To invoke "politicians" and "academics" is a dog whistle to say that those who disagree with him are people out of touch. And while many would claim the term "activist" as a badge of honour, it is used by others to cast aspersions.
Similarly, while "politically correct" means that one believes it is important to take care with language to avoid offending people who have been discriminated against or are at a disadvantage, the term is often thrown around as a pejorative.
Johnson is simply uncomfortable that his views come into conflict with those of many others.
Johnson goes on to try to discredit "identity politics". If you've been following some of the discussions about the election of Trump, you may have heard the term identity politics bandied about in the same negative way.
However, identity politics - a term that appears to have developed during campaigns for civil rights for various groups in the US - refers to a form of activism (there's that word again) that allows people to articulate issues in terms of their own experience - rather than expressing some abstract ideology.
Hearing people's lived experiences helps other people understand. Behind identity politics is the recognition that some groups, e.g. Māori, other ethnic minorities, women, LBTG - have been disadvantaged, denied rights, have grievances and/or are oppressed. So while Johnson decries identity politics, he also employs it for his particular Pakeha colleagues.
Most critically, Johnson's claim that views are being suppressed due to "propaganda", "brain-washing" and "pressure" reflects his denial of the long history of devastating breeches of the Treaty of Waitangi. His claims of Maori "gravy train" and his suggestion of an apartheid state developing are particularly egregious.
Lindsay Paku, in his letter to the editor eloquently reminded Johnson, "It is us who had to become part of our white brothers, it is their laws that we must obey, it is our land that was confiscated, it was our fathers, brothers, sisters, uncles, etc who laid down their lives so that their tamariki and moko could live in their own country as citizens..."
Johnson bandies "democracy" and the notion of majority rules. Of course! It is this same mentality that defends unequal pay for women; that needed to believe that homosexuality was a "lifestyle choice", and opposed homosexual law reform; that beat Maori children for speaking te reo Maori in school; which confiscated Maori land; and slaughtered Maori women and children at Rangiaowhia and elsewhere.
As Martin Williams concludes, "to suggest that modern attempts to correct what was undeniably a substantial injustice involves some type of fascist 'cultural hegemony' to advance a 'separatist agenda' is simply extraordinary".
What is it that really rankles Johnson, Brash and other Hobson's Pledge folk? I suggest it is the sense that they might have to give up the idea that they are "uber-powerful", superior, and that "white" rules.
They want to deny that Maori, like indigenous peoples worldwide, have been decimated by colonising wars and oppression - and that making restitution is right and moral.
Susan Jacobs retired last year following a long career in tertiary education. She has a PhD (related to the development of advanced nursing practice in New Zealand and the Nurse Practitioner) and was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2015.
