by Catherine Delahunty
The Green Party is pleased Mike Tyson has been refused a visa to come here on a money-making speaking tour and we are grateful to the campaigners who exposed the issue. There is no need or excuse to re-traumatise rape victims by touring someone convicted of rape as a celebrity.
We are also pleased to see The Life Education Trust speaking out against the mistake made by someone associated with the ‘Trust’ who appears to have gone against the ‘Trust’s’ wishes in supporting the Mike Tyson visit.
However we are concerned that the Minister of Immigration and those working for her granted the initial visa without making the proper checks that those supporting Mike Tyson’s visit were bona fide.
The idea that Mike Tyson in one expensive speech would rehabilitate young men from a life of crime is pretty unconvincing and most of this target group wouldn’t be spending $300.00 to listen to this even if he did come.
The most important issue in this debacle is the message we send to survivors of sexual assaults, do we stand with them in opposing such a tour and acknowledge the reality of re-traumatision, or do we focus on Mike Tyson’s alleged personal “rehabilitation” after a history of violence towards women?
The duty was always clear and now the decision needs to be upheld.
Published in Society & Culture by Catherine Delahunty on Fri, October 5th, 2012
Tags: Kate Wilkinson, Mike Tyson, Re-traumatisation, Visa
More posts by Catherine Delahunty | more about Catherine Delahunty
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
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Should be ‘one rule for ALL’ !
Kia-ora
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Well done! You’ve foiled his devious plan to promote rape and abuse rape survivors under the cover of a speaking engagement! Good thing we continue to punish people who have already served their sentences or who knows what might have happened!
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Good to see an about-face from the Greens and getting tougher on criminals.
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Gave me the impression that him and Tyson are used to getting their way, with women and with government officials. Kudos to the Minister for asserting NZ is not a welcoming place for smiling, I’m reformed now see I don’t even eat ears anymore! rapists.
With the world cup I was concerned that our officals were sending the message that rape and sexual assault weren’t as important as the rugby, which they said, “is what it’s all about”.
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This post is a joke isn’t it Ms Delahunty?
Are you seriously suggesting that an investigation be made by a Minister of every letter they receive? How exactly do you propose to do it? Perhaps you could send the police around to check up whether a letter was written by the person, or group, whose name appears on the document. An alternative might be to require every letter to be attatched to a statutory declaration that they are authorised to write a letter.
Perhaps you could tell us whether you personally check the bona fides of everyone who sends a message to you. Somehow I doubt it.
Thsi is particularly funny coming from yourself. Were you not the MP who claimed accomadtion expenses from the State for an apartment you were sharing without even having the nous to check whether the other person was already claiming expenses? You didn’t even ask someone you were living with, and who you presumably saw every Parliamentary sitting day, who was claiming the rent.
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You may think it is a joke.
But a 5 minute phone call from a Ministerial official to verify what has been put on paper, in the circumstances of someone extremely controversial and with a serious criminal conviction, is not going to involve any significant expenditure of public funds.
When you have someone with a criminal record as serious as Tyson’s applying for an exemption from the normal rules re entry to New Zealand a wee bit of checking would be in order imo.
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It doesn’t help that our public service has been cut to the bone. Barely time for a toilet break let alone a five minute phonecall.
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I’m surprised by the Green Party position described here.
Of course the rules should apply to all. But I would have thought this issue would have brought the focus on why NZ law punishes those who have already served their debt to society and have been rehabilitated.
This position makes all subsequent Green Party positions in favor of better rehabilitation and offenders’ rights less credible.
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I don’t think Tyson discriminated. He’s just “violent” – no?
I don’t think his speaking damages the victims of rape any.
I DO think that the money from his tour could be helpful to charities, and that the balance between his criminal history and that benefit needs to be considered. This isn’t an application for residency after all.
At this point though, the people who have (IMHO mistakenly) decided that his violence was about women have made it about women, and the balance has changed.
As to whether he is reformed or not? Not expecting that anyone really knows. It’s the story he’s selling. I wish him well with it all.
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@alwyn 7:02 PM
You may think it is a joke.
But a 5 minute phone call from a Ministerial official to verify what has been put on paper, in the circumstances of someone extremely controversial and with a serious criminal conviction, is not going to involve any significant expenditure of public funds.
Before having a go at him like that, did you email alwyn to verify that he actualy posted this post?
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I think some people misunderstand me here. This isn’t originally having anything to do with “rape”. It is a matter of Tyson being violent period. Nobody with any sense denies that that is his history.
NOW it is about rape and sexual violence because some folks have claimed that it somehow promotes and condones it, and so have turned it into an issue.
So there really is no use to his turning up to do this show anymore, it has lost its original purpose. His defiance is another issue. I would have regarded a truly reformed Tyson as someone who would have accepted the rebuff as deserved and turned elsewhere.
OTOH, the issue of having a visa revoked once granted (and Tyson himself did not misrepresent his past on that application) is a non-trivial aggravation. I might utter a few intemperate words in such a position.
I hope that Tyson is moving towards being rehabilitated after a life of violence. I am a bit disappointed that we as a party, addressed this as being about sexual violence without noting that Tyson was always happy to beat on anyone of any gender to get what he wanted.
I really don’t care if he comes here, but I don’t think that he will do anyone any good by coming… AND I don’t think anyone was particularly delinquent in their responsibilities. Can’t get that excited over it.
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Trevor.
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NOW it is about rape and sexual violence because some folks have claimed that it somehow promotes and condones it, and so have turned it into an issue. So there really is no use to his turning up to do this show anymore, it has lost its original purpose. His defiance is another issue. I would have regarded a truly reformed Tyson as someone who would have accepted the rebuff as deserved and turned elsewhere.The issue of having a visa revoked once granted (and Tyson himself did not misrepresent his past on that application) is a non-trivial aggravation. I might utter a few intemperate words in such a position.
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