Vaccine Mandates Are A Far Cry From Apartheid

Many of us who have survived police states and police brutality are in awe of the New Zealand police’s handling of the volatile explosion of emotions that have descended on Parliament. Commissioner Coster and his team are surgically navigating a political minefield as they balance the right to protest within the boundaries of law and order. Staying true to the mantra of policing with consent as one deputy leads negotiations and the other ensure operational effectiveness.

We are blessed to live in Aotearoa with its Freedoms and respect for Human Rights. Of course, we can always and must do better, but after traveling the globe there is no place like home in Porirua.

Dehumanising apartheid

We have an absolute right to peaceful protest and to demand better. However, we don't have a right to arrogantly trample on the rights of others for our own selfish pursuits. Having survived one of the most dehumanizing systems in the world called APARTHEID, I resent the ignorant abuse of the word to describe the consequences of one's own choices. APARTHEID wasn't the result of a choice. Thousands were killed, maimed, imprisoned, forcefully resettled and brutalized because they weren't born "white". All "non-whites" were excluded, daily suffering the humiliation and degradation of being classified "a lesser human being" based on skin colour not a choice.

Glibly using terms like "APARTHEID" or even worse the evils of the " Nazis during the persecution of the Jews" to exaggerate the consequences of one’s own choices is repugnant. If this was Apartheid South Africa protesters would have been teargassed, water-cannoned, battened and even shot with the remainder being carted off to 90-day detention without trial. On the contrary, New Zealand police has acknowledged the right to lawful process.

Minimum laws for safety

Any ordered society have minimum laws to optimize our quality of life. To drive on our public roads, you need a licence and the car need a warrant. You can't just drive on the side of your choice. You wear restraints and obey the rules – ("mandates"). If you don’t wish to get a licence or a warrant of fitness or obey the rules, that’s your choice and the consequences are, you are not allowed on the road. Do what you wish in your own space; but in a common community space you do what's respectful of the whole community. If you don’t like the rules, then peacefully protest and democratically vote out the rule makers. Of course, this isn’t a guarantee who you vote for will give you what you want - that’s called democracy.

World in Covid-19 grip

The world has been in the grip of a deadly global pandemic the past 2 years. We have been spared many of the international horrors of death and hospitals being overrun. And yes, that isn’t the only measure, but I have sat through too many live streaming of the funerals of thirty-and-forty-somethings in my country of birth due to Covid-19. They weren’t blessed with the access to vaccines that we have. Yes, we all had to adjust - we have all been grumpy, frustrated and even angry at times. We are all Covid-Fatigued. Non-Covid-19 related health issues have been seriously neglected. The economic carnage not to mention the emotional and mental consequences are massive. The painful effect of the paralysis of the supply chain is going to be disastrous. Worse of all is the individual pain of losing a job or a business, not being able to feed your family or be able to visit a dying loved-one. The price has been extremely high…no one has escaped.

The inadequacies of the last 12 months

No one asked for this horrible mutating virus that’s terrorising the globe. No one has a monopoly on the solutions either but there is a leadership responsibility. After leading the world in 2020 our clarity of strategic goals and execution the last 12 months have been found wanting. The lack of genuine community dialogue has been a major source of frustration and anger. Twice the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency (WOCA) went to court to try and get data from the Ministry of Health to try and expedite a better rollout for Māori – and the bureaucrats dogmatically kept obstructing them. No Kiwi should have been locked out – there are always alternatives.

Pay the price for your convictions.

We all have a right not to be vaccinated and be treated respectfully. However, we are all responsible for the consequences of our choices. If I choose not to be vaccinated, I should not arrogantly demand the same access as those who chose temporary sacrifice for the greater good. And I certainly shouldn’t be trampling on the rights of others.

Maybe take a leaf out of the words of Novak Djokovic responding to a question if he was willing to forfeit playing in Wimbledon or the French open and being denied the opportunity to statistically be the greatest "Yes, that’s a price that I'm willing to pay".

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