A father of Chinese descent was viciously attack outside a North Shore Pak 'n Save. Photo / Supplied
Has New Zealand become an angry nation?
It's a strange question, but it's becoming difficult to overlook the evidence suggesting that this might be the case.
Some of the biggest headlines in the last fortnight have included a police officer being knocked out on duty, a racially motivated attack on a father at a North Shore supermarket, and racist abuse aimed at an off-duty cop.
The month of May saw 109 gun crimes reported in Auckland, there's been a 400 per cent rise in ram raids and we've also seen a string of random knife attacks.
These events may be on the extreme end of the spectrum of anti-social behaviour, but there are also smaller examples of this playing out across society.
Signs now hang regularly in restaurants and hospitals imploring visitors to be kind to staff a request that would have seemed utterly unnecessary in New Zealand only a few years back.
Supermarket shoppers also now get into screaming matches about whether they should or shouldn't be wearing masks.
This all points to a simmering anger that makes our interactions feel a little tenser than they once did.
New Zealand isn't alone in dealing with this issue. Over the weekend, a man was killed in a racist attack in Italy and the US has seen a massive surge in airline rage incidents.
Organisational psychologist John Eatwell tells the Front Page podcast it isn't surprising to see an increase in displays of rage in the aftermath of the Covid-19 restrictions, which placed enormous stress on people around the world, including New Zealanders.
Eatwell explains that prolonged periods of stress have a biological effect, that actually makes us more sensitive to stress the longer we stay in that state.
"If you've been through a stressful time, you end up with more receptors for stress effectively," he says.
"After the tough time we've been through, it's going to take something to actually start to reverse that."
While Covid restrictions on society have subsided, new stresses such as inflation, declining house prices and concern about a recession have emerged to heap further pressure on New Zealanders at a vulnerable time.
"All these things play on people's minds, even though they may not think they do. They sort of wear away at the back of your mind and ultimately that impacts your resources to deal with situations. So, people end up losing it, where they would've been able to retain control before.
"The second cognitive function to drop when you are under pressure and fatigued is your control and then the emotional part of your brain starts to take over."
The ongoing stress when combined with the impact of the pandemic has also likely contributed to a decline in trust across society, says Eatwell.
"Research into trust shows that when you have less trust, you get more violence, higher incidence of cardiovascular disease and a whole range of negative health outcomes."
Income disparity, explains Eatwell, is one of the biggest factors contributing to a decline in trust in a country.
Economic studies now show that the pandemic worsened inequality in New Zealand, largely driven by rising house prices and high inflation.
"For the first time in probably 15 years, people's disposable income is decreasing quite rapidly people are feeling the pinch. And that leads to lower levels of trust between the haves and have-nots," says Eatwell.
With society so emotionally charged after this period of prolonged stress, feelings of anger toward the Government are also rising, despite the fact that New Zealand's Covid response was applauded around the world. It also comes despite the fact that most of the societal restrictions have already been dissolved.
"People don't remember what you said or what you did, they remember how you made them feel," says Eatwell.
"That emotion is far more resistant to logic or situations changing That emotional anger about the mandates will remain for quite a long time especially in situations where they aren't acknowledged Unless we acknowledge it, it won't dissipate."
His comments do ring true when viewed in the context of the Parliament protest and Brian Tamaki's more recent disruption of traffic across Auckland. The risk is that if that strong emotional response isn't addressed, the vacuum will be filled by those who see an opportunity in it.
Charismatic figures like Brian Tamaki and Leo Molloy have shown a willingness to harness that anger to get people to listen to them.
"When people are in that emotional state and they have a grievance, they're looking for somebody to follow," says Eatwell.
"Those situations breed unique leaders who are basically prepared to acknowledge the emotions out there and say they can change them."
This isn't to say things need to stay like this. Eatwell says there are steps that both the Government and ordinary people can take to slowly ease the pressure squeezing society at the moment.
"I think there does need to be an acknowledgement of the anger rather than just putting it down to misinformation. We need to engage with all parts of society if we want them to be on board," says Eatwell.
"And I think the other part is that at a company or public sector level, we could be acknowledging much more that the current situation is hard with the residual impacts of lockdowns, Covid and house prices. People need to be supported by their leaders.
"There's a ripple effect to this. Research on both kindness and uncivil acts shows that if I do a small act of kindness to you, you're much more likely to be kind to the next person. Likewise, if I'm angry with you, you're also much more likely to be angry with the next person you see."
This change certainly won't happen overnight, but the onus of dissipating that anger can't lie solely with the Government.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am.
You can follow the podcast at nzherald.co.nz, iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Excerpt from:
Guns, rage and racism: Has NZ become an angry nation? - New Zealand Herald
- The best New Zealand airport to fly into, according to Air New Zealand's chief pilot - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- Immigration New Zealand loses track of someone due to be deported to Pacific - 1News [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- 'Aotearoa New Zealand': What if it went to a vote? - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- Where every visitor to New Zealand should spend some time - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- Losing citizenship: What you need to know - New Zealand Herald [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- New Zealand is not the world's post-Covid future - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- Covid-19: The cost of keeping New Zealand safe - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- UFO sightings over Kaikoura baffled NZ Government - New Zealand Herald [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- Air New Zealand settles on new in-flight snacks: Corn chips face uncertain future, while tea and coffee to be axed from some flights - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- Tokyo Olympics: Women's pair rowers win New Zealand's first gold medal of the Games - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- Winston Reid's New Zealand edged out by Honduras in Olympics - West Ham United F.C. [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- The cheapest and most expensive places to rent in New Zealand - Massey University report - New Zealand Herald [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- Study: New Zealand is the best place to wait out the apocalypse - Axios [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- New Zealand to make dawn raids apology, but the Polynesian Panthers want more than words - ABC News [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- Tokyo Olympics: New Zealand eventers well-placed at completion of dressage phase - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- Bathurst race switched as New Zealand and Perth cancelled - Reuters [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- Tokyo Olympics 2020: New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard breaks silence on selection - New Zealand Herald [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- Tokyo Olympics 2020: New Zealand team finish 12th in triathlon mixed relay - New Zealand Herald [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- REVIEW Olympics-Rowing-New Zealand soars in drama-drenched Tokyo Regatta - Reuters [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- UK 'closing in' on free trade agreement with New Zealand - Reuters [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- Bots and scalpers: desperate Kiwis try everything to get into Fortress New Zealand - The Guardian [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2021] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2021]
- New Zealand's tiny towns with amazing treats - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- Health reforms: Andrew Little's hostile reception from GPs at Wellington conference - New Zealand Herald [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- Geoffrey Miller: NZs Olympic-sized relationship with Japan may be about to change - RNZ [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- New Zealand to shiver this weekend as biting chill creeps across country - Newshub [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- Beerly beloved: The best craft breweries you can visit in New Zealand - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- Air New Zealand and Auckland International Airport downgraded by Jarden - New Zealand Herald [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- New Zealand announce first Pakistan tour in 18 years - International Cricket Council [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- Jacinda Ardern says there's no magic vaccine number that will see NZ open the border - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- Skills crisis: Tech boss says 'anti-immigrant' New Zealand moving the goalposts - New Zealand Herald [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- Tokyo Olympics 2020 live updates (August 6): New Zealand athletes and events in action, how to watch in NZ, live streaming - New Zealand Herald [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- Tokyo Olympics: Who is New Zealand's greatest ever Olympian? - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- New Zealand alpaca Geronimo set to die in UK after Boris Johnson refuses pleas to save it - New Zealand Herald [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- Tokyo Olympics 2020 live updates (August 7): New Zealand athletes and events in action, how to watch in NZ, live streaming - New Zealand Herald [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- From $20 boots to Olympics rugby gold: New Zealands Ruby Tui on her rise to the top - The Guardian [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- New Zealand farmers have avoided regulation for decades. Now their bill has come due - The Guardian [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- Arderns popularity stumbles on New Zealands slow road to vaccination - The Guardian [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- New Zealand and LeoLabs sign multiyear deal for Space Regulatory platform - SpaceNews [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- New Zealand's Relationship May Be About to Change - The Diplomat [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- Cost of Living in New Zealand: What You Should Know ... [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- New Zealand Maps & Facts - World Atlas [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- New Zealand - Geography [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- Seasons in New Zealand | 100% Pure New Zealand [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- New Zealand - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2021]
- Covid 19 coronavirus: Outbreak may be 'more contained' than first feared - New Zealand Herald [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- Coronavirus: Concern among Kiwis in London about impact of New Zealand outbreak - Newshub [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- Former elite New Zealand cyclist Cassie Cameron: My daughter will never be a cyclist - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- Rugby Championship in limbo after New Zealand drops a bombshell - msnNOW [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- Brits to enjoy cheaper wine prices after Brexit deal with New Zealand - Daily Express [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- The Taliban takeover and its implications for New Zealand - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- Paul Coll becomes first New Zealander to win the British Open men's squash title - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- 13yo becomes one of New Zealand's youngest COVID-19 vaccine recipients at drive-through vaccination centre - Newshub [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- New Zealand has the Highest Adoption of Streaming Services, The US Ranks Sixth - Cord Cutters News [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- All Of New Zealand Remains | Scoop News - Scoop.co.nz [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- Rape charge against New Zealand motorsport driver Max Guilford in the US dismissed - New Zealand Herald [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- Opinion: Stop putting a spin on New Zealand's vaccination numbers, we are woefully behind - Newshub [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- Lockdowns or vaccines? 3 Pacific nations try diverging paths - Associated Press [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- Australia threatens to bill New Zealand in rugby row - FRANCE 24 [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- Afghans need our help there must be no empty seats on New Zealands rescue mission - The Guardian [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- Tiny New Zealand airport that tells Mori love story in running for global design award - The Guardian [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- New Zealand was set to be the first advanced economy to hike rates. One Covid case put a stop to it - CNBC [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- Covid 19 coronavirus Delta outbreak: Decision day looms as experts wonder if New Zealand will ever return to normal - New Zealand Herald [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- In New Zealand it has been easy to forget Covid. Now we are too complacent - The Guardian [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2021] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2021]
- Preparing for international travel: 'People don't want a third winter in New Zealand' - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- BMW New Zealand confirms i4 pricing ahead of 2022 arrival - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- Weather: Rain, strong winds, hail and snow batter New Zealand - New Zealand Herald [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- New Zealand and the West's dangerous dance with civil liberties - The National [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- New Zealand reports first COVID death in over 6 months - CBS News [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- New Zealand cases drop to 49 in reassuring indication lockdown is working - The Guardian [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- The world is desperate for new antibiotics, and New Zealand's unique fungi are a source of promising compounds - The Conversation AU [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- Social inclusion is important in Aotearoa New Zealand but so is speaking honestly about terrorism - The Conversation AU [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- 9/11 anniversary: How the attacks changed New Zealand's foreign policy - Newshub [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- Steve Hansen shoots down suggestion World 12s could hurt New Zealand Rugby - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- New Zealand records its warmest ever winter with average temperature of 9.8C - The Guardian [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- England to host New Zealand, South Africa for Tests in 2022 - FRANCE 24 [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- New Zealand records 75 cases after two days of falls - The Guardian [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- Covid-19: New Zealand's vaccine roll-out explained in 10 charts, and compared with the rest of the world - Stuff.co.nz [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- Extremist abused and attacked officers in New Zealand prison - ABC News [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- The Latest: Most of New Zealand to end virus lockdown - ABC News [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]
- New Zealand banks, post office hit by outages in apparent cyber attack - Reuters [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2021] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2021]