Racism in NZ

[Weta]

Actually I think you have to be from 'away' from here to appreciate how bad the racism is. If you're a Kiwi you'll be a lot less sensitive to it. There's barely a day goes by that I am not shocked at the comments I hear.

It is not the case of it being a small minority who bad mouth other races, it trips off the tongue so readily and nobody bats an eyelid. When Raven is at work on his own without his wife, nobody would even consider to think that he would have anything other than a white wife and family at home.

I'm just telling it as I see it, I see no credence in trying to sweep the elephant under the carpet. I think you would need to have the skin of an elephant to live here as a mixed race family of non-nz origins. The Maori / Pakeha thing is a completely different situation and very intertwined I agree but still it does not deter the average Pakeha from bad mouthing Maori. Just my two cents.

[inhamilton]

Originally Posted by Weta

It is not the case of it being a small minority who bad mouth other races, it trips off the tongue so readily and nobody bats an eyelid. When Raven is at work on his own without his wife, nobody would even consider to think that he would have anything other than a white wife and family at home.

Perhaps it depends on your workplace. Let me assure you, if people come up with racist stuff at the place I work, people do bat eyelids. It is not accepted at all. You can't assume that because your workplace is like that, then it's like that everywhere. I've never worked anywhere where racist talk trips off the tongue. There might be occasional discussions about land claims etc, but thats a political thing, and the differing views on that don't necessarily follow racial lines.
Not saying that Raven's family won't experience racism though. They may well do. But it won't be from anyone in my workplace or immediate family.