Your views: Readers' letters

VICTORIA AVE: Our heritage, our treasure.

Unsung heroes

I just want to thank the people who work outside in wind and weather to restore our power, as happened this morning (July 13).

I always think of them when we have a power cut.

One grateful ANNE MOHRDIECK
St John's Hill

Visible city

Earlier this week, I read a pearl of a statement: "Sometimes an external view can wake you up to the wonders we get used to." (Kelly Scarrow, Midweek. July 5).

When I walk down Victoria Ave, I often look up above the shop fronts and admire the wide range of colonial to contemporary buildings in such a small area.

This is unique in New Zealand, and we have yet to fully embrace it, with sweeping by-laws to protect and promote them. All the while, the hammer of financially crippling national earthquake strengthening laws and, to some degree, the simple cost of maintenance hold back hoped improvements for many a project.

The detailed council document Making Whanganui Visible is a well researched set of councillor-supported proposals as a regeneration strategy for the Whanganui town centre.

The document is not mandated but rather a guide with an initial funding to assist whatever project is accordingly prioritised. At a time when our council is beset with many challenges fiscally, I applaud that the document is a reality, that the committee has met and some focus already indicated.

Well done, WDC councillors.

So, too, the external validation is certainly welcomed and deserved when we may be somewhat otherwise distracted to stop and look.

ROSS FALLEN
Aramoho

Civilisation

Potonga Neilson, (letters, June 30), says Maori were just as civilised as the Europeans who came here.

Civilisation is the work of civilians, not soldiers, by way of inventions, buildings and literature. That's how we know of the ancient civilisations of Egypt, Greece and Rome. We see and read what they produced.

The one mention Potonga makes of Maori building something is a flour mill in 1852. And it was abandoned in favour of making war.

What "lofty mountain" is more lofty than having a God who rules the whole universe?

But I am not criticising Maori for being the people they were in old times. The pygmies in equatorial Africa were noted for their hunting and forest culture, so they were given the forest area to be their permanent home.

Could any iwi settle for having a reservation where they could live in the old ways "enjoying the sky and land and the results of their enlightenment"?

TOM PITTAMS
Whanganui

Media behaviour

US President Donald Trump retweeted a joke video meme representing him body-slamming CNN and the media was busy losing what's left of its mind over it.

It is amazing there was no other news worth reporting in the United States for a day or two as the media focused on this video and mean old Trump. Even the Wanganui Chronicle gave the Washington Post coverage of it almost a full page.

The hypocrisy is stunning. The media claim this video will promote violence against the media and the political left, while ignoring ongoing violence by the political left directed at conservatives across America.

They claim the video of Kathy Griffin holding a severed head clearly meant to be Trump's and the live performances of Shakespeare in the Park that were a clear assassination of Donald Trump were simply artworks, while piling on the misleading rhetoric that the Republicans are the party of death, trying to steal the healthcare of millions of Americans, hate Blacks and Hispanics and immigrants and women, etc., and that none of that promotes violence against Trump or Republicans.

In the past few weeks, there has been example after example of media bias against Trump and the Republicans, yet those responsible barely pause in their assault. CNN sacked Griffin over the severed head video because the pressure got too great, not because of any recognition that it was wrong. Just as they had to accept the resignations of three journalists after one of their fake news stories looked like causing a US$100 million lawsuit against CNN.

Even the Project Veritas expose of CNN producers and a host stating there was nothing to the Trump Russia collusion story but they were reporting it day after day because it was good for ratings does not appear to have caused these people to take a look at themselves and their actions. And the offending video meme? CNN are now blackmailing the meme creator to stop him making more.

Perhaps the Chronicle could report on this media misbehaviour rather than reprinting some of the partisan stories from those who are part of the misbehaviour.

K A BENFELL
Whanganui