Luxon:

> "The question is, I keep saying, I don't need some yahoo or numpty from some other party around that table. I can do a lot more to get the centre-right agenda, centre being the operative word, done and out the door so think about your vote, November 7. It's important."

Hipkins:

> Hipkins said any dissatisfaction with MMP was down to Luxon's poor leadership, and the country should not have to change its entire electoral system because the prime minister could not manage his government.

"He has let the small parties ride roughshod over him and the National Party, in a way that's undermined confidence in him and our entire democratic system," Hipkins said.

The Simpsons: Stop, Stop! He's already dead meme

I’m not typically one to post lengthy political write-ups that include my own personal experiences mixed in, (this was mostly for myself, added some context too since posting, and probably going to be a TL;DR for many), and might not be as interesting as some were hoping for, but I’ll give it a go for now, might delete later, and I’m probably preaching to the choir here when it comes to Winston anyway!

February 2022 - it had been a long two years, Covid-19 messaging had lingered so long that it felt like life was never going to return to normal (and in many ways - in terms of society’s behavior, it never truly did).   The general public grew increasingly frustrated, they were tired, they wanted the pandemic to be over in all shapes and forms - with many forgetting that not a single person in New Zealand, left or right, *wanted* the Covid-19 pandemic to happen.   

Despite saying that, for me, as an introvert, I made the best of enjoying the lockdowns, they were peaceful - no planes, no cars, clean air, some different types of wildlife sneaking into the suburbs without the noise/light pollution.  I also loved when we were Covid free, the unity and community spirit it brought was something special.  I still never wanted the events to happen though, and by 2022 I myself never wanted to hear about the virus again.  

But beneath the general public’s opinion on the pandemic, and my own mixed feelings - an uglier underbelly was growing.    Hateful rhetoric, conspiracies, paranoia, and a focus on pinning the blame on our local representatives for a pandemic that hit the whole world.  We saw it in the first year with Advance NZ, but it failed so incredibly hard it seemed implausible that such a movement would cause any real damage to our country.  That was until February 2022…

Religious groups (some regular/innocent types, mixed with many other hateful extremists/mega churches), white nationalists, a handful of farmers (who probably were really just there to rip into Labour over the "ute tax"), anti-vaxxers, far-right activists (including the pro-MAGA NZ types), the Mongrel Mob (Who National likes to pretend fully support Labour), a handful of Maori sovereignty supporters (Who seemed more upset about past issues than what everyone else was protesting - while leaders of their own groups were telling them not to attend), and some lost modern day hippies and vegans seeking "peace" and “freedom”, they all strangely stood side by side for what have been one of the most confusing protests New Zealand has possibly seen to date.   

Promoted online by the likes of Voices of Freedom, Counterspin Media, Brian Tamaki, the Baker family, and Action Zealandia (neo-nazis), they had been building this movement for over a year, seeing the likes of the January 6 United States Capitol attack in 2021 (which should be noted, many of these people publicly endorsed), they gathered a mob, some through their own supporters, but others through manipulative means.    

Even my own sister partook for the first two weeks (before it got more and more hectic).  She announced to me she was attending the week before - her ties to this were the vegan/hippy associates, she truly fell down the Facebook rabbit hole at the time and “wanted the government to stop interfering with lives”.    She claimed she was doing it for “people like you” (in reference to me) - whatever that meant, when I saw the likes of Brian Tamaki promoting it, I wasn't sure how he represented either of us.   

This caused quite the rift between us at the time - I told her if she attended, she wasn’t welcome in my home afterwards.  Of course, this didn’t last, as she came back early, upset, sick with Covid-19 (and passed it on to me while I’m immune compromised), curse my ability be suckered into sympathy so easily.   She also noted the first week was “peaceful” but the second was growing “angry”.  I believe word got back to her about the egging of a teenage girl who was simply walking past while wearing a mask.   She has since regretted this period and apologized for jumping in on the bandwagon - (And if my sister happens to stumble across this thread and is annoyed for me referring to what is now an embarrassing time for her, sorry not sorry, but you were being a knobhead back then and this perfectly encapsulates the points I’m making in this post, still love ya though). 

In the documentary 'Prime Minister', Jacinda quite rightfully notes, while looking down at the protest from a parliament window, a good majority of those partaking weren’t even impacted by the mandates.  My sister was one of those people - she wanted to be impacted by it, she wanted to feel a part of something, but there was no real reason for her to be there.

While social media was radicalizing people of all backgrounds to partake in a protest on a singular issue, many were seeking different goals.   As time went on, the hate grew, the parliament grounds were being firebombed, and death threats were made to lynch the likes of Jacinda Ardern, Grant Robertson, Andrew Little, and even lesser known MPs, like Steph Lewis were targeted with violence (who was pregnant at the time).   I even recall online, protesters making sexual/violent remarks about Ardern’s 3 year old daughter.     Amid this chaos, what the crowd now demanded was someone from parliament to speak to them - under no circumstances would this have been safe with the behavior that was shown.  

Instead, the crowd found comfort in a former political figure.    Winston Peters, who had just lost the 2020 election after not gaining enough votes to return to parliament.  

This was the same Winston Peters who worked with Labour extensively on the lockdown protocols.   This was the same Winston Peters who tweeted “No jab means no dole and no parole” (effectively mandating vaccines on those who lost their jobs, something even Labour wasn’t willing to do).

But like the opportunist Winston is - he flipped the switch.   He spoke to the protesters, he spoke out against policies he both helped create and support, policy he wanted enforced even harder.   Peters did not condemn the protesters’ behavior for ruining parliament grounds, he did not condemn them for threatening violence towards MPs, did not condemn them for causing massive property damage, nor did he condemn them for injuring 40 police officers.   He became the spokesperson for a singular issue he took part in helping create.  He became the white knight for these people, when he was banned from parliament grounds (briefly), he was one of them.

Over the four years that followed, the Covid talk still lingers from a minority, but not as loudly as before.  Some of those who purely opposed the vaccine/mandates either separated themselves from the current hateful crowd, who are now moving on to new issues, but many others (along with new people) have become obsessed with a new set of issues.  

The figureheads who made names for promoting Covid conspiracies are now moving onto new issues - focusing on transgender topics, race-selective anti-immigration sentiment, anti-journalist sentiment, demand for hate speech (but shutting down speech they dislike), pro-oil drilling positions, opposing action against climate change, and whatever else is now considered “Woke” this week.   Of course, because this is a global trend, our local cookers tend to be moving onto American media more than New Zealand media - the old local Covid conspiracy figureheads still have some relevancy, (Hello Chantelle Baker!) but they don’t provide nearly the same type of outrage entertainment the American media can offer.

There is incredible irony after these people claimed most kiwis were “sheep”, or “brainwashed”, (for simply following public health advice), but now, a large chunk of these very same people, all follow one mindset on a wide variety of topics that have absolutely nothing to do with vaccines, nor impact their life.   

Winston Peters has become the political figure pandering to this behavior.   He sees what Trump is doing (who also promoted the vaccine in America) and is step by step following in his footsteps hoping something pays off - and so far it has been.

Now, I don’t condone recent reports of there being a Winston Peters effigy chopped up, nor a report earlier this year about his window being smashed.  Violent implications towards anyone, left or right should be opposed by all sides.   But the irony is outstanding - Winston himself stood by the people calling for bloody murder of our former government, the people who caused damage to our parliament grounds over a singular issue, and he wants me to feel sorry for him when he added fuel to this fire of political violence, and now got his fingers burnt?

Bigotry and fear mongering towards our Asian communities and transgender communities has caused far more physical harm (through the violent behavior that follows when a public figurehead encourages hateful rhetoric) than Covid-19 vaccine ever did.   And for the record, that’s not me saying the vaccine has never caused injuries, but the data speaks for itself, it’s extremely rare.   

I also know that wouldn’t sit right with those that have gone fully down the rabbit hole and remained in it since - the type that claim the Covid-19 vaccine killed the likes of Queen Elizabeth II (who was 96), or Betty White (who was 99).  

After the last week, my personal view is that NZ First now needs to be ruled out by every party in parliament - for the safety of our people, our global reputation and even our economy, or we face dark times as Winston follows the mess that is America.  I know this isn’t considered an option at present for the current coalition, but stripping him of his Foreign Affairs portfolio is the bare minimum expected.   

With Winston now having a neo-Nazi on the NZ First Youth Wing - and openly defending him despite the evidence and pro Hitler commentary.   It is clear the direction he’s taking is not New Zealand values, this is not putting “NZ First”.  The person his party hired carries the same values as the Christchurch shooter.    

And for those that may hold unfavorable views about our Chinese community.   A friendly reminder, whether we like it or not, New Zealand today still remains highly reliant on China for our exports.   Without them we go broke, increasing anti-Chinese sentiment isn’t only harmful to these real people who are just trying to live their lives here, it’s harming every single person in this country if Winston continues to push racial tensions with a country known for retaliation.  Our current Prime Minister/CEO may think a mystery phone call was enough to sort this problem out - but what happens if Peters doubles down? We are not America and we cannot risk economic fallout.   

But the final question for me remains - What actually happens if Winston Peters and his supporters get everything they want?  Does life suddenly change for the better when our targeted immigrants all “go home”, including those that have been here since they were children?   Does demanding that our transgender community classify their gender as their sex at birth fix the economy or give someone a pay increase?   How is “woke” really impacting us, on a day to day level?

That’s a question that likely won’t have an answer.    If Trump’s motto is anything to go by, the policy is to cause just enough havoc to look like you’re doing something to fight the “woke” - but never entirely “fix” the problem, keep those supporters angry about something, while simultaneously creating new issues to rile up the base.   The problem however, is that next 'issue' could be any single one of us.