly it doesn't matter what they've done. The state must treat them in a humane way. That's what makes us better than them and gives us the moral high ground, sadly lacking amongst some here. Not to mention as I have said before lack of empathy. Perhaps you like to learn what it's like to be sexually assaulted? Then you might have some idea of what it involves and how traumatising it is. If any of you holier than thou creatures care to volunteer, I'm sure it could be arranged.
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