Amazing that the Pakeha Party use a Maori moniker to identify themselves #fitforpurpose

— Donna Mariana Grant (@DonnaMarianaGra) July 13, 2013

I have seen this same message in many tweets and Facebook posts. They say something to the tune of, “How ironic that the ‘Pakeha’ Party is named from a Maori word”.

I don’t understand the reasoning here. The Pakeha Party is about equality for all New Zealanders, and is not about excluding Maori or Maori culture. The point in this tweet would be a valid one, if The Pakeha Party was racist or a White Supremacist movement which of course it is not. The fact that the movement uses a Maori word at all shows that it embraces Maori as it does with all races.

What these kinds of tweets prove is there are the many misconceptions about the Pakeha Party. Surely if a person bothered to educate themselves as to what the movement was about, then they wouldn’t make comments like that. This sort of ignorance is probably no different to those Pakeha in our history who were against equality for Maori. Perhaps if they lived back then they would be equally against equality for Maori as they are for Pakeha now.

Think about it. If you had to make a choice as to which point was racist out of:

1) Parties that are race-based with a pro-race agenda; or
2) Parties that promoted equal rights for all races;

I would certainly choose point 1 as being the racist of the two.

And so it is that The Pakeha Party movement stands with point 2. Not for Pakeha privilege or a Pakeha only agenda, but that all have equal privilege regardless of race.