Thread by @BMHayward

The case of a far right extremist provocatively standing for school board election in a diverse multicultural school isn’t about winning an election it’s about mainstreaming hate, creating publicity & disruption-a huge challenge for liberal democracies & tolerant societies #nzpol

There was an incisive analysis of the challenge by NZ chair of the Federation of Islamic Associations Absur Rassaq on @NZMorningReport I got the feeling his sharp analysis was far beyond what RNZ editorial had anticipated-but we need media editors on board rnz.co.nz/national/progr…

As well as understanding why we are seeing extremist candidates standing for local elections & everyday politics - we need to think harder about how we protect the foundations of our democratic society & more mature discussion than ‘democracy is one person one vote & free speech’

First steps were offered in the @NZMorningReport interviews - Razzaq asked for hate speech laws to protect our collective freedom to live without vilification & councillor Templeton asked that school board candidates are police vetted to work with children rnz.co.nz/national/progr…

But what can we do in these situations? One step is to bring what ever skills we have to nurture, protect & grow a democratic tolerant society. It might be as small as baking for neighbours & growing a community garden or as big as law change. For me, it’s teaching for democracy

So here goes- we often hear democracy is 1 person 1 vote & freedom to say what ever you like. But in reality democracies take lots of different forms-What makes a government democratic is that it upholds 3 basic principles: decision making is inclusive, transparent & accountable

Actions aimed to exclude, intimate, silence participation including vilifying those you disagree with, aren’t democratic. Decisions without public scrutiny+ability to hold decision makers to account, aren’t democratic. This is much more than saying what I want & giving me 1 vote

If saying what ever I want intimidates, vilifies & silences others, so public life can’t be inclusive, or if my 1 vote leads to lots of people who share the same religion & ethnicity as me (etc) always dominating decision making over time, then that’s not democratic either

That’s why constitutional rules & protections (including a variety of ways of making decisions beyond one person one vote), are important safe guards for a democracy. But rules and institutions need us-citizens who care, & connect/listen to others with different life experience

There are many ideas about how we develop a richer democracy if you haven’t read Moana Jackson’s work here is one challenging place to start e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-an…

Another approach by Andrew Butler and Geoffrey Palmer is here teherengawakapress.co.nz/a-constitution…

Intimidate!

Why does all this matter? Why does it matter we engage in careful, connected reflection? Because our small democracy is being tested significantly -here is a very troubling account of the issues in #nzpol

https://twitter.com/paulapenfold/status/1558550938704805888

I’ve not had a chance to listen to all of this Michael Sandel lecture on the politics of hope so I am noting it here for myself too- his focus (and his emphasis on the value of public space elsewhere) on some drivers of these challenges has interested me