Glen the Great

The debate over Paul Holmes' comments* has highlighted an interesting feature of 21st century society: that what we say and do is monitored by a small group of people who think their way is right and want to bend the rest of us to their will. Centuries of conflict over basic freedom have brought us one mantra: "All men are created equal." But it seems that not all groups are created equal. One can rant about poms and honkies until the cows come home, but put in an ill word about some other groups and you could lose your job. And there are some groups who do not even bear mention, such as young people - who would have thought that we could be a minority, too? It seems that all that is important in the world has to fit between sips of latte, and, sorry, time is short and some people just aren't important enough. Words by themselves are intrinsically innocuous, but we should realise that every ill word uttered reminds the oppressed of years of injustice and bad t...

***Update: This is a repost in light of the rumours that John Banks may be contesting the SuperCity election again in 2019. "I'm not John Banks!" That was to be my campaign slogan. That was to differentiate me from John Archibald Banks. That was to poke a bit of fun at the fact that was all the other 21 candidates had going for them too. The first SuperCity election is an important one for Auckland. We need to choose the right candidate to bring all the legacy councils together and unite all of our communities. When John was Mayor of Auckland City Council, he governed in the interests of Hobson and Orakei around where he lived. I feared that he would try to run the SuperCity in the same way. When a lion attacks, he goes for the jugular. John Banks was the leading candidate, so he was an obvious target. That's why I changed my name to John Banks. All the other candidates were trying to show how they were different. How could I stand out in a crowded field? The ...