Is Culturism the New Racism?

Is there racism in New Zealand?

• Is there racism in New Zealand to foreigners/immigrants especially of african or african mixed-race people? Is there also racism towards the local indigenous people, asians, indians etc?

• Answer:

  Racism in NZ is mostly directed at Maori and Pacific Islanders, who are blamed for most crime, poverty and drug use. There is much less racism against them though than you'd find against blacks in the US or muslims in the Europe though. Against migrants most racism is aimed at Asians, who are seen as being wealthy and arrogant as well as unwilling to adapt to NZ culture. I also have to say, at least in Auckland, there are some negative feelings towards white South Africans, especially Afrikaners. There is a perception that they act arrogant and that they are all racists who came to NZ because they didn't want to live in a country run by blacks. This is something my South African and white Zimbabwean friends often complain about. They say people hear their accent and instantly dislike them. There was a lot of negative feelings created in NZ by the Springbok Tour Riots back in 1981 and the anti-apartheid movement was very big here. Towards coloured South Africans though I've never seen any racism at all. I'm a teacher and I've had many coloured South African students and I've never seen any of them treated any differently or discriminated against by their peers the way other groups of kids (Asians, Pacific Islanders) are. I don't think there have been enough immigrating to NZ for Kiwis to form a stereotype or have any feelings towards them one way or another.