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MAY 19, 2021 Updated May 19, 2021
Greg dawes
Greg Dawes is a professor in the Philosophy and Religion programs at the University of Otago.
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Ideas room
Greg Dawes, who describes himself as a “recovering racist”, wants to avoid the term “racism” in the debate on the He Puapua report. He explains why.
COMMENT: Before Judith Collins and David Seymour released it to the public, few of us had heard of the He Puapua Report and his vision for a bicultural New Zealand. But we have certainly heard of it by now. Remarkably, both those who support it and those who oppose it have been accused of racism. Those who support it have been accused of an allegedly racist form of separatism. Those who oppose it have been accused of racist neglect of Mori rights. So who are the real racists here?
This is, I think, the wrong question to ask. Both parties are at fault for using the terms racist and racism. I happen to be one of the supporters of He Puapua and his vision. But I think neither side should be talking about racism. It is both unfair and unnecessary.
My perspective on this issue has been shaped both by my study of racism and by my own recent experience. I started learning the Mori language several years ago with Te Wnanga o Aotearoa, and I continue to learn, taking every opportunity I can. The highlight of this trip was a recent four day Kura Reo. Each night we spent in a beautifully decorated whakairo whare. Every day we practiced the language and learned Tikanga, participating in practices such as karakia and whaikrero. It has been a privilege for which I am extremely grateful.
During these experiences, I only experienced manaakitanga, an unconditional and warm welcome from my teachers and classmates. (Ng mihi ki a koutou, e hoa m.) But having some contact with the Mori world was also a sobering experience, because I discovered in myself unconscious prejudices: the unfavorable stereotypes that I inherited in as a New Zealander Pkeh. So I sometimes borrowed the phrase used by former New Plymouth Mayor Andrew Judd and described myself as a recovering racist.
It is one thing, however, to use the term racist recuperation of oneself; it is quite another to use the term racist of others. Racist is a loaded word, for good reason. Not only were racist attitudes responsible for much suffering among colonized peoples, but a particularly virulent form of racism, namely Nazi anti-Semitism, was responsible for the deaths of six million European Jews. The terms racist and racism therefore come with a lot of baggage and should not be used lightly.
If He Puapua’s critics took the trouble to learn something from the Mori world, they might unconsciously uncover racist attitudes. But it is not a question that others can judge.
When it was coined at the turn of the 20th century, the term racism referred to a very particular belief. It was the belief that some groups inherited characteristics that make them inferior to others in areas such as intelligence, temperament or character. This was a particularly dangerous idea, as it implied that such people were doomed to a state of inferiority because of their ancestry. It is racism like this that German Jews faced. No matter how culturally similar they were to their neighbors, no matter what they did to prove their loyalty to their nation, they were seen as a people who could not be trusted due to their Jewish blood.
In recent decades, the term racism has been used more widely, to refer to what one might call cultural racism. It is the belief that one’s own culture is superior to that of others. Many of the early European writers who studied the Mori world had racist attitudes in this sense. They viewed Mori culture as inferior to theirs. But they didn’t believe Mori was inherently inferior. On the contrary, they believed them capable of embracing what was believed to be the superior culture of their colonizers. It is this belief that is at the root of the assimilation policies of successive New Zealand governments, which have had tragic consequences for the survival of te reo me na tikanga (the language and its associated practices).
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Both forms of racism are deeply flawed, but the point I want to make is this. The questions we are currently debating relate to how to meet the obligations incurred by our history. It is not about the superiority or the relative inferiority of peoples or their cultures. Contrary to what the Leader of the Opposition seems to be saying, it is not racist to believe that Mori has the right to run his own affairs. This conviction is based on a particular interpretation of our history, in particular the guarantee of the treaties of tino rangatiratanga. But contrary to what some of its detractors seem to think, it is not (necessarily) racist to reject this idea.
The He Puapua report assumes that Mori has the right to self-government, within the (modified) framework of our parliamentary democracy. Critics have various reasons for rejecting this view. Some reject the idea that the Treaty should shape our current political arrangements. Others accept the continued relevance of the treaty, but deny that we are bound by the Mori language version. Yet others believe that Mori’s autonomy is incompatible with the idea that all citizens should be treated equally. Such opinions are (in my opinion) wrong. But we are not racist just because we hold them.
It could be argued that those with such views are motivated by the kind of unconscious racism that I have discovered in myself. Maybe they are, but we can’t assume that. In the words of a whakatauk, he ao rere ka kitea, he huatau e kore e kitea (passing clouds can be seen, but not a person’s thoughts). If He Puapua’s critics took the trouble to learn something from the Mori world, they might unconsciously uncover racist attitudes. But it is not a question that others can judge.
So, whatever the side of the debate, let’s renounce the use of the term racist. I do not deny that there are occasions when this is justified. But overall, this is not one of them. The issues surrounding the Treaty and Mori’s autonomy are important issues, which is why they are the subject of so much controversy. But these are matters on which reasonable people can disagree. So let’s focus on the issues and avoid accusations of racism.
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