Much and all as Louise Nicholas is a gutsy, tough woman, I think New Zealander of the Year Awards are rubbish.
I mean for fuck's sakes, how can you compare what she does, what she's gone through, with Richie McCaw?
Naturally we're far too precious to have a NZ Woman of the Year and a NZ Man of the Year. That, My Darlings, would never do.
Obviously (and I write this before the award is announced) the award has to go to Richie if we go by popular vote. He's an international brand. He's extraordinary. Everyone wants a piece of him. Louise Nicholas just doesn't compare with all that razzamatazz. And yet.....
Then I ask, why is Rob Fenwick even in the finalists? Who is this person? Has anyone outside the Viaduct Basin heard of him, this businessman, capitalist masquerading as a Care Bear. Cleverly, yes, but an ex adman nonetheless.
If he really wanted to "normalize environmentalism" as I think he just said to Toni Street, he'd take his "journey" (that fucking over-used word and used yet again by Louise Nicholas in her interview. Jesus Wept, we're all on a fucking journey) and stand outside every KFC and Maccydunneda and order all the munters not to chuck their Happy Meal boxes out their car windows on to the street. That's pollution.
And while they're at it, he might say, why don't they think about putting their coke cans, their other cans, and all their bottles in those recycling plastic bins provided by the Council, instead of using them for fish bins?
Nah. Sir Robert would have to protect his chinos with a pair of bicycle clips to go on this here journey.
As Karl du Fresne - the one and only decent columnist with the guts to write what he feels in the mainstream media in New Zealand http://karldufresne.blogspot.co.nz/ (yes I know that's his blog but he republishes his DomPost columns there), if you analyse litter it's mostly from junk food, beer and fizzy drinks.
The middle classes put their chardonnay bottles, camembert wrappers, Nosh paper bags and La Cigale paper in the recycling buckets. Their children go to schools which ban anything in lunchboxes which can't be recycled.
New Zealander of the Year? Why don't they give it to someone outrageous for a change? Someone who's not on a journey. Surprise us. Give us a laff?
Well you picked it right (by popular vote or not).
ReplyDeleteI tune out of 'that stuff' these days.
Off on a journey here... car down to the garage for a warrant.
[Re middle classes, Mrs H and I after too much alcohol consumption last week and weekend thought we better take ourselves in hand this week, and just a gin and water before tea, no wine until Friday (and we wouldn't stock up, having let both wine fridges run down). Needless to say I had to make an emergency run to the supermarket at 6.30pm last night - we managed Monday and Tuesday - to find, horrors, five shelves of chilled sauvignons, not a single chardonnay in their fridge department. I had a wee word with staff and apparently their customers only drink sauvs. Stuff like that could almost get me blogging again. Middle class problems I guess.]
Maybe a "Good guy/girl Award" - sort of a "You've done all these things that you specifically wanted to do and were paid $$ to do and you still appear to be a nice person Award". Then the NZer of the year (aren't there 2 or 3 NZer of the year awards?) can go to someone who against some significant odds has changed society.
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