There is official history and there are accounts from those who experienced historical events. Here is my history of the America's Cup in Aotearoa. In the 1980s a Labour government headed by David Lange decided to have a huge garage sale of the publicly owned assets the people of Aoteroa had patiently acquired over many years. The people were not keen on the idea but he went ahead and got a guy called Michael Fay to run the garage sale. Everything up for sale went at bargain-basement prices. When the sale was completed the people were much poorer but Michael Fay was so rich they just had to give him a knighthood to make sure we all knew how special he was. Just to prove he could convince the governments (both National and Labour were susceptible to his charms) and the people of New Zealand into anything he wanted, he then set out to use further taxpayer money to win a boat race that nobody gave a shit about, and in the process, to convince us we actually cared about it a great deal. The years following the great sell-off were devastating for many Kiwis. Unemployment soared and wages stagnated but money continued to be poured into the Cup. Those associated with it in quite minor ways became very rich. Administrators, bureaucrats, and politicians loved to attend public events surrounding the cup and wallow in the stench of wealth that accompanied it. The media promoted it like nothing before or since. Just to prove their superior con artist skills the cup people canvassed the streets of South Auckland where the poorest people lived, offering them overpriced red socks and patriotism as a replacement for prosperity, security, and a share in the nation's wealth.
At some stage, we won the cup, then lost it. Unbelievably the cuppers ran the same scam again, pulling even more money from the purse of the ever adoring public. Guess what it was now called Emirates Team New Zealand but people still liked to pretend it was our team and cheered it on. Or perhaps they never noticed. While the homeless slept on the street and children went hungry government and council poured millions into the pockets of the cuppers.
Now it is leaving again. Leading political figures are expressing disappointment. They obviously suffer from the middle-class condition of not realising not all bad buggers wear gang regalia and are hurt at being ripped off by people just like themselves. I doubt they will learn from the experience.
For those of you who will miss waving your little flags at rich kids frolicking on the waves of the Waitemata. And those who prefer our government to throw taxpayer money at the cuppers rather than on housing the homeless or addressing a mental health crisis, let me assure you good cons never die. They just need a rest for a while. They will return for a further bite of the cherry when the time is right.
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