It has been an ice water wake up to 2025 with the proposed passport, and the China deal shaking up our relationship with New Zealand, we are going to build ports with China, all while their warships are firing live rounds off of Australia’s coast. And it’s only February.

Men are shaking their heads, getting upset about some of the decisions being made on their behalf without their input or consideration to their wants and needs under the banner of “for the best interests of our Cook Islands community.” As much as I may agree with the aggrieved male population, I have to say ‘welcome to our world as a woman.’

Having men decide what they think is good for us, for our bodies, for our work environment or our sporting platforms has been the historical reference since time in memorial. This latest mansplaining from our Prime Minister is just another plain example of what we have to navigate through the world. Having some men understand how it feels, is a blessing.

It reminds me of taking tourists to Mykonos in Greece, where there were a lot of drag queens and homosexual men in the bars at night. Where good ol’ Aussie and Kiwi males in short stubbies, singlet and blonde dyed hair found themselves subjected to being viewed as meat. They had their butts pinched and were asked to dance or constantly hit on, it gave them a rare insight to how it feels for women every day and night. Afterwards, they swore they would never do that to a woman ever again.

What Mark Brown is doing to our country right now is right up there in the land of manipulation and narcissism. He has used his title to decide who we will play with and who is more important. Overriding all of this is the absence of any committed consideration to what is best for our local population.  

Forget his speech before leaving for China explaining his actions. People who tell the truth convey the truth. They don’t have to convince you of the truth.

If the passport was about creating independence, then let’s be independent. Jumping into bed with anyone flashing money in our face is not being self-employed it is prostituting ourselves. Mark spent last year ‘pressing the flesh’ a Henry Puna terminology not mine, with a multitude of consorts, playing one off against the other. He said we need to pay off debt, when his decisions of using the Chinese for the Te Matou Vai project put us into more debt. We have nothing to offer these countries except our flesh and bones which is our land and oceans. He has effectively sold us into slavery with masters who hold a different view of the world than us.

People are getting upset because he has deliberately stirred the pot of cultural racism with the passport idea being for our ‘cultural independence’ with no intention or plans to follow through with creating a culturally vibrant independent nation. Instead he manipulated a scenario that shifted all blame onto Winston Peters. ‘Manipulation is when they blame you for your reaction to their toxic behaviour but never discuss their disrespect that triggered you.’

Mark acts like the victim in the problem he created. Blaming others when he knows he was the one who did it and is the one who should apologise, creates loss of respect. When trust is broken sorry means nothing.

Mark announced China gave us a four million dollars grant we should be grateful. If it has no strings attached, why does it leave a bad feeling in our gut? New Zealand gave us 30 million last year and we didn’t bat an eye or say meitaki. Where did the money go? If we have three million for a boat, why couldn’t we have used it for our police, nurses and teachers? If we have received millions, why don’t we have a dialysis machine here? Why do we have unfinished roads and why couldn’t we have fixed our own ports for our own boats?

If Mark cared for his own people, why hasn’t he used the money to partner with local shipping business instead of buying into more debt to compete against them?

Narcissists will abandon people who try and hold them accountable. When you require them to admit wrong doing, guilt or take responsibility and apologise, they will drop anyone, family even their own children rather than be responsible. They want complete control over the narrative. They will rewrite the history and no matter how bad or how shocking is their behaviour they will never accept responsibility, they will discard you rather than admit or apologise ever. Cook Islands it’s time to wake up. Mark has sold and traded you in, for shiny new friends.