(no subject)

[labellementeuse]

you bring out the new zealand in me.
you bring out the aotearoa,
the blood in the soil in me,
the sleepy curl of the fern.
the furl of the flag.
you bring out the kiwiburger in me,
the beetroot and doublemeat patties in me,
the hotpools and processed cheese in me,
beth heke and the fried egg in me,
'cause we love.
kiwis love.
you bring out the pounamu in me,
the south island, the greenwater running,
te waka o maui in me.
you bring out the ihi in me.
you bring out the allblacks in me,
the haka in me, the song
and dance in me, the no-maoris-no-tour in me,
the industrial action in me.

aue.

I am the molesworth street massacre. I am
your sinking ship in the harbour, I
am the uranium on your breath.
I am the land wars. I am most definitely
rugby and netball. I am the six and out.

you bring out the pokies in me, the boys
in the street in me,
the girls in the piupiu in me,
the amine in me, the amen in me.

you bring out the kia ora in me,
the good morning in me,
the kia orana in me,
the nihao in me,
the talofa lava in me,
the aloha in me,
the namaste in me.

you bring out the town hall in me,
the candyfloss in me,
the butterfly facepaint in me,
the capture the castle in me,
the weeds in me. you bring out
the pork bones and puha in me. the blood
and bone in me. the poppies in me.

I am racism, I am the welfare, I am te tiriti o waitangi
in both english and maori. I live and breath
by you, I am frisbee on parliament lawns. I am
tractors on parliament steps. I split the atom. I am black sticks.
I am a hui, I am a hikoi, I have an agenda.
I have a mihi.


Hey gang, I need some more significant or shameful moments in new zealand history. I'd especially like anything significant pertaining to the chinese in the gold rush since I know jack about that period, but anything that might go well with this is good.

Comments

[cabaiste84.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. Freaking. Fantastic.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

thanks hon. :)

[blythely.livejournal.com]

this is you writing, yes? It's awesome. Votes for women?

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

Ooh, good one.

[derrick-reeves.livejournal.com]

Light-heartedly: The Battle of Cuba Street probably deserves a mention, as does the spelling mistake in the country's name.

Shamefully: the dead boys in France, largely forgotten because they didn't have the good taste to be slain in a moment of national awakening. Also commonly forgotten for being in bad taste are Bryce's white horse and the concentration camps in the Boer War - even though the latter bought New Zealand its colony in Niue. Speaking of the back yard: Black Saturday in Samoa, the stolen soil of Nauru, the dawn raids, the use of force to secure Timor's gas and oil, further intervention in the Solomons, the seven hundred million dollars a year wrenched from the people of the Pacific Islands and the renewed policy of bringing them bodily into New Zealand for direct exploitation.

(Honestly, shamefulness in the history of the New Zealand state probably goes beyond just isolated moments.)
However, as all of that's a bit bleak, one might want to think about the individuals - not least, the medical student who saved the King in Berlin and the beekeeper who went up the mountain.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

Dude, these are awesome, thank you.

Honestly, shamefulness in the history of the New Zealand state probably goes beyond just isolated moments.

As in any country. But isolated moments make the best poetry. ;)

[derrick-reeves.livejournal.com]

No problem. On a second thought, rather than mentioning Jack alone, better to put him alongside Peter and John.

isolated moments make the best poetry

It's been claimed (by Brecht, among others) that Trotsky was the best European writer of his generation, and he didn't write about isolated moments. Admittedly, he's known for prose rather than verse.

And a couple of NZ-Aus moments: Germaine Greer's arrest for using the words "bullshit" and (less talked about) "fuck" in '72 is neither significant nor shameful, but it's striking. The same could be said about underarm bowling.

[sixth-light.livejournal.com]

I would suggest the Tour, but beating-up-sixteen-year-olds-with-batons-on-Molesworth-St isn't quite as good as "Molesworth St Massacre". Though it is notable.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

dude, the tour's in there! like I'd leave that out.

[angry-in-pink.livejournal.com]

Oh. My. God. This is absolutley BRILLIANT /fangirls madly.

I have no other constructive criticism, sorry. Because it's .Just. That. Good.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

aw. you are a honey!

[anna-en-route.livejournal.com]

Flag pole cutting

Also Everest and the South Pole.
The waterfront strike.
The six o'clock swill.
Gumboots and we don't know how lucky we are

[anna-en-route.livejournal.com]

Also this is really incredible.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

those are neat suggestions! and thank you.