"I'm sick of being demonized for being white." Discomfort or Oppression? /A.J Hendry

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“I am sick and tired of being demonized for being white.” – Judith Collins

I remember the day two of my young people came into my office and shared with me their reason’s for not accessing WINZ. These girls needed it. Despite looking for work, they hadn’t managed to secure a job, they hadn’t been eating well due to lack of income, and on top of that, they had stopped paying rent. As I'm sure you can imagine, they were in a little bit of hot water with their landlord.

I remember asking them, perplexed, “why don’t you just go down to WINZ, they’ll cover you while we support you with the rest.”

Their response floored me.

“We’d rather starve, than go into WINZ. We don’t want people to think we’re those types of māori.”

There response was a glimpse into their experience of the world, a heart-breaking look at their reality. For them, māori had become synonymous with lazy, beneficiary, dole bludger, abuser. These were the narratives they saw about their people, and they desperately wanted to avoid being marred with the same brush they saw their whanau painted with.

I remember another time.

We found a young māori lad living on the street. A kid, just barely 18. He’d been rough sleeping for several years when we came across him.

I remember working all day to try and find him emergency accommodation. After ringing motel after motel, finally one place said they would take him. They had a place for him, and even some support on site, so they were confident it would work. However, after meeting with him for 10 mins, they left saying that they wouldn’t be able to help. My team and I worked late that night, and at the ninth hour found another motel willing to take him in. We arranged payment and confirmed when we would arrive. We were just around the corner, so it wouldn’t be long.

And then we got to the motel.

And as I was preparing to pay, the motel manager took one look at our young man and uttered words I will never forget.

“We don’t serve those type hear.”

What type?

I remember another time.

We were trying – desperately – to support another young māori man to navigate court. The situation was complex, but there was a good case to be made for our young man to be bailed into community. We had an intensive plan in place to provide for his care and support, so we were confident we would make it work. The problem? The lawyer refused to apply for bail.

“I know his type!” said the lawyer who’d only briefly met him, “There’s no point applying for bail.”

His type?

What type?

When Judith Collins expressed frustration for being demonized due to the colour of her skin, what did she mean exactly?

Did she mean that she was more likely to be arrested than others solely due to the way that she looks?

Did she mean that she is more likely to be denied support and housing, due to who people think she is when they see her?

Did she mean, perhaps, that when people look at her, that they assume that she is lazy, or an abuser, or a dole bludger?

Did she mean that she was more likely than others to be denied a fair trial, or be turned away from WINZ if she ever need to ask for help, because it was assumed she was responsible for contributing to her own homelessness?

There are people in this nation who are being demonized due to the colour of their skin.

But, it is not white people.

As pākehā, I get being uncomfortable around conversations of diversity, privilege, and colonization. I’ve been there. If you’re new to the conversation, it can be hard, and it can be raw as you are forced to wrestle with the implications of being white in a world that privileges your voice, at the expense of others.

However, no matter how uncomfortable it may feel, that discomfort is not oppression.

We need to be sure we do not mistake the two.

A.J. Hendry