Refusing to Disappear

Benjamin Doyle addresses the moral panic in the room.

That there, that's not me
I go where I please
I walk through walls
I float down the Liffey

I'm not here
This isn't happening
I'm not here
I'm not here

Songwriters: Philip James Selway / Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood / Edward John O'Brien / Thomas Edward Yorke / Colin Charles Greenwood.

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I had mixed views when the first stories emerged about the controversy over Benjamin Doyle’s social media posts.

I didn’t know much about Benjamin, who had come off the list to replace Darleen Tana in October. There aren’t many opportunities for a lowly ranked Green MP to become prominent under a centre-right government in just a few months.

When I saw Benjamin's post, made a year before entering parliament, it didn’t look flash. The terminology, Bussy, wasn’t familiar to me, but it didn’t sound like something that ought to be associated with photographs of children.

However, as Winston might say, this was not my first rodeo. More on Peters in a bit.

Green MPs get attacked a lot. Sometimes, the attacks have a basis, and there is a case in which the party should have looked at a candidate more closely. But much of the time, there is a desire to attack the Greens by moneyed interests who feel threatened by their focus on people and the planet.

I was inclined to give Benjamin the benefit of the doubt when I saw the people pushing the story and the language and leaps being used. The choice of words, understood by some but challenging for much of “mainstream” NZ, became a witch-hunt that seemed to have more to do with who Benjamin is than anything they might’ve actually done.

David Fisher wrote an excellent (paywalled) article in the Herald that provided much clarity, and I thought that might be the end of it. Clearly, mountains were being made out of molehills. The label didn’t pertain to a particular photo but rather a series, and I learned more about the context and what the word in question, Bussy, might mean to different people.

If this were an account for another MP with a set of photos titled “Biggus Dickus” or even “Pussy Galore”, nobody would’ve given a rat’s ass.

But the story rumbled on, and Doyle was absent from parliament last week due to threats against them.

I was surprised at yesterday's announcement of a press conference but watched Benjamin’s statement, which was clearly and calmly delivered. I was impressed with their words and how they handled the reporters' questions, at least one of whom seemed to think she was a prosecutor rather than a press reporter.

Green MP Benjamin Doyle. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone.

In case you haven’t seen it, here are the key points from Benjamin’s statement:

It matters to Benjamin and the community they are part of for them to be authentic, and that is why the private account was not simply taken down, as the Green Party recommended.

There was an admission of political naiveté at leaving the account up but also a quite reasonable statement that the level of hate and extremity of threats were beyond what could have been readily anticipated.

The attacks have perpetuated the outdated homophobic lie that queer people are a danger to children, have been so graphic and disturbing that Benjamin was advised not to leave the house and have seen images of Doyle’s child taken without permission and shared by some of the ghastliest people you can imagine.

Watching the statement, I was left in no doubt that the images and words had deliberately been used out of context to portray something entirely innocent, albeit with language that most of us might not use, as depraved. It’s hard to imagine how awful it must be to be accused of being a danger to your own child when you are simply a loving parent.

Benjamin ended by saying:

“The vast majority of New Zealanders will not tolerate violent and malicious rhetoric in our country. They will not accept toxic conspiracies which attempt to bully and threaten queer people out of public life.

I refuse to be disappeared by hate.

We have a choice, as members of Parliament, to reject this imported culture war of hate and division. We can and must do better than this, because that is what the people of Aotearoa deserve.”

You can watch the interview here:

I was less happy with the follow-up questions and commented, “Why the hell is Maiki Sherman attacking them as if they’re criminals?” The line of questioning against Benjamin was appalling. Surely, the story was about the threats to the victim, Doyle.

My friend Debbie agreed, commenting, “They were awesome and brave. I was cheering them on. As for the questions, how despicable were they? Maiki was still pushing the sexual innuendo crap. The media were appalling, but Benjamin held their own.

I loved that they kept repeating that they and other queer people would not be cancelled for the comfort of homophobes.”

Towards the end of the interview, the reporters raised the role of Rhys Williams; Benjamin indicated they had only heard about that just prior to the Press Conference.

A paywalled article in the Post: Businessman behind toxic online Benjamin Doyle campaign covers Williams’ use of the Twitter account @2ETEKA, which “has called for more dirt on Doyle and relentlessly targeted political opponents with slurs, smears, and thinly veiled allegations of paedophilia.”

It’s pretty vile stuff, even for Twitter:

A selection of insulting tweets by @2ETEKA. Image: The Post.

Take a look at those words. Rhys Williams, a former NZ First member, has appointed himself as the moral arbiter of our nation. It would be hard to imagine a worse choice. Although, given his behaviour over many decades, you’d have to say Winston would be up there. Or perhaps I should say, down there?

When asked about the Deputy PM, Benjamin gracefully said they would speak directly to Peters rather than engage in mudslinging. A forlorn hope for mature dialogue with Winston posting, “We are not going to let this flimsy excuse of ‘victimhood’ succeed”, just minutes later.

Winston Peters is refusing to give up the fight after asking questions about Green MP Benjamin Doyle. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone.

The comments that followed, full of self-pity, bigotry, and uninformed ignorance, told you much about the supporters NZ First attracts.

I replied to Winston’s post: “Benjamin has done nothing more than use poor judgment on social media by using a slang term—that is it. No crimes have been committed; no one even thinks they have. The people who are launching the attacks are the sick ones.”

Winston’s Mob replied, saying that I was sick, my computer should be checked, I was a “pedo sympathiser”, a “complicit groomer”, and people said they hoped I wasn’t near any children. These are the people that folks like Winston Peters, Ani O’Brien and Rhys Williams are filling with baseless hatred and insane accusations.

Louie Encabo said of me, “It’s always unkempt, ageing men who you can smell from their profile photos, like you, Bomber and those bearded incels from BHN who defend sexual deviants.”

I know some people have an issue with what Benjamin Doyle said, but the thing is - it’s their issue.

Ignorance or bigotry, there’s no option ‘C’.

On 1 News last night, Maiki Sherman was viciously reactionary, and her report will only fuel ignorance. While she might be doing it to order, I didn’t hear any other journalist asking questions in such a way that presumed Benjamin’s guilt or judged them to that degree. It was shameful to see from our public broadcaster.

After covering the Press Conference, 1 News crossed to Winston Peter. You know, the guy who likes to make derogatory statements about Mexicans and other immigrants, who said we have to maintain standards.

Are you kidding?

If Peters wants standards, maybe he could try laying off the anti-immigrant rhetoric that has been a hallmark of his career and clean up the putrid mess in the comments on his social media account. NZ First's only relevance to conversations on decency and standards is to describe the end of the scale where you’re not supposed to be.

The Greens tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves. To some, that no doubt comes across as naive, but let’s be honest: those people aren’t voting for them anyway.

My friend Halina commented, “We need to be better as a society; Ben shouldn't have to vanilla themself to make other people feel comfortable. As they so eloquently said, their community has very little representation in Parliament, and they deserve a voice. I'm disgusted with how the media have behaved because they should not be dancing to Winston's toxic tune. They are complicit.”

To end, I’d like to share a paragraph from a paywalled article in the Herald: Green MP Benjamin Doyle has been the victim of a moral panic - Opinion by Paul Thistoll, the head of Countering Hate Speech Aotearoa (CHSA).

“My message to the Green Party co-leaders: An investigation is unnecessary. Stand firm against the mob. Yield nothing. The adversaries of the Rainbow community view us as less than human—as morally compromised. If you capitulate to this moral panic, they will simply advance to the next target. This follows the Kafka playbook precisely—anonymous accusers, an unidentified tribunal, and no right to defence. Benjamin Doyle has consistently championed universal human rights with courage and integrity. Now it’s our turn to do the same for them. I stand with Ben, and in authoring this op-ed, I place the reputation of both myself and my non-profit organisation on the line. Moral panics dissipate only when people summon the courage to confront anonymous inquisitors.”

No doubt this will rumble on for some time. I’m sure many of us feel wary of such terminology being used in the context of a child, but remember that Benjamin Doyle has done nothing wrong beyond being politically naive.

They’ve been in parliament for six months, and they will learn. Based on what I saw yesterday, they are well-spoken, intelligent, and genuine - no bloody wonder they’re coming under attack.

Whatever you think of the use of that word, let's not lose sight of who the victim is here, who has been subjected to horrendous death threats and vile accusations, and who is behind these attacks.

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Have a great day, all you lovely people. Especially Benjamin, if you happen to read this. To end, here’s Ana Brun’s cover of Radiohead’s How To Disappear Completely.