Monday, October 4, 2010

Paul Henry and Anand Satyanand

Everyone else is having a say about this, so why not me?
Henry caused a storm after he said this morning that Sir Anand [Satyanand] did not look or sound like a New Zealander when he asked Prime Minister John Key whether the next Governor-General would be more Kiwi.
Danyl at the Dim-Post seems to be leading the charge against Paul Henry, and good for him. Ben Gracewood has resigned from the programme, and good for him.

Three observations:
1. John Key has been criticised for not laying into Henry instantly. This is unfair. I have done lots of live TV and it is really hard. You are the guest on the show, so you feel like a guest in the host’s home; you can see how stressful it is for them so you try to make it easy for them; and when you are cursed with the politeness gene you can’t switch into Bob Jones mode when the host says something stupid. I bet Key was stunned by what Henry said, as any of us would have been, but if you don’t react instantly it’s too late. All the commentators have the luxury of reaction time. Key didn’t.

2. David Farrar has, uncharacteristically, missed the point. He says:
If TVNZ don’t take firm action on this one, they will find themselves in a very umcomfortable position. They should also arrange for an apology to the Governor-General. He was born in New Zealand, and is every bit as much a New Zealander as Paul Henry.
The fact that the G-G was born here is irrelevant. That wasn’t Henry’s point. He said the G-G didn’t look like a New Zealander. WTF does that mean? I have friends who are third or fourth-generation Chinese and Indian who are just as New Zealandy as I am. And, as most of us do, I have friends who were not born here but were raised here or moved here by choice and have committed to life in New Zealand. Some are white, some are brown, some are other. They are all New Zealanders. Older readers may remember Rob Muldoon in the Auckland Town Hall responding to a heckler who had an English accent, “You’re not a real New Zealander.” Muldoon was a prick, and so is Henry.

3. I feel really sorry for Peter Williams who has to work with Henry. Peter is an old-school journalist, having been trained back in NZBC days. I can’t find the link but the other day Henry was making great sport of the name of Delhi’s chief minister Sheila Dikshit. Peter interjected that the name is pronounced “Dixit”, which didn’t stop Henry from making more adolescent jokes. And Peter was right, as he always is on factual matters. He is a serious journalist. Paul Henry is not. As the great Marcia Russell once said of a colleague of ours, he is not even a journalist’s arse.

UPDATE: Stuff reports:
TVNZ has come in for fresh criticism over its handling of Breakfast host Paul Henry’s Indian slurs after it continued to prominently feature a clip on its website in which he ridicules the name of Commonwealth Games troubleshooter Sheila Dikshit.
TVNZ has received at least four complaints about the clip, in which Henry deliberately mispronounces Dikshit, despite being told it is said “Dixit”. He also says the name “Dick Shit” is “so appropriate” because she is Indian.
The case for the prosecution rests.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Saala behanchod Paul Henry, kuttay ki aulad...

Unknown said...

Please watch your language. I am also an Indian who has lived most of my life. Also very angry with racism. We don’t leash into swear words, be professional. Get your message out in a suitable language, you will get deeper penetration and it will be more effective.

Danyl said...

This is unfair. I have done lots of live TV and it is really hard

I see where you're coming from here but the PM does about a dozen live interviews a week as well as question time and his post-cab press conferences. He's lightning fast when talking about policy or attacking the opposition.

Anonymous said...

@Dee

Sorry my friend if you have been living outside India and tolerating this shit. The new India won't take it, understand...

Anonymous said...

Saala gadhey ka lund Paul Henry, ho gaya suspend bhosdi ka. Bloody racist piece of shit.

Stephen Stratford said...

Danyl: "He's lightning fast when talking about policy or attacking the opposition"

Yes, and that's his job. I would expect him to be quick on that stuff. But what Henry said was so startlingly left-field that I wouldn't blame anyone for not responding as well as they might have done after a few seconds' reflection.

Though come to think of it, Helen Clark would have dealt to him.

Stephen Stratford said...

Anonymous, a friend once taught me to swear a bit in Hindi but I don't know what you said at 3.33 a.m. that Dee objects to, or even if it is in Hindi. It would be good to hear reaction from India, but we need it in English. We do try to be multicultural here but most of us are monolingual.

Anonymous said...

@Stephen, most Indians had never heard about this guy Paul Henry before yesterday, but please be assured that he is currently on top of their hate list..

He join Mike Duffy, a reporter from 7-News who created a fake story about security lapse before the Commonwealth Games, which has been exposed by Media Watch...

Stephen Stratford said...

Anonymous, please be assured likewise that for many of us in New Zealand Paul Henry is currently top of our hate list. What he said does not reflect what the rest of us think.

Anonymous said...

@Stephen

Appreciate your comments...People like Paul Henry need to be identified and shamed before they cause real damage...Remember Hitler was quite a charmer and we all know how he turned out...Take care, mate!

Samuel said...

"Anonymous, a friend once taught me to swear a bit in Hindi but I don't know what you said at 3.33 a.m. that Dee objects to, or even if it is in Hindi."

I believe the opening reference is to inappropriate closeness with one's sister. Apart from that I'm completely lost too.

Stephen Stratford said...

Thanks for the clarification, Samuel. I knew how to suggest to someone that they become inappropriately close to their mother, but not this one. Quite educational, this blogging business.

Unknown said...

hey paul, why dont you have ua head shaved, and shove it up in your ass, and see if it fits.. D**k H*ead..

Dont be racist people...

A HUMAN BEING

Anonymous said...

Iski maa, behan, biwi aur beti ko pehlay saarey mil kay chodo; fir lay ja kay baitha do saali randon ko kisi kothay mein...aur is suar ki aulad, haramzaadey ko bana do unka dalla...yeh maadarchod isi layak hai, shakal toh dekho bhosdi waaley kee...

Anonymous said...

Poor Kiwis, jealous of us Indians, Lame... Henry is an Eunuch..

Anonymous said...

Ah, I am SO embarrassed by what the "tr00" Indians have posted in the comments section here.

You guys are worse than trolls.

If you love your country so much, you should strive to become more aware/less ignorant. Your bhaigiri mentality isn't going to do shit. Wtf did you gain by using foul language on a blogger's page and having him explain that not all NZers think like Paul Henry?

And yeah, I'm Indian, but not like you primates. Duniya dekhne ke liye bahar nahi jaana padta hai. You have absolutely no excuse for your language. And don't bother responding with your childish retorts, because I won't be coming back here to check. If you care so much about national pride, educate yourself. About people, politics, culture, and life. For f**ks sake, the rest of us are trying to fix the country, don't ruin our efforts. And don't call yourself the "new India". You're exactly the kind of old garbage that you're trying to get rid of.

Anonymous said...

Somebody "shit" on this useless "dick"...Bloody swine with a fucked face which looks like a monkey's shruken ass...

Anonymous said...

Sir:

Please excise the abuses posted in Hindi (Transliteration in English).

It is like graffiti. The presence of one, is an open invitation to others.

To posters from India / elsewhere:
Full disclosure > Am Indian too.
But posting abuses and inane verbiage ad hoc, does not a convincing case make.

Besides, all NZ is not made of Paul Henry clones.
Though, he would make a perfect stand in for Mike Meyers in the forthcoming Austin Powers - The DickHead Saga.

Best regards to mates in NZ.
Your media is clueless about India, but not nearly as biased as your large Western neighbour.

Stephen Stratford said...

Thank you, Anonymous at 8:43 a.m. Yes, her in New Zealand we are not all like Paul Henry. I think that only Paul Henry is like Paul Henry.

This is not just about Indians, it's just general racism. Henry would have been as stupid about a Chinese Governor-General or official with an apparently amusing name. I hope that people in India and elsewhere understand that here we think that Henry is an idiot and an embarrassment.

And what a brilliant suggestion about Mike Meyers.

Anonymous said...

So who's dick-in shit now, huh?

Anonymous said...

Chutar chand Paul Henry aur uskay Indian chamchay...abey haramzaado apni izzat pyari nahin hai kya tumhay? In goron ki jhaant pakad kay zindagi bitaaogay kya? Mar jao chullu bhar paani mein doob kay, saalo...

Anonymous said...

"Your media is clueless about India, but not nearly as biased as your large Western neighbour."
That's pretty much the same around the world, there are biased people everywhere. On Indian news they constantly report how racist Australia is. I call that bias too. Australia is one of the most multi-cultural countries in the world. We don't have any wars, unlike India who is racist against Pakistan.

In early 2012 Paul Henry went to Australia to host a breakfast show. in November 2012 this show was cancelled because Paul Henry is offensive to everyone, I apologise on behalf of all Australians that it took us so long to realise.