We just wanted to talk, to read a poem, and we were beaten up: Let Women Speak

This.

you know what? TRAs have a point. Words can be violence. But it’s their words. The frenzy of slurs and name calling mud slinging and lies., The demonization that is the same demonization that has been used throughout history to legitimize violence against groups of people. The politicians using lies and slurs, the media lying and distorting in their presentation. The silence from politicians who should be defending democratic debate, the slurs from politicians against GC women, ALL of these people have created and enabled a situation where women were traumatized and could have been murdered that day.

Words can be violence.
Silence can be violence.

Brilliant idea to give them a platform and make a document of their vitally important voices.

It was indeed. I much appreciated the presenter's repeated reminder to men on the phone lines that they would not be speaking while there were women waiting to talk. Very much KJK's belief: to create a situation in which women's voices are the point and focus.

Understood.

The women speakers were so brave and inspiring. Brilliant idea to give them a platform and make a document of their vitally important voices.

Nobody has asked you to bury or discredit this.

I’ve politely asked people not to thank Sean Plunket. As my aunties would say, he is taku weriweri (disgusting).

I KNEW someone would come along sooner or later with some reason for this being buried or discredited.

Fortunately the overwhelming majority of posts here have been entirely focused on women's voices and testimony. They are all that matter.

That makes even more sense in the light of what the women were saying

Makes me very grateful that in the UK we have women journalists like Janice Taylor who have fought and fought to get truth and reality put up, however 'transphobic' any negative reality is framed as being.

We can still hear the women.

It doesn’t matter how much they post to try to hide it but I can see it’s troubling them enough to follow you around op.

I will be glad to.

Following the women's concerns about the media intentionally creating false impressions that 'nothing much happened' which is not at all matching what people who were there are saying and showing films of, Whaenui are you aware of any of the media being more reliable on this than others, or is it seeming to be a blanket thing?

Yes, they were. The Christian men were using their own bodies to shield the women as they were trying to get away from the mob.

Don't know if this has already been posted elsewhere:

(I don't agree entirely with her take on the bigger societal picture, but it gives a good feeling of what the event must have been like.)

As woman with Māori whakapapa who has suffered the indignity of having my reo erased on this very forum because it offends the ears of non-speakers, I’d be grateful if you’d all stop thanking Sean Plunket - a man who was fined by the Broadcasting Standards Authority after they ruled he had amplified negative Māori stereotypes, misinformed listeners, ridiculed Te Tiriti and insulted Te Whānau ā Apanui.

I would have thought that his decision to act abusively towards the GC advocate Ani O’Brien would have disqualified him from your adoration, but I guess that’s all forgiven and she should ‘just get over it’ now that he’s a GC hero.

I heard women who were given space to talk out and share their ordeal and I found it moving.

Funny how women speaking and being heard is painted as crossing the line by some.

I hear those women.

That you are afraid to says all I need to know.

He can’t manipulate the women who are speaking.

Their emotion is raw and real.

Simce no one else there seems happy to even let them speak without that Avenue we wouldn’t be hearing from them at all.

I know you’re trying to shut down all avenues for these women but tough really, we see the footage and can hear their painful experiences.

Since nobody else wants to talk about, Sean Plunket is New Zealand’s version of Tucker Carlson.

His media company is bankrolled by a secretive wealthy family called the Wrights who made a massive fortune from retirement homes and private childcare centres. They use Plunket’s media platform to lobby against rises in the minimum wage, lowering of company taxes, against increased regulation of the aged care an and early-childhood education sectors, and the removal of Te tiriti from its position at the centre of NZ common law.

It’s interesting to see people lap up his media content uncritically. Like Fox News in the USA the content that Plunket produces is intended to inflame viewers rather than inform.

Fabulous posts, so very sad at what happened.

Solidarity to our NZ sisters

Can anyone provide a translate of the Maori language terms?

I'd love to know more, but I've tried google translate, it seems Utterly fucking useless.

Kia kaha wahines.

We are a global grassroots group and none of us will wheesht.

I am so pleased your voices are on that recording and I will share it with the friends, probably about to be ex friends, I have in NZ.

I am upset for you and I understand how scared you were. Your courage is inspiring

Just finished listening, that was really powerful and hard to hear.
Rise up women.