MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER
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Sisters urge community to rethink the systemDuring February sisters Niki and Laila Harre made a pilgrimage around the North Island to reconnect with people and encourage them to ‘Rethink the System’. The pilgrimage was a kind of therapy for Laila following Internet-Mana’s election failure last year. Hitting the road, hitchhiking, and carrying no money, their dependence on locals in towns around the country created a relationship and connection with the people they were trying to engage with. Kaiwaka and Mangawhai was host to the sisters on February 21 with Alan Preston from the Travellers Rest providing accommodation. A group of 23 attended a ‘rethink the system’ meeting in Kaiwaka that evening. Niki Harre, a psychology lecturer, suggested that emotion underlies our responses to the world, however realistic and logical they may appear. The emotional response, for example, to the issue of climate change is often fear which leads to denying or running away from the problem. The emotional response to injustice is often anger which can be destructive. Responses founded in positive emotion are more likely to be successful. Niki also challenged us to think about the difference between a ‘finite game’ in which the purpose is to win and an ‘infinite game’ in which the purpose is to involve everyone and make the game continue to work for all players indefinitely. This is an idea proposed by philosopher James Carse. Laila shared some of her activist history looking at finite and infinite games that were played and examining the way, since the 1980's, the emotions driving activists have become more negative. The meeting ended with workshop group sessions. Afterwards we had time for a cuppa and the level of eager, informal conversation suggested that most of us had found the evening inspiring. - Helen Marsh HOME: Laila and Niki Harre at the end of their month-long pilgrimage. |
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