The New Zealand Herald published this letter from me today:

‘How tragic that the Auckland University student body can think of no better way to express disagreement than to boo, shout down and abuse a speaker. If Melissa Lee’s comments about South Auckland were stupid and offensive, they were outdone by the Hitler moustache and the word ‘racist’ scrawled across her photograph. As it happens, Ms Lee made no reference in her earlier remarks to any race, so the presumption that the ‘criminals’ she was referring to must be Maori or Pacific Islanders comes entirely from them. I would have thought that makes them the true racists. If I lived in Mt Albert, I would, needless to say, be voting for David Shearer. But I think Melissa Lee deserves points for fronting up to this mindless rabble. You are, ladies and gentlemen, a disgrace to your university.’ Read the rest of this entry »