Will the rangatahi save us? Generation Z: Unapologetic. Uncompromising

Saturday, 27 June 2020

Teens are protesting, even standing for Parliament themselves. Glenn McConnell meets a new generation of 'uncompromising' radicals.

OPINION: It turns out mums of teenagers have a new concern to add to the list: Their kids are turning into hardened activists who don't plan on compromising.

A few mothers shared their concerns with me, an 'elder Gen Zer', this week. As well as dealing with the typical stuff – detentions, relationships, too much screen time – they said their kids were self-righteous, uncompromising in their ethics and way too political.

'She refuses to see it any other way,' one mother told me. 'I told her, you can't just defund the police.'

But her daughter replied, 'Why not?'

* When your child becomes a climate activist

* Discrimination, climate change and mental health: The big issues worrying young NZ leaders

Students show their support for the Black Lives Matter protest outside Auckland’s Marist College after posters supporting the movement at the school were ripped down by senior staff.

For people her age, she's certainly not alone.

Born on the cusp of the millennial and Gen Z generations, mid-1997, I've seen an incredible change in tone, urgency and understanding over the past few years.

Teenagers now seem not just more willing to do something, but more willing to listen and learn about issues affecting minorities.

Nothing's perfect. When I was at school five years ago, Māori spent time trying to explain Te Tiriti and colonisation. Now, discussion is moving towards what to do to stop racism rather than if it exists at all.

Auckland-based School Strike 4 Climate leader Coco Green-Lovatt (centre with green face paint) says the Government's Covid-19 response must be green.

The facts of racism, climate change and colonisation are now non-negotiable. To say otherwise is to ask for a Gen Z scolding.

Māori and Pasifika Gen Zers have found allies in the form of middle class Pākehā. It's getting to a stage where some argue their allies are sometimes too vocal, taking the discussion away from people of colour.

Thousands of people march down Queens St in support of the Black Lives Matter movement on in Auckland.

But together they call out racism and homophobia in areas older generations just can't see it. They see with crystal clarity that urgent change is needed, and yet those in charge meander towards solutions.

It was clear this month, when protests closed city streets across the globe and US President Donald Trump was left standing in a half-empty stadium thanks to a Gen Z prank.

Students and parents show their support for the Black Lives Matter protest outside Auckland’s Marist College after posters supporting the movement at the school were ripped down.

This generation, born between 1997 and 2012, is drawing connections between issues such as climate change and racism.

An unexpected side effect of climate change has been its mobilisation of almost an entire generation. Groups that formed to protest in the school strikes are now calling out police brutality and systemic racism in New Zealand and across the globe.

They're distrusting of the old guard, who they see as corrupt. Old-style politicians – mostly white, mostly male and increasingly aged – are accused of selling Gen Z's future.

The old guard has ignored race issues, indigenous rights and climate change while feasting on an increasingly unaffordable housing market. They own those houses not thanks to their own work, but through winning a privilege lottery. A typical Gen Zer says it's all connected.

Luke Wijohn was a leader of the School Strike for Climate.

School staff in Auckland and Christchurch who refused to host discussions about Black Lives Matter were deemed complicit and ignorant.

Marist College students publicly shamed their principal, who they caught on tape admitting she had taken down Black Lives Matter posters and telling students not to bring their activism to school

When the first School Strikes for Climate took off, politicians criticised them for just wanting a day off school.

That was a cynical, misguided critique.

There were multiple youth-led climate demonstrations last year, and this year organisers of those protests have used their networks to rally in support of Black Lives Matter. Supporters gained through climate activism are directed to follow black and indigenous activists leading BLM demonstrations.

Luke Wijohn, an 18-year-old from Ngai Tūhoe and Te Rarawa, is a familiar face at protests in Auckland.

He says these issues are all personal to him, and the other Māori, Pasifika and people of colour his age.

The Polynesian Panthers speak at the Auckland Black Lives Matter rally in Aotea Square.

And no, they won't be compromising.

'When it comes to climate change, when it comes to racism, are you going to compromise? Compromise leads to the death of vulnerable people. Why should young people compromise their futures?”, says Wijohn.

His own whānau has been targets of the over policing of Māori communities, he says. A nine-year-old cousin was pepper sprayed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time - he tells me – yet many still claim there is no police brutality in New Zealand.

To be fair, Wijohn is on the more extreme edge of Gen Z. He's standing in the Mt Albert electorate for the Green Party, a position he got aged 17, against Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

I ask what's spurring this activism.

'Personally, for me, I'm a descendant of Whina Cooper and in the same iwi as Tame Iti – those are two idols of mine.'

He says he and other young activists see their work as a continuation of the Māori and Pacific movements such as the Polynesian Panthers.

There are a plethora of Māori and Pacific climate justice groups, arguing for urgent action to protect the Pacific. Wijohn says they take inspiration from Bastion Point, or the vision of pacificism and sustainability at Parihaka.

New Zealand history is still not compulsory at school, so social media has been pivotal for sharing stories and learning about activist movements like the Polynesian Panthers.

'People are starting to see the connections: Climate change, racism, the justice system, economics and housing all affect each other,' he says.

'If you want to do something individually, then stand up to racism. Climate change is built on the back of wealth inequality, which is built off racism.'

But for me, there's one burning question left. Why is it that Gen Z seem to care more than their older brothers and sisters, the millennials born between 1981-1996?

'Lots of millennials I talk to and work with, they've almost… lost hope,' Wijohn says.

That's a sad thought.

While it may be an exaggeration to say millennials have lost all hope, protest leaders and those at the forefront of activism are increasingly noticeably young.

Their ability to talk to huge numbers of people and rally a crowd at fairly short notice is a sign of something promising. While their parents' generation may be concerned at their ability to compromise, Gen Z have proven to be apt listeners.

After coming together to protest climate change, a diverse cohort are now listening to the issues of indigenous rights, the future of the Pacific, wealth injustice and America's Black Lives Matter. Their willingness to listen directly to communities facing adversity is nothing to be concerned about.