A thunderous rally of New Zealanders marched on parliament today, with most of those asked by The Daily Examiner stating that they were there for the long-held value of freedom, opposing government mandates & lockdowns, as well as lamenting the growing use of government/media engagement of scapegoating, or ‘gas-lighting’, narratives.
Noted for being a highly diverse set of New Zealanders, the rally started from Te Ngākau square in Central Wellington, marching through the streets with waiata and cheering, to come in front of the Parliament buildings. Speaker of the House, Trevor Mallard, had the doors shut and locked with scores of police forming a multi-layered human wall.
Prime Minister Ardern attempted to laugh off the protests heard even inside the buildings with “We provide them with the provision to use microphones,”. The Daily Examiner has not yet confirmed the veracity of this statement.
Ms Ardern continued with a message to the ‘vaccinated’:
“What we saw today was not representative of the vast bulk of New Zealanders so actually, my message would be to them, and it would be to say thank you – thank you for being vaccinated, thank you for doing what it takes to look after one another. What we saw today wasn’t reflective of you and of New Zealand.”
What was viewed as ironic by many was that many of the rally were indeed ‘double-vaccinated’.
Also, the continuance of language labelled as ‘divisive’, even ‘gas-lighting’ by many, does not appear to have been successfully assimilated by the public.. According to the majority spoken to, what brought them together was opposition to the Ardern government awarding themselves more power, usage of that power and growing concerns around partisan reporting by mainstream media channels.
While many embraced the protest as vital for a healthy democracy, mostly state-supported mainstream media were observed to report with headlines and/or narratives that were viewed as either smearing or misinformation combined with some accurate information:
There were a lot of swastikashttps://t.co/DKxoCuVFPK
— The Spinoff (@TheSpinoffTV) November 9, 2021
#LIVE: "Thank you for being vaccinated, thank you for doing what it takes to look after one another." Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says anti-vaxx, anti-lockdown protest 'not representative of the vast bulk' of NZers as 'mood changes' in Wellington https://t.co/a9KIwncZgq
— Newshub Breaking (@NewshubBreaking) November 9, 2021
Central Wellington blocked by noisy anti vaccine mandate protest https://t.co/Wcxuq90cII
— Stuff (@NZStuff) November 8, 2021
And along with concerning language around ‘us/them’, scapegoating, and elements of misinformation by media came other Progressive media and strong supporters of forcing the Pfizer injections, with further allegations:
the only thing worse than an anti-vaxxer is being bitten by an anti-vaxxer pic.twitter.com/h2m5p2R1v0
— David Farrier (@davidfarrier) November 8, 2021
More than 3000 people have gathered in Wellington to “storm” Parliament and arrest Jacinda for “treason.” If they can’t arrest her, they’re threatening to break into parliament and shoot her. Trevor Mallard says in his entire career, Parliament has never lockdown like today. https://t.co/zRFM44JEUn
— Shaneel Lal ?? (They/Them) (@shaneellall) November 8, 2021
Seriously, anti vaxxers, look at yourselves. You're flying the Trump flag. You're threatening to kill another human being. You're putting the whole of Wellington at risk of getting Covid. You should be as disgusted by yourselves as everyone else is.
— it's over – bye (@applecarcass) November 8, 2021
With thousands protesting each week, not just in Wellington, not just throughout the nation but also throughout the Western world, there appears to be a resurgence in love for nation and the freedoms gained in years past by men and women defending such. In this context it has been mused that Erica Chenoweth, professor of public policy at Harvard, has given insight as to why small percentages of a country engaged in non-violent civil disobedience, to 3.5% or below.
Tomorrow, Ms Ardern has signalled that she will visit Auckland for the first time in months, notably after pressure from opposition and the public. There are further protests planned for this time; and with New Zealand having up to 50,000 men, women and children march several weeks ago and the continually growing rallies, it appears that Ms Ardern’s laughter may be somewhat premature.
By TeKāhu