Then Tuesday night came around and the news was showing a story of a fight that happened between two young girls in a large shopping center somewhere in North Island. Kelsey and I were surprised that it was even televised, but apparently these two girls were older than most of the girls that have been terrorizing the local shop-owners and because the tape was caught on tape and the police were there it was a story. These two girls happened to be Maori, and apparently so were all of the other little girls that have been beating up shop owners in whatever shopping center it was. I personally was shocked that police or security personnel presence in the center hadn't increased since these tenders have apparently had an issue with teen violence for a while (according to the news report). But what Kelsey and I found almost comical about this news report was the implication that all young female Maoris in the region were participating in this violence, which the news linked to gang affiliations, all from a fight that was most likely provoked by the presence of the news cameras in the first place (which the news station quickly/quietly admitted, itself). We laughed off just how politically incorrect the whole thing was, and I just threw out the common sense suggestion of greater security presence and maybe providing these girls with a productive activity/ organization to release their wiggles through. But then our Kiwi host (who claims to have some Maori heritage, which I believe for the most part) said something along the lines of "well if all they see is their parents doing the same thing in the bars and at home, its not really a surprise that these girls are fighting in malls." REALLY?! Even a person who claims to be Maori and participates in certain cultural practices doesn't defend her own? I would think that she would have greater insight into the community and see that this was probably an exaggeration of something that was happening in a certain region. But I guess not.
Being the person that I am, I decided to look into the matter and see why these people (of mostly European descent) had the views that they did of the country's largest minority group, or 14% of the population. With some surface research, it seems : over 50% of Maori are currently living in the poorest regions of the country; they compose almost half of the prison population in the country; less than half of them meet the minimal qualifications to pass high school; they have higher unemployment rates and levels of disease (which includes alcoholism and drug abuse); and they have lower life expectancy rates.
Hmmmmm for some reason this sounds familiar. Oh, yes! Why of course... The United States has the highest fraction of it's population in prison, in the world, most of which is composed of minority groups. As of 2007, on average: Black Americans were 12% of the general population and almost 45% of the prison population; Latinos/ Hispanics were 13% of the general population and almost 20% of the prison population (I'm sure the numbers of Latinos has risen significantly in the past few years thanks to tighter immigration laws and the rapidly increasing/ undocumented numbers); and White Americans were a little less than 70% of the general population, but only about 35% of the prison population. Now do these numbers suggest that crime is in our blood as minorities? I guess you could try and make this argument if you really wanted. I would be the first to donate my blood to this research project, and I'm sure some of my friends and fellow minorities would do the same in the name of "social science."
I will not deny that the majority of crimes are committed by minority groups. However I will say that what you really have to look at is the distribution of and access to resources of these minority groups. Most minorities live in poor regions usually because they have either moved into a foreign territory with very few of their possessions or their specific group was disenfranchised by a government or external group. Those who have few resources tend to go into survival mode and do all that they can to get by. Sometimes this means forfeiting educational opportunities in order to provide for the family. When the next generation comes along, even if they excel in school or at a specific skill/art, sometimes their parents are unable to help them in their school work or afford their talent and so the child falls behind. If no one from the community steps in to support and/or help the child (and their parents) to move forward, then the chances of the children getting stuck in the same cycle as the previous generation are very high. This model applies to communities of poor whites as well. Granted this is a very overgeneralized explanation of a social cycle, and there are the cinderella stories of those individuals that are extremely motivated to excel (such as that of my father) and pockets of different minority communities that raise children as a community and work to lift each other up or families that work together to gradually move up the social ladder; however there is truth behind the outlined cycle and many children are caught. Crime is most likely prevalent in these communities because some people are looking to make money quickly or make it to the next meal, or there is a lack of hope and so the consequences of crime are reduced relatively, drugs and alcohol allow one to escape their reality and simultaneously lead to higher rates of violence, etc. I am not a sociologist and so I cannot comment in greater depth on the causes and consequences of poverty on a community. However, seeing as to how most people living in impoverished conditions are statistically more likely to experience and participate in crime, regardless of color (for reasons described above and more) I would say that the claim that crime "is in their blood" can be laid to rest. Declared false, if you will. And the parental example, while important and influential, is not the sole cause of peer violence.
Now that my full opinion and explanation (which really comes off as a rant, I apologize) have been voiced , I wish I could tell, or better yet show, these white Kiwis how much of a socio-economic impact something like a community center or even something as simple as a boxing gym would make for those Maori girls on the news or on North Island in general; and what would happen if they were given equal access to educational resources/ tools, sports and art programs and some financial resources. I feel like I would just be laughed off as someone who doesn't understand the situation, and I will admit that I am not a scholar of sociology or history of NZ. And maybe I don't see the whole picture, but that doesn't mean that I can't see that certain issues shouldn't be treated with racism. People need to seek out and understand the real roots and causes of the problems within their communities and those that they come into contact with. It's basic respect.
I am very very sorry that this is structured as a rant, but it is something that I really had to get off of my chest. It is very important to me that everyone is treated with basic respect, and racism is highly disrespectful in my book (and in general I hope haha) so it struck a nerve. I hope that this does not skew your view of Kiwis in general either, as the majority of them are extremely friendly and open minded/ liberal (another reason that this mini surge of racism was pretty shocking). I also apologize for my grammar. I know it's horrendous, maybe even heinous, in this post. Bear with me.
OK! hahaha Other than that(!) I love you all, am praying for you, and will probably start counting down the days until I get back to the Golden State soon haha. I ask that you pray for the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, Pakistan, the Gulf Coast, the Troops annnnnd my friends' employment in the fields that they want :) Thanks people
1 comment:
Bravo! The issue of Maori and violence is a problem of social injustice not DNA. Some of the younger Maori of today (key word: some; there are exceptions to every generalization of course) are “falling through the gaps” of New Zealand society—they are seen as just another Maori to the Pakeha, but living in urban centers with little access to their Maori customs and history prevents them from experiencing a traditional Maori upbringing—so they aren’t seen by their rural Maori counterparts as Maori either. This puts contemporary Maori in a terrible place; they are seen as outsiders from every angle, which in turn increases their vulnerability to gangs, violence, and so on. It doesn’t help that traditionally the NZ education systems (look up the Mission Schools for Maori, it’s a bit depressing and very similar to the Native American Boarding Schools in the States) have been more focused on assimilating Maori into a British-Victorian culture, raising them to believe everything English is good and Maori is bad (besides the “pretty” aspects the British decided to keep, like art and music). The Waitangi Tribunal did some interesting work on this—they suggest the implementation of a Maori tertiary system that promotes traditional and contemporary Maori values, and encourages them to seek out higher education (which would enable those who seek it out to qualify for higher wages, lowering the chance of poverty which lowers the chance of a whole scheme of other things) could help abet this problem. Plus, providing a healthy social outlet for Maori to engage with and feel like they belonged to would do a world of good!! Oofta, that was a much longer comment than intended :) Anti-Racist-Ranters of the World unite!
Waitangi website: http://www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz/reports/viewchapter.asp?reportID=39e13093-2f4d-4971-aca0-28e811572755&chapter=4
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