Racism

The idea that Maori students should be allowed free entry into university has really enraged me! How long is it going to be before Pita Sharples wakes up and realises that he is doing more harm than good to the Maori cause?

Yes, Maori people were wronged by the British in the Treaty of Waitangi [though not intentionally]. But it was 160 years ago; let it go! How long is it going to be before we finally say enough is enough?

As a person of Tongan descent, not a week goes by where I don't receive an email from AUT about some "Pacifica Only" lunch or a scholarship open only to Pacific Island Students. My Pakeha friends at AUT probably haven't been invited to a single lunch in their entire three years at the university. Is this right? NO! I have spent my life being told that I'm entitled to special treatment because of my ethnicity, but I reject that! I will not attend these "special" lunches or apply for any Pacifica scholarships because I refuse to take a free-ride through life! I want to be judged by my achievements and what I accomplish, not by the colour of my skin [Martin Luther King Jr eat your heart out!].

It's about time Maori stood up and said "we are just as good as everyone else and we don't need special treatment to achieve the same things that they do."

Open your eyes, Dr Sharples and shut your mouth before you do irreparable damage.

Prop 8

Reading Perez Hilton's coverage of the march supporting gay marriage in California today made me realize how truly backwards the world is. We are taught to accept and nurture difference, yet people like Perez are forced to march for something that should be a fundamental right; no one should be ridiculed or discriminated against because of who they are or who they love! The California Supreme Court decision to uphold Proposition 8 demonstrates that the world is run by old men who are too busy kowtowing to religious fundamentalists to realise that their code of morals is vastly outdated. The job of the Supreme Court is to facilitate justice; instead they are legitimizing the discrimination already experienced by most gay and lesbian people. Perhaps if one of the Supreme Court judges were gay, things may have turned out differently. Though I sincerely doubt that, in today's society, a gay person would have been able to rise to the position of judge even though we live in a world of supposed equal opportunity.

The aforementioned religious fundamentalists preach that to be gay is to sin against God. They then turn around and say that God is love and understanding, a bit contradictory, don't you think? I find it hard to grasp the idea that God could hate something he created.

It is the 21st century! We should be working to abolish barriers and remove the stigma and labels that being "different" creates. Instead, we are allowing our lawmakers to institutionalise prejudice and hatred. Is the kind of society we wish to create?

To Perez, and everyone else who spoke out, good for you! If I was in California, I would've been out there marching with you! There should be no half measures where equality is concerned and I find it dismaying that the views of a few should hinder our progress to a united society where people are able to love who they want, without fear of discrimination. To any homophobic person who feels the need to attack me for my views, don't waste your time or mine. You are living in the past and it's about time you woke up and smelt the proverbial roses.

I hope you all share my vision of a future where a man has the right to marry another man, the same way as I have the right to marry a woman.

It is time for change, but that can't happen unless people are prepared to speak out!

The Becoming of Nothingness

It's interesting how becoming nothingness can seem when life is so full of something, if that makes any sense at all. What I'm getting at is that it's amazing how good doing nothing can feel when so much of my time is spent doing something. This ridiculous lack of freetime is surprisingly detrimental to my mental-health, but alas, I will just need to put up with it as it is only for a year; then I'm FREE!!!!! I really don't know what I'm complaining about though, I've only been at university for a year; and yet, I already want to kill myself! One of my friends is in his fourth year! I honestly don't know how he does it, I think I would've left and got a job at McDonalds before then.

On the brightside, I am now on holiday for two weeks; not that I'm going anywhere or doing anything exciting, it will just be nice to be able to do nothing for a while. But I will [I WILL!!!] do some study for all the tests that are looming!

Anyway, I should probably do some of that aforementioned study.

By all :)