Post by Kiwi Frontline on Jan 23, 2024 18:20:10 GMT 12
Richard Treadgold: THAT MESSAGE FROM THE MAORI KING.
The NZ Herald published an extraordinary article by Archdeacon Ngira Simmonds, Chief of Staff to the Maori king Tuheitia, that needs a spirited response.
The king is “Kingi”, apparently a Maori word, not a loanword from English (actually a patently childish rendition of ‘king’). But every New Zealander speaks English, so the Archdeacon would not stifle understanding to call him ‘king’ instead of the juvenile kingi. I use the lower case to stress his unofficial standing.
Tuheitia is himself, like us, legally a subject of King Charles, who stands in a 1200-year line of succession — kings should be sovereign, or one of them is fake. The fake in this dichotomy of kings is obvious.
We do not ask for a discussion of national identity, since we are well known in the world. Why does Simmonds refer to the “conflicting beliefs about our national identity”? Where is the conflict? What he describes as an “annual festival of unanswered questions” on Waitangi Day is a mystery.
Tuheitia says he wants a national “conversation” on nationhood, when surely everyone is confident we're a nation. This does not need activist iwi leaders to start one. The Archdeacon strings together highfalutin words without coherent thought……
breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2024/01/richard-treadgold-that-message-from.html
The NZ Herald published an extraordinary article by Archdeacon Ngira Simmonds, Chief of Staff to the Maori king Tuheitia, that needs a spirited response.
The king is “Kingi”, apparently a Maori word, not a loanword from English (actually a patently childish rendition of ‘king’). But every New Zealander speaks English, so the Archdeacon would not stifle understanding to call him ‘king’ instead of the juvenile kingi. I use the lower case to stress his unofficial standing.
Tuheitia is himself, like us, legally a subject of King Charles, who stands in a 1200-year line of succession — kings should be sovereign, or one of them is fake. The fake in this dichotomy of kings is obvious.
We do not ask for a discussion of national identity, since we are well known in the world. Why does Simmonds refer to the “conflicting beliefs about our national identity”? Where is the conflict? What he describes as an “annual festival of unanswered questions” on Waitangi Day is a mystery.
Tuheitia says he wants a national “conversation” on nationhood, when surely everyone is confident we're a nation. This does not need activist iwi leaders to start one. The Archdeacon strings together highfalutin words without coherent thought……
breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2024/01/richard-treadgold-that-message-from.html