Given my defence of boxing, one might mistakenly think I'd embrace a culture of violence. I do not. That was about competition and self-mastery.
So I'm not particularly impressed with the plans to build an 8m giant Maori Bronze Statue that will apparently "stir Kiwi pride".
It's an implicit celebration of the violent aspect of culture, so it doesn't stir any pride. It's a display of Maori culture rather than bringing together something all New Zealanders can relate to, and already Maori are complaining they were not properly consulted. It's also a 2 million dollar waste of Rate Payer funds (unless some is bolstered by private money?)
Aside from that, I probably would have yawned and moved on except for the unfortunate opening paragraph:
It will not rival the Statue of Liberty or come close to the Eiffel Tower, but it will be bigger than Paeroa's L&P bottle and Te Kuiti's shearing statue.This is sad and funny on several levels.
The first is the laughable comparison to two major icons that simply dwarf this statue in scope, meaning, cost and ability to inspire.
The Statue of Liberty symbolizes freedom. Rather than a warrior, it's a women standing tall holding a flaming beacon, welcoming incoming immigrants sailing into New York Harbour. It commemorates the Declaration of Independence. It was a gift from France to America, and there is symbolism even in that.
The Eiffel Tower is a marvel of construction, created for the world fair, an event that encouraged trade, education and industry. It was also meant as a memorial to the French Revolution, again, an intention to celebrate liberty, not the violence employed to achieve it. It was also a world's first - the world's tallest structure at the time.
So those comparisons were the sad part, and the funny was then the comparison to reality. "It will be bigger than Paeroa's L&P bottle and Te Kuiti's shearing statue. Whilst I don't mind those small town icons, is this also the competition Waikato council aspires to rival with its Maori Warrior?
Surely, we can do better then this?