David Seymour - gets it right.

[Lilith7]

I'm not a fan of his at all & disagree with his political views, but credit where its due; he got this one absolutely right. Its probably the best way to deal with those who've
well & truly gone down the rabbit hole.

Well done, David Seymour!

Words I never thought I'd say.....

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3008762...ascinating

[b]"ANALYSIS:[/b] You’re a public figure, and you’ve been asked for an interview on Voices for Freedom’s (VFF) radio station. Do you agree?

Many would say no, opting not to give it oxygen. Some might say yes, hoping to ignore the loaded questions about vaccines and culture war grievances and pivoting to issues they want to discuss.

In an interview this week, ACT leader David Seymour took a third path, setting a possible template for how to be interviewed by someone from a media ecosystem often hostile to outside views.

The interviewer was Paul Brennan, a former RNZ newsreader. Two of his ongoing concerns are that COVID-19 vaccines are causing widespread damage and kids are being indoctrinated with progressive understandings of gender.

These issues, naturally, came up during the interview.

“There’s a lot of… what’s the word… concern about some of the new social, I guess, attitudes that are creeping into the classroom,” Brennan haltingly asked Seymour.

“I think you know what I’m talking about. People are concerned about what young kids are hearing in schools by way of, let’s say, even promoting perhaps certain… lifestyles, or life choices. Have you got anything to say about that?”

Let’s pause to dissect what’s happening here.

Brennan has strong and forthright views on this issue.

In a previous interview with a friendly guest, he suggested that drag queens were making a concerted effort to sexualise children, and there was something “ritualistic” about gender-affirming surgery.

Brennan likely knows he can’t speak in those terms. His interviewee is from outside the RCR bubble; people who don’t usually listen might find it off-putting.

Instead, he seemingly self-censors and tries to imply what he’s talking about, hoping Seymour will run with it.

Seymour does not.

“Well, let’s work on the evidence, Seymour responds. “What’s an example that concerns you?”

Brennan clarifies he’s talking about “a lot of the trans talk at schools... gender talk in schools to quite young kids seems to be happening”.

“So, what’s an example of something quite young kids are being told?” Seymour responds.

“I can’t tell you verbatim, but you should be aware of it.”

“Aware of what, exactly? You have to explain it to me.”

This continues for some time. Brennan acknowledges he can’t provide an example but insists it’s a problem. Seymour asks Brennan at least six times to state clearly what he means before rescuing him with examples of other things in schools that concern him.

“What is it about a drag queen that you think is problematic or different?” Seymour queries.

“I guess the concern of people is the exposure to sexualising at too younger [sic] of an age…” Brennan responds.

“So you’re not worried about drag queens, you’re worried about sexualisation. If the question is, is somebody who is a drag queen going to explicitly sexualise children, you’re not opposed to drag queens, are you - you’re opposed to anyone who sexualises children. So am I.”

This is notable because Brennan has never had to articulate why he holds his views. He can air his concerns, knowing most guests won’t challenge him and that his audience has the same beliefs.

By pushing Brennan to articulate his point, Seymour neutralised a common strategy: Whispering ideas into the discourse by pressing politicians to adopt positions based on vague concerns held by unspecified people."

Reality Check Radio (RCR), VVF’s radio station, has been programming for several months.