Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First
New Zealand First Leader today expressed his outrage at the wave of idiocy surrounding the role of historic statues in our country's history.
"Why do some woke New Zealanders feel the need to mimic mindless actions imported from overseas," stated Mr Peters.
"'A self-confident country would never succumb to obliterating symbols of their history, whether it be good or bad or simply gone out of fashion. A country learns from its mistakes and triumphs and its people should have the knowledge and maturity to distinguish between the two.
"What next?
- If one doesn't approve of war we pull down our cenotaphs;
- Should we demolish every school that once applied corporal punishment?
- Should Gandhi's statue be thrown in the Wellington harbour because we don't agree?
- Should knighthoods to the undeserving be post-humously withdrawn?
- Do Maori now disown our mixed heritage?
"The idea that statues of Captain Cook, the greatest maritime explorer of his age, be pulled down because of the history that followed him is disgraceful.
"The woke generation are the equivalent of a person with no long-term memory, stumbling around in the present without any signposts to guide them. If a person, like a country, doesn't know where they have come from, they have no way of knowing where they are going," said Mr Peters.
Mr Peters offered some advice for those clamouring to project their ignorance through tearing down historic statues they don't like: "Deal with it, grow up and read a book."
