22-02-2024, 02:25 PM
Just when social justice is sorely needed a man who had helped many died, while the likes of Trump & Putin who have done very much the opposite continue to live.
This was someone who wasn't afraid to change his mind on things when he learned more about  them.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/3501880...al-justice
"FaÔÇÿan─ün─ü Efeso Collins was a quiet, softly spoken and thoughtful man, whose own journey and education had made him keenly aware of the prejudices he could face as a tall, powerful Samoan man from ┼îtara.
Collins, who┬ádied suddenly on Wednesday at the age of 49, became a public figure as an Auckland mayoral candidate and latterly, a Green Party MP. But earlier, while a relatively-obscure local councillor he wrote blogs about the micro-aggressions he faced: on one occasion, it was being quizzed in an Auckland Town Hall lift as to why he was ascending to the councillorsÔÇÖ floor.
His solution was to moderate the way he presented himself to the world: while in private he preferred basketball singlets, league gear and hoodies, in public he was careful to be suited and clean-shaven. ÔÇ£I am a big guy, and I know that. I am very aware of it. YouÔÇÖve got to get in the door and if that means youÔÇÖve got to dress a certain way for people to feel okay, and have a conversation, thatÔÇÖs the reality of it,ÔÇØ he told┬áStuff┬áin a 2022 interview.
That was part of CollinsÔÇÖ personal approach; as an advocate for the communities he represented, first on his local board, then on council, then in Parliament, he knew he had to find a way to get the ear of people who didnÔÇÖt look like him
He chaired the student union, making his first media appearance in 1999 when he questioned why the university was sponsoring television programmes when the student union was forced to run a foodbank."
This was someone who wasn't afraid to change his mind on things when he learned more about  them.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/3501880...al-justice
"FaÔÇÿan─ün─ü Efeso Collins was a quiet, softly spoken and thoughtful man, whose own journey and education had made him keenly aware of the prejudices he could face as a tall, powerful Samoan man from ┼îtara.
Collins, who┬ádied suddenly on Wednesday at the age of 49, became a public figure as an Auckland mayoral candidate and latterly, a Green Party MP. But earlier, while a relatively-obscure local councillor he wrote blogs about the micro-aggressions he faced: on one occasion, it was being quizzed in an Auckland Town Hall lift as to why he was ascending to the councillorsÔÇÖ floor.
His solution was to moderate the way he presented himself to the world: while in private he preferred basketball singlets, league gear and hoodies, in public he was careful to be suited and clean-shaven. ÔÇ£I am a big guy, and I know that. I am very aware of it. YouÔÇÖve got to get in the door and if that means youÔÇÖve got to dress a certain way for people to feel okay, and have a conversation, thatÔÇÖs the reality of it,ÔÇØ he told┬áStuff┬áin a 2022 interview.
That was part of CollinsÔÇÖ personal approach; as an advocate for the communities he represented, first on his local board, then on council, then in Parliament, he knew he had to find a way to get the ear of people who didnÔÇÖt look like him
He chaired the student union, making his first media appearance in 1999 when he questioned why the university was sponsoring television programmes when the student union was forced to run a foodbank."
in order to be old & wise, you must first be young & stupid. (I'm still working on that.)