President's Column - Treating each other as equals
“…in extreme situations, we quickly revert to the underlying ethos of treating each other as equals.”
There are some very unique factors about New Zealand. The basic ethos of early European settlement of this land was one of ‘Jack is as good as his master’. This saw the relationships between those early settlers and the original Maori inhabitants develop considerably better than in any other colonised country, albeit things were not perfect.
While there will always be socioeconomic strata in our society, we have generally avoided re-establishing the class systems inherent in the Northern Hemisphere countries that European settlers escaped.
Being on the ground at or immediately following the two major events in New Zealand this year, namely the February Christchurch earthquake and the Rugby World Cup (RWC), I was struck by how the respective adversity and jubilation which surrounded these events really brought the different sectors of our society together. Perhaps it was best summed up by a young lady in Christchurch who commented that since the earthquake, ‘randoms are talking to randoms’.
My interpretation of that was that in extreme situations, we quickly revert to the underlying ethos of treating each other as equals.
In Auckland, I saw members of very diverse ethnic groups unified in their support of the All Blacks. Any alienation people might feel from mainstream society for religious, racial, socioeconomic or other reasons was dissolved.
Many police, both in Christchurch and in Auckland, commented that even the PRNS were behaving and cooperating after the two events.
Many of those we come into contact with as police believe they are alienated from mainstream society. At one extreme, it is gangs whose ethos is to be part of the 1 percent who don’t abide by society’s rules, but who ironically have very harsh membership rules of their own; at the other it is new immigrants who struggle to empathise with the local societal mores or culture. There is a lot in between.
Crime levels dropped significantly during and following both big events. Lots of police and reduced opportunity would account for some of this, but a significant amount must come down to a feeling of empathy for fellow citizens.
Now we hope the quake will be a one off, but the unity apparent around the RWC is something we should try to build on to create the sort of common ground which makes everyone feel part of what makes this country good. It certainly makes me glad my ancestors chose New Zealand as their final destination.
