Listen Now: 
The glee that some on the political right are fanning the flames of racial disharmony with their descriptions of Ōpōtiki as Mogadishu or describing actions as ‘subhuman’.
This language and framing of the recent Gang Funeral in Ōpōtiki is disgraceful and deeply counter productive.
Earlier this month, 54 African Union peacekeepers were killed in Mogadishu, last October 112 died with over 300 injured from 2 car bombs while last week 9 were killed in an attack and 20 wounded.
In Ōpōtiki some roads were closed, some burn outs done on motorcycles and a patched gang member rode on top of a car roof.
That’s Mogadishu is it?
By injecting the word ‘subhuman’ to describe the actions of gang members while mourning, the political Right in New Zealand have embarked upon a dark election campaign where fear and anger dominate our reasoning and clouds our understanding.
We need social policy based on best outcomes, not knee jerk vengeance based on bigotry.
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