15 Comments
Dec 23, 2023Liked by Tusiata Avia

Tusi, congratulations on the PM award, which was about the best news the country has had since October. (Actually, that's too low a bar: there has been no other good news since October. But it's still the best news!) I wish I had advice on how to deal with the likes of Seymour et al, but I do not. The entire ACT philosophy is premised in the notion that colonisation NEVER HAPPENED, and so the question is: what do you do with wilful ignorance? The best answer I can come up with is that we have to out-wait them. It's generational, and that generation is not long for the world. They won't be mourned.

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Thanks so much, I really appreciate your support. Every positive word helps counter this shit storm of vileness.

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I'm so thankful you wrote this poem at the time you wrote the poem; and you absolutely deserve the PM award! I'm so happy for you!

I like how the artist who refreshed the Hobson Draft talked about doing it so the kids don't have to do it... I think this is what your poem does. It's a gift for our children. Thank you for it.

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Thanks for your encouraging words, they make a difference.

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I'm so grateful for your work. Thank you. It reminds us all that the voices in our heads are not the only voices saying 'why is that making me so emotional' when see dog-whistling or outright racism in our public discourse. Thank you for your courage, your spirit, your voice in performance and on the page. Ngā mihi nui, Lindsey Te Ata o Tū MacDonald

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Thanks so much, these words of tautoko make a big difference to me. It really does help me get through the ugly stuff to feel the people who have my back.

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Tautoko e hoa, Jeffrey here.

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Kia ora Jeffrey. What a lovely place in which to say kia ora!

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Hi I‘m trying to figure out if I know you?

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Kia ora, yep it's me, Lindsey

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Sorry Lindsey, was confused, another Lindsey from years ago, have seen her since, but not much to go on...so that was why I was asking. Yes, great App, and good to be here. Gotta give back to Tusiata‘s bullies, how low is Seymour, hubris on steroids.

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I should also say that I respect your courage and your willingness to share your art to uplift the oppressed and confront the oppressor. Seymour is a desperate opportunist and Act have always been about a Darwinian reduction of human nobility and inherent value.

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Huge congratulations on the award. You are so talented, passionate and deserving.

I hate that you are being put through this bullshit, racist attack and can’t begin to understand the toll it must have on your life. Your work is so powerful and so necessary and just know that for every Seymour, Van Velden or Todd Stephenson, there are many more privileged pakeha who read your work, are struck by its power and then do the work to learn more about colonisation - what it did to indigenous people and culture and how we can be active in breaking down the inequalities it created.

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Thanks so much for your words of tautoko, they strengthen my spine and fortify my hope.

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Kia kaha, kia ū, kia manawanui!

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