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Flags, Damned Flags and Flag Referenda

Vote decided
Novelty tea towel discarded

Why I didn't vote for either

This referendum has been fucked since Jump Street. John Keys dictated the process to get what he wanted, not what the people wanted.

I know many republicans who voted for the current flag just because they didn't like the new one. Many people wanted to ditch the Union Jack, but we just couldn't get behind a flag without a story.

Our current flag tells of our place within the British Commonwealth and the Pacific Ocean. The new flag looks like some kid was playing around on Photoshop combining existing flags.

You see, we like the current flag, but we don't like the Union Jack. We like the All Black flag, but we associate that with a sports team. So let's just paste over the top of the old flag with our favourite flag.

Makes sense, right?

That was exactly what this flag was. A do-nothing flag for those who liked the status quo, but who could stand a small change. There just wasn't enough people in that category, where a large number of people wanted to keep the flag, and another large group wanted a complete change.

That's me, in the third group. I want a flag that tells the story of our new nation.

That was the biggest surprise of this whole process - the absence of any decent options for the third group. We're the ones who actually wanted a change in the first place. I voted for #RedPeak (even though I didn't really like it) simply because it had an appropriate story.

I teach international students both here and abroad, and the topic of the flag always comes up. They think it's strange that we have a British flag and a British sovereign, but they can understand it because it's the traditional story of our nation.

I don't know how to teach them about the new flag. We tried to change it because the Prime Minister wanted to change it. But he didn't get his first choice, so we ended up with this sloppy do-nothing flag that looks like a novelty tea towel. That's not how it's supposed to work.

I couldn't bring myself to vote for that flag, but I couldn't vote to keep the old one either. So I sent in an invalid vote and wasted my democratic privilege. One can't choose if there is no choice to be made.

Thanks John Keys

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