slapping yourself silly

I haven't really wanted to wade into this one but Len Brown you are making an idiot of yourself. Slapping your chest and head whilst talking passionately has nothing to do with maoi culture and your teams explanation of your behaviour as maori gestures tells me you have no idea how to relate or talk to maori - which is surprising because of your current mayorial status in a large maori demographic area. So what gives? Is this similar to the case of Rod Blagojevich who famously declared that he was blacker than Obama

“I’m blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived,” Blagojevich said. “I saw it all growing up.”

And is that similar to Trevor Mallard who also famously said he was indigenous because he grew up in Wainuiomata

“I regard myself as an indigenous New Zealander – I come from Wainuiomata.” Hon. Trevor Mallard 28.07.2004"

It is a sort of compliment - that people want to be part of a culture and i am all for building knowledge and connection BUT we should be proud of who we are - who WE are.

In a funny kind of irony that maori, who for years have been coaxed into assimilation, now find others appropriating bits of maori culture. It is almost as if the wheel has turned fully. I have known non-maori who say they are maori. I have known non-maori who are on the maori roll. I have known maori who say they aren't maori. Why don't we just be proud of who we are - with all of our whakapapa strands melding into the unique us.

So Len give this line up. Be proud of your heritage - it is good enough that it doesn't need embelishment. And stop beating up on yourself - it is a sign that you don't actually like yourself and that is a sign of impending health problems.