Why should Maori have special rights?

Love this comment from a blog today, it articulates what I never quite could    

"Why should Maori have "special rights"? Quite simply, Maori are the minority in NZ but by far the majority in every negative stat- crime, violence, substance abuse, poverty, child abuse, unemployment- the list goes on.

We (Pakeha) in general, demand that Maori take equal citizenship in NZ. We demand that they work, we demand that they live more productive lives, we demand that they stop causing problems, we demand that they integrate better and we demand that they be more like "us" but at the same time, we resent them for any programs and policies that are designed to lift them up, we resent them for telling us want they need, we distrust them, we belittle them and we treat them differently. We assume they are all lazy and dishonest, we assume they all drink and beat their children, we resent them for having a seperate and unique culture yet we take from their culture when it suits us and we generally think of them as we do naughty children.

Until we (Pakeha) wake up and realise that we are the problem, then Maori will never rise to their potential and join us at the table. How can they when we constantly sit on their backs? Until we (Pakeha) realise that nationhood is a two way street and that we have as much of an obligation to change the way we think about Maori as much as we demand that Maori change themselves, then Maori in general will never see themselves as more than a reflection of our prejudices."

P.S Mr Ansell, you make me sick