This totally redundant treaty, applying to circumstances nearly two centuries ago, has spawned a truly astonishing “industry” in claims as to what it meant, despite never actually saying as much.
The latest and most absurd comes from something called the Health Coalition Aotearoa, specifically, (lie down before reading further) “The burden of obesity has been disproportionately carried by Maori and Pacifica – half of all Maori adults are obese and a third of rangatahi (children) overweight or obese. More than 71% of Pacifica adults and half of children are overweight or obese.”
According to this nonsense outfit this is apparently the government’s, or in other words the public’s fault and a breach of the Treaty. Extending the treaty to Pacifica is no sillier than the numerous other ludicrous claims relating to it.
I first went to Samoa 60 years ago and travelled all over from village to village. Trust me, there were no fat Samoans. That’s certainly not the case today. But it’s not just islanders and maoris. Ask anyone over 60 and they will snap out the name of the sole fat kid at their school half a century ago who was such a stand-out, their names remain etched in their memories.
What’s happened since is the weak minded stuffing themselves with rubbish, except of course, maori and Islanders who apparently have been held down and force fed with fried filth, contrary to a specific clause in the Waitangi Treaty banning this.
One in five British homes don’t have a kitchen table. Why? They’re the working classes so many of whom who also feed on fried filth, eating with their fingers. Thus Britain’s high covid death toll, singularly attributable to obesity, the Brits having Europe’s fattest people.
Maoridom will never rescue itself from its domination of the worst statistics so long as there’s idiots telling them it’s not their fault and blurting out those magical words “The Treaty”.
29 Comments
On the mark, Bob. Ludicrous. Like blaming government for it raining on Christmas day because it failed to fulfil our rightful expectations.
Only a fool would say that Maori have been unaffected by colonisation, however the current push by the righteous (to use it as an excuse for just about every current negative outcome affecting Maori), neglects the importance of personal responsibility.
People choose to eat what they eat, drink what they drink, and they need to look in a mirror if they are looking for someone to blame for resultant problems.
If you want to talk about “affected by colonisation” then make sure you attest to all the advantages that colonisation brought. The technology alone allowed Maori to jump at least two “ages” that they still wouldn’t have traversed on their own by now.
Sure colonists brought new diseases that caused damage to Maori but covid should teach us that all peoples are vulnerable to that. On covid specifically, statements that “the Crown” are responsible for covid health outcomes to Maori over and above everyone else is racism pure and simple.
Look on the positive side, there won’t be a pension crisis…
Joking aside this obesity epidemic is alarming and new. There are several famous photos of men lining up for a medical exam as part of WW2 sans shirts.
All are stick thin. Fat chance of that today (pun intended) The silliest part of it is that there has never been an easier time to eat well. Healthy food and gyms are widely available.
As a rule fried foods aren’t the problem, sugar is the problem. The families in the USA that control sugar are incredibly rich and politically powerful and sugar in food has something like 60 different accepted names. Sugar free sweets are often all sugar thanks to loopholes in the law.
GPs everywhere say if diet and exercise were a pill it would be the most prescribed medication ever.
As to SRJ valid and timely points about “te Tiriti” they should be painted on letters 100 foot high in every City.
It is the food pyramid that is based on carbohydrates (sugars) and the use of unsaturated fatty vegetable oils from seeds that replaced saturated fats from animals, which is causing all the problems. Take away the vegetable oils and use fats instead, the problem will go away.
I looked through my grandfather’s and great uncles’ WWI records and there was a note written in their medical which read “No Fat”. They were about 6 foot tall and weight about 78 kgs. Being farmers they would have lived off the fat of animals, lards, dripping and tallow.
You can also look at the ancient Egyptians. Their diet consisted mainly of breads and they became obese along with developing heart disease and clotted arteries.
When you’re bored Bob – stand on the corner of Lambton Quay and Stout Street and watch the staff of Te Puni Kokiri (Dept of Maori Affairs) coming and going – especially around morning tea time. It’s outrageous that they’re forced to waddle over the road and return with sacks of food. We have so much to apologise for.
Thanks, I needed that (belly) laugh…!
Sir Bob, back in your day, your diet was based on saturated animal fats, fatty meats and fresh vegetables. Today, our diet is based on carbohydrates, unsaturated vegetable oils and all sorts of reconstituted refined foods. If the unsaturated vegetable oils were removed from our food (they are everywhere) there would be a substantial change in the nation’s health, both mentally and physically.
I’m old enough to recall my elders holding card evenings…everyone had eaten a dinner at home and then ate what amounted to a 2nd one at the ‘supper’ provided at the host’s home…baked goodies, cakes etc. Weight wasn’t much of an issue…different foods & I think dinner portions were probably smaller & plainer.
Totally agree Sir Bob, Madness and degrading, Madding and outrageous
How do you now unwind this installed belief ?
The worst thing you can tell anyone is that their race matters more than their actions. The Treaty industry should be prosecuted for criminal damage.
I wonder, is there some way that policy makers can be proven to be harmful to those who suffer most – poverty, obesity, etc? Other than elections which are a fraught mechanism overally constrained by popularity over substance, surely there is another legal redress available to reclaim sanity?
There are plenty of fat white people too, just go and people watch at any supermarket and the trolley full of beer, coke and other junk is mind blowing. Perhaps we need to rope in the supermarkets as being in breach of the treaty for allowing people to buy stuff that makes you fat.
You have scored another ‘home run’ there Sir Robert; so true. The sooner we abolish the silly Treaty, the better! It is a wonder no political party (ACT, for instance, who claims to uphold the rule of law) has a policy of abolition due to its irrelevancy in a nation where 20% of people (a percentage rapidly rising) were born abroad and have absolutely no interest whatsoever in Maori stuff.
As for the problem of fat Maoris – I suspect asking these health coalition grifters to point out the anti obesity wording in the Treaty will be a bit like trying to find the sentence “You have the right to choose an abortion” in the US Constitution.
To paraphrase George Orwell “War is peace, Ignorance is intelligence. Poverty is having too much food”
Looks like the Treaty was bad for everyone. About 48% of Maori are classified as obese, but so are 29% of “Europeans/Other.”
Look no further than a cue outside McDonalds late at night.
McDonalds has become a religion, where they catch them while they are young. Most now dont know how to cook a meal, or make a sandwich. The main reason is they are too lazy to get off their ass, which explains the drive thru cues
Maybe we should make drive thru takeaways illegal?
I’m just glad SRJ told us to lie down early in the piece, before I fell off my perch reading, yet again, more on the ludicrous ToW. Surely, even if there were any validity in this document this should have lapsed when either Queen Victoria and/or the Maori signatories died.
Maori also ‘disproportionately carry the burden of ‘ imprisonment and welfare dependence. I doubt people would complain if Maori wish to take a break from the heavy-lifting.
Obviously absurd though Treaty interpretations and extensions now are, the msm is too lured by govt subsidy and advertising and the massive maori economy, and too cowed by fear of cancellation driven by orchestrated maori, to risk drawing attention to the Emperor Has No Clothes situation.
The TOW is the most bastardised and corrupted by smart arsed lawyers document in existence. Yes it should have died with Queen Victoria as she only produced it to gain sovereignty over NZ. We need One Law for All in NZ. The TOW is a blame game against the 83 percent majority. Brenda D.
in the words of the late Lt Col Aubrey Balzer, who served with the Maori Battalion in WW2, “As long as you stupid Pakehas keep paying, us cunning Maoris are going to keep asking. Says it all!
Maori also ‘disproportionately carry the burden of ‘ imprisonment and welfare dependence. I doubt people would complain if Maori wish to take a break from the heavy-lifting.
in the words of the late Lt Col Aubrey Balzar, who served with 28 Maori Battalion in WW2, “As long as you stupid Pakehas keep paying, us cunning Maoris are going to keep asking”
Our government are moving to ban cigarettes from our society. I do not smoke .. but I disagree with this, utterly and completely – just because I believe in inviting minimal government interference and control into our lives. Cigarette smoking is a great personal choice – and a free society allows people to make personal choices – good or bad. Letting our government control our choices – is a dangerous, slippery slope we should steer clear of, like the plague. Right now, we are heading down the opposite path and we are stupidly letting it happen.
But that is what we appear to have become – stupid. Our government has suddenly stepped things up .. and, almost overnight, has become far too controlling in our lives.
Cigarette smoking is a personal choice – and we all know it shortens our lives (not a bad thing, on a planet overpopulated with humanity).
“Added sugar” is not, however, a personal choice. It is a “silent killer” in our food. Food manufacturers add it – because it’s cheap, highly addictive – and legal. We don’t choose it .. instead, we have to carefully choose our food – to avoid it. This seems to be beyond a growing majority of stupid people.
We should continue to allow people to make the choice to smoke cigarettes – and have a significant tax on “added sugar”, instead. We shouldn’t even have to suggest this – it’s such a no-brainer. Added sugar causes far more problems in our society – for māori, pasifika, and pakeha alike – than cigarette smoking ever did (or will). But our government also seems to be filled with stupid people – doesn’t it?
Tax can validly be used as a lever to influence behaviour – in this case, the underhand behaviour of murderous food manufacturers. (It’s done pre-meditatively and deliberately .. It’s killing us .. and they know it .. just as we all know .. hence “murderous”.)
So-called Sugar Tax has been successfully applied in the UK, to reduce “added sugar”.
We should do the same in New Zealand “as fast as our little legs will carry us”.
(Although this saying probably needs modification, to fit our modern situation. Any advance on “as fast as our little legs will carry our fat, bloated, overweight bodies”?)
Tend to agree, although with the coming inflation pressures added tax to anything will just spawn a further cash economy.
I would suggest that labelling softdrinks in the same health warning manner as cigarette packets must carry as a good starter?
Cheap corn syrup and cane sugars (essentially Fructose) has a triple whammy. It doesn’t trip the enzyme that makes you feel full, and being highly processed needs little digestion.
The resulting spike in blood sugar & insulin leads to obesity sure as night follows day.
Third it also has an impact on the gut bacteria that actually digest our food-training them to feed on simple sugars.
As you rightly say-added sugar is a silent killer and is ubiquitous.
A good example is Subways baked fresh bread. So loaded with sugars that in Ireland it is technically considered a cake.
To anyone reading this-always read the total number of calories, and then look at what % are coming from carbohydrates. Its a good place to start.
Obesity and all poor health “habits” (dependencies, really) are rooted in child abuse, deprivation, and early infantile trauma. Ask any psychiatrist or experienced social worker.
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The disparity in our “race” statistics is about education or lack of it and as pointed out paternalism. With vaccination levels Asians are more vaccinated than Europeans, Europeans more than Pasifika and Pasifika more than Maori.