A suggestion for Kevin
I blogged previously on former ACT member Kevin Campbell, who resigned after his comments referring to the PM as “John the Jew” were highlighted by me.
I thought that was the end of the saga, but he has sent an open letter to Rodney Hide and a large number of ACT members complaining about well basically everything, which includes this paragraph:
“I referred to the prime minister in a blog as John the Jew. I admit it wasn’t a smart comment and it could be viewed negatively by some, but it was off-the-cuff and not intended to be racially offensive in any way. Even so I offered John Key my genuine apology which he accepted with thanks. The matter should have ended there but I underestimated my opponents to the board, which included you and the party president, you chose to escalate the issue into something unsavory to discredit me and damage my election chances.”
This generated a response from one ACT member, which is just too wonderful to keep hidden:
It’s pleasing to see that you realise it wasn’t a smart comment, and even more pleasing to see that ACT chose to escalate the issue to the point that you resigned. Its also a relief to read that the comment was off-the-cuff; had it been the result of careful consideration, ACT would have had to consider even more drastic measures.
Given your obvious continuing interest in politics, and a clear talent for self-exculpation, I’m trying to think of how you could resuscitate your political career. Iran seems the obvious place. Even then, you would have to be careful to ensure that you limited your “off-the-cuff” religious slurs to foreign politicians in a fairly limited set of countries. Check with the President there (Ahmadinejad) before you repeat this sort of performance. He’s not a model of diplomacy but he hasn’t yet made an apparently sneering comment about the religion of anyone above him in the pecking order. Good luck.
xxxxxx xxxxx
PS: Have a look at your genealogy. If you go back far enough, you may find a Jewish ancestor.
I’ve yet to be informed if this helpful suggestion will be acted upon.
March 26th, 2010 at 9:36 am
For Kevin Campbell general information I took the trouble to email the Act MP’s and candidates to express that Act could not exxpect either my vote of support while Kevin remained with the party as his entirely casual anti-Semitism was completely unacceptable.
His defence of the comment, both on the blog and in the apove show that he really doesn’t understand what and offensive individual he is. He clearly thought then and now that it is ok to be openly anti-semitic and hold high office.
Several of the Act Party responded to my email and expressed their equal concern at Kevins comments and attitude and also advised me of his departure from the party. As i pointed out at the time, I am just one voter. Apparently there were enough single voters and Acts principles are suficiently not in line with Kevins that he got the DCM.
Maybe now should be queit time for Kevin rather than attacting further attention to himself.
I took this action based on Kevins initial comments and his subsequent defence of them, not at any prompting or esqalation by any of Kevins enemies. Evidently a substantial group, even if only in his mind.
March 26th, 2010 at 9:46 am
I am interested in how Kevin managed to email all these people including me. I am assuming that as part of his campaign to be elected to the ACT board he was given a list of members email addresses so he could communicate with them. I think it rather bad form that he has used this email list to now send his diatribe out, especially when he is no longer an ACT member so is really abusing the privilege of having been given that email list.
Isn’t there an NZ law against sending out unsolicited emails? Of course being an ACT supporter I do not expect the government to control everything, so I have made it very clear to Kevin that I am not impressed by him emailing me in this way. I have also emailed ACT saying I expect them to look after my email address a bit better than this.
Workingman
March 26th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Evidently he doesn’t understand the concept of having been given the bums rush workingman.
March 26th, 2010 at 10:05 am
Unfortunately political parties are like churches in their enthusiasm to recruit new members. This means that in between the people of genuine good will a few crack pots sneak through. The liberal nature of ACT means that censorship is an entirely foreign concept to us. I have watched this particular character with growing concern since I joined the party. Fortunately with biggoted blowhards they tend to self destruct in spectacular nature. What I found to be the most hilarious section of the open letter was Kevin’s contention that he somehow represented the the “real” ACT Party. Here is a open response to you Kevin-ACT represents a broad array of beliefs. We do not judge people on their religion, race or even gender preferences and our support of a number of bills will bear this out. We genuinely care about New Zealand and New Zealanders. JOhn Key is a decent man and you had no right to attack him in the racist way you did (ever). I think you have entirely missed the point of what ACT is about and are better placed with some extreme grouping somewhere else.
March 26th, 2010 at 10:43 am
The act of referring to somebody as a Jew isn’t a perjorative comment in and of itself, although contextually there’s something unsettling about a need to refer to someone as a Jew but I guess it could be relatively appropriate if somebody defined themselves by their Jewishness. However, it’s probably worth noting that his intent in context appeared to be as a slur (lest somebody infer that people here are inferring Jewishness is an insult). I realise this may seem obvious, but where people are hiding behind pseudonyms, as I am for certain reasons, arguments can explode over minor things and perceived slurs, and things can tend to get shouty inasmuch as one can display shoutyness through the typed form.
March 26th, 2010 at 10:48 am
Its not an insult to call someone Jewish Jive, but as you say, why do it at all. Do I call DPF the Jew Dave? Do i call him the National party hack DPF? No, because i’m not a journalist seeking to preset an auidiences predices.
And thats what it comes down to. Its neuro-linguistic programing using a technique called front loading. You are punching the predudical hot buttons to load your statment. DPF for example would recognise a survey question that begins “75% of people believe……” as being front loaded seeking agreement with something. It will give you an unrealistic poll result.
Its a technique you use to cocerce political support and sell vacuum cleaners. Either is unethical in my book.
March 26th, 2010 at 10:59 am
They are opposites (politicians and vacuum cleaners) – one blows hot air and the other sucks cool air.
March 26th, 2010 at 11:57 am
We should cut out the middle man and get them together.
March 26th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
@Murray: yeah, I did note that unless somebody’s defining themself by the characteristic, there aren’t really many other reasons I can think of to call a person by said characteristic (and I did note that contextually it is unsettling, precisely because of what you explained in your point re: neuro-linguistic programming/presetting). Key obviously doesn’t fall into the category of defined by his Jewishness. Is he even Jewish? I don’t tend to pay too much attention to that kind of stuff as it is fairly irrelevant unless it informs their actions to a hugely obvious degree.
March 26th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Thats another issue, Key is Jewish. He attends a Christian church. But in the minds of someone like Campbell its close enough that his mother was Jewish and he asserted that Key was Jewish so what he said was ok.
Disturbingly the essecence of the Nurenberg Laws.
Rather like the current media laws which have presenteerrs unable to comment on anyone who is not a pinko as being a “a far right wing….”
When have you ever heard them describe someone as being “a far left wing….” Even extremist loonies like Minto and locke get a free pass.
March 26th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
ISNT Jewish. Stupid fingers.
March 26th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Aaaaaaand another one learns the hard way that SERIOUS JEWS ARE SERIOUS and Judaism is NO LAUGHING MATTER.
Always happy to see strife in ACT though
March 26th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
@Murray: maybe it’s implied that there is no gradation in the left-wing – if you’re left-wing, you’re extreme.
I’m sure I’ve heard people described as far left-wing in the media, but not with reference to NZ politics, I think. Which is probably for the best, as we don’t really have politically relevant far right- or left-wings here (our scale is quite compact in that sense). However, there should be a balance when using the terms as I’m sure I’ve heard the term “far right” in a New Zealand political context.
March 26th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
I have made a slight correction;
PS: Have a look at your genealogy. If you do have a father specified on your birth certificate you might be able to
If yougo back far enough, toyou mayfind a Jewish ancestor.Edit: Of course Jewish geneology is via the mothers family tree, but that’s another issue.
March 26th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Strife – someone is knob and they cut him loose.
Just dojg his job – clinging to an obviously corrupt minister because you need his vote.
The difference between Act and Labour. Which is which RRM?
Burt they didn’t make such a destinction with the Nuremberg Laws. Coincidently nor did Campbell.
March 26th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
Campbell still doesn’t get it: “I admit it wasn’t a smart comment and it could be viewed negatively by some …..”. That’s like a classic Helen Clark apology dripping with euphemism (No offence was intended, but if anyone …etc). Just not good enough.
I was among the first to take umbrage at Campbell’s initial comment. He made it clear by his subsequent contextualisation that the comment was intended as a slur, and he got the kind of reaction and political red card that he deserved. Good for Key that he stood aside from it, but that doesn’t exonerate Campbell – the likes of whom we can do without in our politics.
March 26th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
You could look on the Kevin Campbell experience as a wee triumph for blog influenced politics – help exposing and weeding out the bozos before they become MPs.
John B Acts as a blogging contrast, he’s not always right
but he engages and comes across as genuine and actively trying to achieve worthwhile things.
March 26th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
‘but he engages and comes across as genuine and actively trying to achieve worthwhile things.’
He should try running for the senate.
March 26th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
Of course there would have been no problem at all if he’d just said “John the white motherfucker”…
March 27th, 2010 at 2:53 am
@3-coil
Not at all, in fact, it would have been quite hilarious, if only he had said it.
March 27th, 2010 at 9:00 am
there should be a balance when using the terms as I’m sure I’ve heard the term “far right” in a New Zealand political context.
The National Front. Which is a head scratcher if you think about it…but why bother right!?