Let that sink in for a moment - Christopher Luxon, who has spent the last year demonising Māori, wants Marama Davidson to apologise to white men.
You will likely have seen the video, or read about it. Marama Davidson rushing along Princes St on Saturday evening, the road that runs between Auckland University and Albert Park, after being run into by a motorcyclist.
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson was struck by a passing motorcycle as she protested Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s rally event at Albert Park. Davidson was standing on Princes St holding a sign reading “trans solidarity” when a band of motorcyclists, there in support of Brian and Hannah Tamaki’s Vision NZ, drove through.
Far-right network Counterspin Media chased Marama, asking questions as she hurried along, in what was obviously not an agreed interview. I highly doubt Marama would have agreed to talk to them ordinarily.
Davidson, when approached on the street by Counterspin media host Hannah Spierer after the protests on Saturday, was asked about Parker being violently assaulted.
Spierer and her husband Kelvyn Alp are far-right activists, and their network Counterspin has previously been linked to Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's former chief strategist who also ran far-right website Breitbart News and was connected to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
If you hear the full recording of the interaction you’ll find what you’ve read about, or heard, is just a snippet. You probably haven’t heard the antagonising that precedes Marama blurting out an answer in defiance of their harassment.
And Counterspin had the sound bite they wanted.
I’m not offended that Marama said "I know who causes violence in the world - it is white cis men", under the circumstances. She’d just had a motorbike ridden into her. Plus emotions get inflamed on a protest. I don't imagine Chris Luxon understands that, I doubt he has been on a protest in his entire life.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Nick's Kōrero to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.