Entry 2181, on 2021-11-04 at 17:43:29 (Rating 3, Comments)
I saw in the news recently, that New Zealand has been embarrassed on the international stage yet again, thanks to the comments by some young Maori woman (I think) by the name of India Logan-Riley (doesn't sound like a Maori name to me. Maybe she is more European than anything else, but who really knows).
I read about this in a BBC article, titled "The rangatahi headlining the global climate summit". Apparently, "rangatahi" means young person, in case you were wondering (as most people would).
By the way, if you think it is unfair for me to be criticising someone who is so young, my response is: if she is too young to criticise, then she is too young to be making political statements as well. Of course, the same applies to the original young woman of this type: Greta Thunberg. Note that Logan-Riley's age doesn't seem to be listed anywhere, even on her Wikipedia page, so whether she really is a "rangatahi" or not remains a mystery.
Before I start, once again I must emphasise that I am not a climate change denier. I think climate change is real, I think it is primarily caused by human activity, and I think we should be making some moves towards either reducing it or mitigating its effects. What I don't believe in is mindless rhetoric from people with no credibility, useless political posturing from politicians, and simplistic proclamations which have more of a basis in something which is closer to religion than science.
Also, I am not anti-Maori. I don't like people who use their ethnicity for political purposes, especially when they - well, let's just say what I mean here - lie about it. I also don't like mindless political correctness, especially people who are either incredibly ignorant or dishonest and take on just about every PC issue around.
So here is the report on Logan-Riley's speech, and my thoughts on it...
Report: Receiving a special invitation from the hosts of the UN climate summit in Glasgow to speak, it was India Logan-Riley's job to give them a scolding.
Thoughts: Well I guess it is fine to have different perspectives presented, but I think Logan-Riley is so deeply irrational and politically involved that I'm not sure how wise that invitation really was. On the other hand, these conferences are full of worthless BS, so does one more contribution to that really matter?
Report: Maori campaigner Logan-Riley - attending their sixth Conference of the Parties (or COP) - represented Indigenous communities at the opening event of the annual meeting, intended to limit global emissions and prevent catastrophic climate change.
Thoughts: There you go: "they". Yet another politically correct bandwagon to jump on. No surprises there, I guess. Again, I guess "indigenous communities" are a group which is as entitled to representation as anyone else. However, we know what to expect from this community, and it is rarely truthful or logical.
Report: The Kiwi activist had to commit to be "brave" in terms of calling out the host country, which also caused these harms to my community.
Thoughts: Oh so brave! Travelling to the other side of the world (no doubt producing plenty of carbon emissions in the process) and talking rubbish to an audience who would be too scared to offer any form of contradiction. Yeah, that's not brave.
Report: Most of the inspiration came from "shower thoughts," Logan-Riley said. They only received a few days' notice to prepare. "I definitely felt a lot of obligation to get it right."
Thoughts: Oh, shower thoughts, is it? A virtual admission of superficiality. Why would anyone want to hear this? And this "obligation to get it right" means what, exactly? Nothing in the final analysis.
Report: The speech began with a mihi whakatau, then Logan-Riley's introduction as being from the East Coast nation of Ngati Kahungunu within Aotearoa - "colonially known as New Zealand". They spoke of the 2019-20 Australian bushfires, which reddened the skies.
Thoughts: In case you were wondering, a "mihi whakatau" is a traditional Maori greeting, in the Maori language, which probably no one else there understood. But to be fair, no doubt many languages were in use there, so maybe that is excusable. It is probably more the reason for using that language, rather than the fact of it being used, which I object to.
Report: "Doctors told us that they were seeing higher amounts of people with breathing issues related to the smoke in the air. In that moment, our health was bound to the struggle of the land and people in another country. In the impacts of climate change, our fates are intertwined."
Thoughts: No doubt air pollution is a problem in some countries; especially China and India. But air quality has been improving greatly in most modern, Western nations - the ones at the conference - so this is just more political posturing.
Report: Logan-Riley voiced communities' frustration with the lack of progress: "I am the same age as these negotiations. I have grown up, graduated, fallen in love, fallen out of love, stopped and changed a couple of careers along the way," they said. "All while the Global North colonial governments and corporations fudge with the future."
Thoughts: Sure. Many people are frustrated with lack of progress in many areas, but we need viable solutions, not brainless rhetoric. And this talk about "colonialism" is just pure nonsense. Colonialism is the latest "bad thing" these activists like to latch onto, but like most of the rest of their argument it's all about buzzwords and a total lack of rational thought.
Report: Meanwhile, Indigenous-led action has successfully kept fossil fuels in the ground, Logan-Riley added.
Thoughts: I guess that is possible, although in New Zealand we are using more coal than ever, despite activists' pressure to shut down local mines and stop further exploration. So stopping production here hasn't helped; we just have to import coal instead!
Report: The roots of climate change lay within colonialism, Logan-Riley said: "252 years ago, invading forces sent by the ancestors of this presidency arrived in my ancestors' territory, heralding an age of violence and murder and destruction."
Thoughts: There we go with the colonialism nonsense again. How many people are aware of the massive destruction of forests by pre-European Maori, including carbon from their bush fires found in the Antarctic ice which is left over from their environmental vandalism? And the lies about violence and murder need to stop. Before the arrival of Europeans, Maori were a primitive, stone-age, violent race, intent on murdering and eating each other. Were the European settlers perfect? Far from it, but their moral standards were far ahead of those of Maori.
Report: Logan-Riley only decided to attend the UN talks at the last minute, due to the pandemic and travel restrictions. These, plus unequal access to vaccines, have made it especially challenging to come to Glasgow. Many delegates from Pacific Island nations were unable to attend, casting a dampener on the mood of the event in its opening days.
Thoughts: More mindless lies. There has never been any unequal access to vaccines. Everyone here has been encouraged to get them, and if anything Maori have been handed extra privileges in this area. If they chose not to use that opportunity, whose fault is it? They always have to be victims, but they are their own worst enemy.
Report: "They are the moral compass of negotiations like these," they said. "It makes our work a bit harder - to try to show up a bit stronger. At the same time, the [Paris Agreement] rule book has to happen this year."
Thoughts: This is just meaningless drivel so it's hard to even comment. And, really, do we have to continue with the use of "they" here? It is very confusing, and quite clumsy. I presume this person is a woman, so why not just go with "she" to keep it simple?
I am an advocate for free speech, so I fully believe in the right for anyone to make their opinion known. But I do object to lies and propaganda being used in the context of serious debate.
And what is the point in these stupid, ignorant, hysterical fools talking complete nonsense and pushing their extreme views onto the world? Not only does it not help, but it actively hinders real progress. They are entirely entitled to their own opinions, but their opinions aren't news, and if they become known to the public it is totally reasonable to ridicule them just like we would anyone else.
Comment 1 by Anonymous on 2022-01-28 at 22:32:33:
Sorry, but I have to challenge you on "stone age". Please justify.
Comment 2 by OJB on 2022-01-28 at 22:33:20:
This sounds like their culture at the time (from OED): Stone Age (noun) a prehistoric period when weapons and tools were made of stone or of organic materials such as bone, wood, or horn.
Comment 3 by Liz on 2022-01-28 at 22:33:48:
It is unbelievably refreshing to hear a balanced and rational voice cut through all the layers of PC rhetoric posing as 'truth'.
Comment 4 by OJB on 2022-01-28 at 22:34:18:
Thanks for the support. I do try to comment on events the way I see them, without any politics or irrationality getting in the way. The media - both on the left and right - rarely do this, so it's up to us bloggers to tell us how it really is!
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