These are weird times. Kiwis who are normally slow to anger are fighting with each other even within families, condemning others in a heartless manner as if this was war and others’ lives were less important than a strongly held view.
The “separation” into opposing vaccination groups has been “legitimised” and encouraged by our government’s consistent propaganda – and the undemocratic mandates. The mandates lie at the root of the growing divide.
This is happening despite free choice, medical sovereignty, and caring for the suffering of the less fortunate being at the core of our democracy. We have been the first to stand up for human rights before other countries, but now we are lagging behind the world who see the nonsense of mandates and are ending them.
I have been called thick, naive, a hallucinating conspiracy theorist – and much worse. I have also been wished dead. Historically, this kind of manufactured intense polarisation is typical of many countries starting down the slippery slope of being stripped of essential freedoms. Especially when it coincides with laws going speedily through parliament without parliamentary debate, and mandates that make no sense coming into play. In our instance, the shocking and likely illegal “no jab no job” mandates. These defy commonsense. It’s astonishingly clear that both vaccinated, and non-vaccinated, get and spread the disease…so not even science supports these mandates.
Overkill has been the common denominator of our Covid Response. The latest amends to the Covid Bill (2) amongst other things allows the police to enter your home without a warrant. The Bill went through without any time to read the thousands of submissions, or any time for the majority of people to notice it was even happening. Blink and it was done. There is a government not informing or willing to listen to its people right there.
What I have posted is so far is pretty mild aimed at peacefully healing the divide. I respect all the good people who have different opinions but who refrained from emotional abuse. There are some who have entered into the kind of free debate that normally happened pre Covid – but I am sad to say it is rare. That is a world-wide phenomenon that has been
echoed here.
Here is how I stand about all this for the record.
I have a degree in Political Science and concentrated on organisational psychology and “power, personality and politics.” Now that does not make me a know all, and I am not for the use of “expert” as the final word on any crucial enquiry. This too can be abused. But it does give me a radar for totalitarian moves. This is not isolated to NZ, and I wonder why people aren’t reflecting on what is happening in Canada – and the now world-wide trend outside NZ with countries dropping the mandates and all Covid restrictions.
We are very much behind the times on Omicron and new data that helps us have the beginnings of true retrospect. Ardern seems to have not caught up with the low threats associated with Omicron and the inability of the vaccine to protect people from it. Bloomfield himself admitted the booster had no effect on Omicron, yet Ardern continues to push them and call it a “pandemic” still when it is clearly endemic. The acute phase of Covid 19 and its potential serious risks is over. Omicron is good news, not bad.
The rest of the world are making common-sense conclusions to stop mandates now. I believe, no government surely could be blind to these developments. It seems something more concerning is happening than Ardern’s government just being in a time warp. I would like to be wrong, but her stance is consistent with someone staunchly not facing up to reality, and unable to listen to any view but her own. Not even the people she was elected to listen to, represent, and serve.
I am worried that if the protestors fail, if Ardern will refuse to see them and talk….. we ALL fail. The speaking truth to power will not be possible. It will be drowned out again and again. So, I urge people to continue their support.
When Ardern came to power we loved her agenda. But right now her agenda is not our own. Never has a Leader and her whole government wilfully divided off a group of New Zealanders and described them as a “river of filth” “domestic terrorists” and much worse. More scathing even than for the description of the Muslim terrorist who was a real threat and murdered our kiwi Muslim brothers and sisters.
She used to say that her work is not done till every New Zealander is not suffering in poverty or inequality. Yet her mandates have driven people into unemployment and her language continues to be deeply divisive. She has repeated the imported meme that “this is a disease of the unvaccinated” and drove an artificial wedge between us. This is rapidly turning to hatred as she presents the worst possible view of the protesters to the country. I want to diffuse this hatred, but with little mainstream media willing to do this – its looking like a long shot till some of them wake up and act like real investigative journalists. The real issues are not being tended to – instead diverted from by focus on anything that make the protesters look as bad as Arden’s comments about them.
Truly people are really suffering who have lost their careers (heart breaking enough on its own) and income for a choice she once said there would be no penalties for. These people are valuable members of our community. I have been there, they are good people.
Ardern removed 1000’s of comments off her page the day she asked had anyone experienced friends or family with adverse events – believing obviously that they were rare. She refuses to answer questions about it and the call to making reporting adverse events mandatory – which is really just common sense for the safety of New Zealanders who have trusted in her.
There is much more that I could say, but I respect that this will possibly be hard enough for anyone still enamoured with her to take in. It hurt me as someone who trusted her to put my head above the fog and realise this – but truly there are enormous questions to be answered, and urgently. This is why I am here in Wellington. It is a very complex situation but I know I must take this stand. I hope taking a peaceful and honest stand can narrow the dangerous divide between New Zealanders.
All of us are much more than the parameters of this issue of course – but right now it is critical to put good energy into this before the time comes when we wished we had.
Do what you believe, but whatever side you are on, I ask with respect for all to just watch more intently – and not rely solely on the mainstream media story, or indeed the government’s. Their “one and only source of info to be trusted” is a claim that is now proving to be vastly incorrect and behind the times. When a leader says that it should put a chill down your spine. We are not powerless in seeking more information outside her group from reputable internationally respected qualified people. It doesn’t have to be via social media that is so heavily censored. People forget we can just pick up the phone. We can also decide for ourselves when harmful laws must stop, indeed that is now democracy works.
Image Credit: Jennie Hatherley
Jacinda, Klaus for you on line two.
Hahaha haha, tell him she’s too busy ruining her country to come to the phone, she will get back to him, but not to worry it’s still all going to plan
Some years ago a previous NZ Prime Minister had the Ministry of Health design a meningitis scare, requiring our children to be vaccinated. She had been on a skiing holiday with her “husband” in Norway. The Norwegians needed a batch of kids to take these test vaccines. It wasn’t going to be Norwegian kids. Norway gave endorsement when the time came for her to apply for a senior UN role. France assisted as well after A320s were decided upon instead of 737s as part of Air New Zealand’s short haul fleet replacement. Chirac presented the then NZ PM with a wrist watch. The front page of the Dominion Post carried a photo of that presentation. Did the population of NZ benefit more from this than the enabler? Is the present enabler benefitting more than the population? Altruism has a run out date.
I’m with the protesters too ????
Aroha nui ????????????
Thank you for this beautifully written article Jennie. You point out the shocking truth that Omicron doesn’t discriminate between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated – but our Prime Minister does!!
Actually Omicron does discriminate. It by far prefers the “vaccinated” as its host.
Thanks for the positive response and aroha – we are all in this together.
THE GOVERNMENT IS THE VIRUS
CANCEL
Good commonsense thank you.
Thank you Jenny a real reporter. My daughter is one of those vax injured 36 her life is now no longer her own. She can hardly vacuum the house or use a bubble wand for her 7 year old son without her heart beating soo fast and the pain in her chest unbearable. She has lost her job lost her 3rd year in studying foe an ECE degree, declined Acc, the Hospital 5 visits now just dismiss her including making her take an uber home at 3 in the morning drugged up on morphine and at a very low point in her life. Thankyou not Jacinda for your kindness you are dismissing those you have hurt and don’t care either. This is not the New Zealand we want anymore. So many ordinary Kiwis do not know this is happening because it is not publicly acknowledged just dismissed as a load of rubbish.
now I am really woken up, knowen the lies at the media and what really happen at the freedom village
Thank you for this article Jenny. I have just watched our PM deliver her I got it right and we have not suffered the real covid disease.
She sounds so plausible!
Then i think about what I know. My daughter lost her job, numerous people never the same since being jabbed and that is tbe soft side of this. There are thousands of kiwis that have injures that will never be any thing like healthy again or those that have died, even children. I wonder just how Ardern, Hipkins and Bloomfield sleep at night! Lets not forget either, they do not have to be jabbed to keep their jobs and they are paid by us!
Thank you again Jennie
https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/modern-day-censorship/new-study-from-sweden-says-pfizer-mrna-does-indeed-integrate-into-your-dna/
This government is pimping for Pfizer; drug pushing – first with grooming, propaganda, and persuasion and lying about the forcing of an undeclared substance injected into our bodies. Resistance was met with manipulation, coercion,
bullying and finally threats.
That is what pimps and drug pushers do. The punishment for non compliance was cruel.
(No kindness here; did any mp stand up for us, from Labour or the opposition? You know, the people who are paid by us, to represent us.) And what dark agenda is being carried out, with Adern at the helm?
The only source of ‘truth’ has led us to impoverishment, fear, and grief. Adern has sown the seeds of division, (as in divided we fall,) but what she and the rest of the pushers are being shown, the protesters here, as they are around the world, unifying in love and peace; standing together for their God given right to personal sovereignty, and the right to freedom of movement,
without overpaid taxpayer funded public officials poking their noses into our
private lives; their snouts in the public trough, as they pass ever more draconian bills through parliament with little consultation. Third Reich laws,
designed to give the state more control and we the people, less.
So, while the pen pushers in parliament spread their vile propaganda, and report disparagingly about the good people ‘beneath them’ it is they themselves who are mired in filth. And how pleased
they must be when some hive minded ‘journalist’ or enraged radio host repeats
the lies.
But, truth will always come to the surface. Good will prevail.
Thanks to the couragous people protesting for freedom from government tyranny.
people in parliament grounds
What a well balanced article. How do we get it to mainstream media? The propaganda and censorship are so relentless that the majority are just not paying attention.
I find it astonishing that the totalitarian approach of this government is not being questioned in any way by any other political party. We are being let down by them all. They and the media should feel very ashamed and their compliantly blind cowardice.
This is absolutely spot on, the continued mandates make no sense and the strong divide they are causing between families,
friends and New Zealanders is extremely concerning. We should continue to stand up for what is ethically and morally right, a persons choice too vaccination or any medical treatment at that matter. I for one am not for or against but I do have a strong stance on this being mandatory. As you have expressed there is no scientific reason to actually continue with the mandates given the weakening of Covid and omnicron. We should certainly be taking note of other countries who are now waiving the mandates. It seems more about holding to a particular stance than doing what is right and best for the people.
The only statement I agree with in this article is the following: “The acute phase of Covid 19 and its potential serious risks is over. Omicron is good news, not bad.”.
However, what the writer of this article fails to acknowledge is the following:
– the claim that the Government should be the “one and only source of info to be trusted” was made at the time of Delta and a barrage of misinformation circulating around social media at the time. Anything from 5G to “shedding”, etc. This misinformation was not only readily available to the “enlightened” few, but also to the rest of us who are allegedly “asleep”. Thankfully, the majority of us can tell fact from fiction. This misinformation also included allegations of people dropping dead after being vaccinated, forcing grieving families to come out and publicly deny these claims (including instances where the deceased person was not vaccinated at all).
– while other countries are dropping their mandates it is because they are well and truly behind the peak of Omicron. NZ is not there yet. We are yet to see our peak and our hospitals are already at over 90% capacity. But unvaccinated don’t seem to care about those who have not been blessed with Arien immunity. On the contrary, I have heard many propagating eugenics, just for the sake of them being able to have their lattes.
While Omicron has indeed changed the game, lest we forget that it is the vaccinated that saved the unvaccinated behinds from Delta. Unlike the rest of the world, NZ’s Delta numbers have never reached the peak that was seen elsewhere and have significantly dropped over time to negligible levels. A fact conveniently forgotten by those who chose not to be vaccinated.
The article lost me at “wake up” – a phrase grossly overused by anti-vaxxers. What they don’t seem to realise is that we are watching intently and what we are seeing is a bunch of people falling deeper and deeper down a rabbit hole and who are at a point of no return. Go home now. The mandates will drop whether or not your place of abode is the Parliament grounds. They will drop at the right time for the majority of us. And this will be soon. So go home. Because right now the only impact you are having is on the public property you are destroying and Wellingtonians you are inconveniencing.
It’s easy to make a comment as an ordinary person because all people protesting are ordinary people