White Supremacist Posters Seen On Campus
A series of posters linked to a white supremacist group have been sighted on campus.*
The posters – which feature slogans like “Family, Community, Nation” and “We Will Remember Them” – were seen in university bathrooms, in front of the ClockTower, and distributed throughout Albert Park. They display images of white families and colonial settlers fighting against Maori warriors, and direct viewers to the website of a white supremacist organisation.** “White New Zealanders are standing up”, the ‘About’ page begins. “We are forging a new path for young New Zealand men in the 21st Century”.
The website appears to serve as a kind of group-newsletter: articles, updates, and membership drives are uploaded regularly. Recent uploads include articles on the renaming of Poverty Bay (“just the latest assault on our heritage by anti-white forces”), the death of Captain Cook (“the hate poured upon Captain Cook by particularly unimpressive people is a sure sign of his excellence”), the Waiting Treaty (“the mainstream narrative of Maori victimhood is condescending and false”), and a series of chronicles on white New Zealand settlers (who, according to the author, won the country from the hands of “a brutal enemy”).
It appears the organisation is a new one: a photograph uploaded in February shows a dozen white men (all with their faces blurred out) standing behind a banner emblazoned with the group’s logo to celebrate their one-year anniversary. “The modern world does its best to pacify, alienate, and crush us and our people”, an article beneath the photograph reads, “[but] instead of numbing us, the dark days in which we live have only made us more sensitive”. But while this group may be new, their tactics aren’t: another white supremacist group made headlines in 2017 after they plastered the university’s campus with posters calling on white men to oppose “white genocide”. AUSA and the university responded to the 2017 posters by tearing them down on sight.
AUSA President Anand Rama says their stance has not changed. “This shit is not on,” he told Craccum, “AUSA [had] not been made aware of these posters until we were approach for comment. [But,] as always, we completely condemn any and all forms of racism, bigotry and prejudice. We will be communicating to the appropriate contacts at the University that these posters have been found and requesting that they be removed immediately. The University has an obligation to students to be providing a safe, inclusive and equitable environment for students – our view is that these posters have no place in our University community.”
* Author’s Note: As a font of journalistic integrity (read: neutrality), Craccum has no official opinion on the proliferation of posters. The magazine would never tell readers to tear down the posters, or – god forbid – to piss on them afterwards.
** Author’s Note II: The Revenge of the Post-Script: I have decided not to include the name of the organisation responsible. This is because I believe publicising the name would only help to promote and advertise the organisation’s cause. If you disagree with this decision you may contact me at news@craccum.co.nz.