The diatribe of the Common Man about ‘vulagi’ was painful reading. The whole concept of the Common Man is a bit romantic not very convincing at all – a person who is well versed in English just because his mum was a teacher and he had lot of access to English books but he is a common farmer and works in the fields and represents the common iTaukei thinking. That is all very romantic to me and a load of bullshit.
I think this person is born from the imagination of the administrator.
Whilst we all know that everyone in this forum voted for change, they all lack basic judgement and have retrospective regret. These same people seem to have jumped on the bandwagon of the Common Man. Please.
CBU 57 – How the f*ck do you know whether I am cut or uncut, you m*ther f*cker? Is that because you are iTaukei and you know everything from your vulagi religion?
I don’t think it’s GD, not because he’s above such a stunt but because he can only write in one style (you can see it in his ghostwriting for FF too) and this isn’t it.
I definitely think the story is a sham though, presumably without GD’s realising it. Guarantee this guy just got back from a scholarship overseas. Doesn’t invalidate his views but why spin the silly yarn?
Are you as stupid as “Idiots Everywhere”? Do you honesty think I would make all this up – that having met this guy and knowing precisely his circumstances from others that I have been conned into thinking he is a farmer because you can “guarantee that this guy just got back from a scholarship overseas”.
I think what you can’t stand is that he is more articulate than both of you. An iTaukei commoner with a command of the English language better than your own. Yes, that would really rankle wouldn’t it?
You know what is as disgusting as an iTaukei bigot? An Indo-Fijian bigot. I am only allowing this disgraceful exhibition of blind intolerance to demonstrate the depths to which you maggots will go. And then you will never appear in these columns again.
I have genuinely had enough. The fringe lunatics who are destroying national unity are on both sides. And to hell with the lot of you.
I started this column to give a commoner in the vanua the opportunity to express himself. People of goodwill can decide for themselves the quality of his arguments. But he is genuine. He is authentic. And whether you believe it or not is of fundamental indifference to me.
I for one welcome the somewhat belated calling out of the serious racist commentary from some Indo Fijians. It has been a big problem for a very long time. Indigenous anti Indian racism is also unacceptable of course…but a question-which is the deeper insult..boci?? Or baboon,monkey etc,both of which have been very popular in these comment columns…and not to forget “ape”. It would be interesting to do a word count to see how many times these words have appeared here over the last few years. “Robust ” debate?..? No,incitement of violence, dehumanising language. Time for all the users of these terms to present the Tabua…
The fact is Indo Fijians are not vulagi in any sense – they are not guests, they are not honoured guests, they are not from the sky, they are not from far away and they are not visitors and they are not temporary residents and they are not foreigners.
They are born and bred in Fiji. They have no other country. They are Fijians and not foreigners in any sense.
I do not need to know in any detail what the word vulagi means. It is not relevant for Indo Fijians. I do not give a shit about what dialect or what language or tribe or culture or tradition it comes from. Vulagi is not relevant to Indo Fijians, so take your culture, tradition, language and f**k-off. I do not wish to know what the word means or any justification for it to label Indo Fijians. Just get lost.
As for Common Man, it is all fake and he/she does not represent the common iTaukei with good English obtained from books. That is a load of bullshit.
This subaltern semiotic analysis struck a chord within. It spoke to me throughout the week. Vinaka !
Yes, indeed you have stated the very obvious. Politicisation of traditional lexicons create immense pain and harm ethnic relations in the long term.
For me, your perspective opened up that space when Fijians of Indian descent , who are often told or slated as ‘Kai -India’ , actually made a lot of sense.
An honourable guest whose original roots came from the sub-continent, India.
In a reference, devoid of any political illusions, it makes sense why it is said.
Similar to someone coming from Lau, Lomaiviti or Kadavu. Amongst the indigenous i-Taukei community , knowing and acknowledging your roots is a source of pride .
So , the socio-linguistic codes used by one indigenous community may not be valued correctly in all its essence , by the other communities because they do not share the same reference points.
The pragmatics of how and when and the context in which it is said often results in the ‘Kai-India’ feeling more like a foreigner than the Vu~lagi ,honoured guests .
This unfortunately is played upon by politicians in both communities.
As a people connected by colonial history, both consider roots and cultural legacies important.
If we remove the veil of misconceptions , like your literary piece has tried very valiantly , we will realise that we all are victims of our many presumptions.
For the Fiji -Indian subalterns ( not speaking for the capitalist elites here ), many have also grown deep , roots in Fiji and they know of no other home than this nation. So belonging is central to identity making .
Inclusive of all minority communities, deep down , many feel we are Kai-Fiji first despite the Oceanic voyages made by our ancestors. We honour the generosity of being looked upon not as foreigners but under the protection of cultural benevolence.
I find the unwillingness to even consider another opinion is half the problem
Have a conversation and enlighten and learn from each other
So easy to be destructive with words or deeds,but rebuilding trust and faith takes years.
Unfortunately I feel in my humble opinion the damage has been done as far as Fiji Indians are concerned and Australia, NZ, USA or Canada are reaping the benefits
Honestly ,I could not bear to bring up my children or grandchildren in the racist or crime infested times and quit Fiji
It appears worse now that the country is even more Orwellian
I will always be fond of Fiji but being constantly told I don’t belong hardened me to say enough
The elites are alway leading you down the proverbial. Wake Up
Hope things change for the better and people make better choices for the next generation
Should the brain drain continue Fiji may become like other island nations without any so called Vulagi.
The diatribe of the Common Man about ‘vulagi’ was painful reading. The whole concept of the Common Man is a bit romantic not very convincing at all – a person who is well versed in English just because his mum was a teacher and he had lot of access to English books but he is a common farmer and works in the fields and represents the common iTaukei thinking. That is all very romantic to me and a load of bullshit.
I think this person is born from the imagination of the administrator.
Whilst we all know that everyone in this forum voted for change, they all lack basic judgement and have retrospective regret. These same people seem to have jumped on the bandwagon of the Common Man. Please.
Your really are an appalling individual. A poisoned dwarf of a human being whose own judgment is completely twisted.
To think that I would make all this up says more about you than me. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. And bugger off.
You are obviously not a true kai Viti because you have no respect for an indigenous point of view, which CommonMan purports to be.
His views are a welcome change from the anti’taukei diatribe from the UnC …..oops, sorry Graham, I almost crossed your red line here. Vosota.
He doesn’t “purport to be”. He IS. I can guarantee that he is genuine and authentic. And as I have said before, a very impressive person.
CBU 57 – How the f*ck do you know whether I am cut or uncut, you m*ther f*cker? Is that because you are iTaukei and you know everything from your vulagi religion?
I don’t think it’s GD, not because he’s above such a stunt but because he can only write in one style (you can see it in his ghostwriting for FF too) and this isn’t it.
I definitely think the story is a sham though, presumably without GD’s realising it. Guarantee this guy just got back from a scholarship overseas. Doesn’t invalidate his views but why spin the silly yarn?
Are you as stupid as “Idiots Everywhere”? Do you honesty think I would make all this up – that having met this guy and knowing precisely his circumstances from others that I have been conned into thinking he is a farmer because you can “guarantee that this guy just got back from a scholarship overseas”.
I think what you can’t stand is that he is more articulate than both of you. An iTaukei commoner with a command of the English language better than your own. Yes, that would really rankle wouldn’t it?
You know what is as disgusting as an iTaukei bigot? An Indo-Fijian bigot. I am only allowing this disgraceful exhibition of blind intolerance to demonstrate the depths to which you maggots will go. And then you will never appear in these columns again.
I have genuinely had enough. The fringe lunatics who are destroying national unity are on both sides. And to hell with the lot of you.
I started this column to give a commoner in the vanua the opportunity to express himself. People of goodwill can decide for themselves the quality of his arguments. But he is genuine. He is authentic. And whether you believe it or not is of fundamental indifference to me.
I for one welcome the somewhat belated calling out of the serious racist commentary from some Indo Fijians. It has been a big problem for a very long time. Indigenous anti Indian racism is also unacceptable of course…but a question-which is the deeper insult..boci?? Or baboon,monkey etc,both of which have been very popular in these comment columns…and not to forget “ape”. It would be interesting to do a word count to see how many times these words have appeared here over the last few years. “Robust ” debate?..? No,incitement of violence, dehumanising language. Time for all the users of these terms to present the Tabua…
Loved his article last week. Looking forward to tomorrow.
Never?
The fact is Indo Fijians are not vulagi in any sense – they are not guests, they are not honoured guests, they are not from the sky, they are not from far away and they are not visitors and they are not temporary residents and they are not foreigners.
They are born and bred in Fiji. They have no other country. They are Fijians and not foreigners in any sense.
I do not need to know in any detail what the word vulagi means. It is not relevant for Indo Fijians. I do not give a shit about what dialect or what language or tribe or culture or tradition it comes from. Vulagi is not relevant to Indo Fijians, so take your culture, tradition, language and f**k-off. I do not wish to know what the word means or any justification for it to label Indo Fijians. Just get lost.
As for Common Man, it is all fake and he/she does not represent the common iTaukei with good English obtained from books. That is a load of bullshit.
Ho hum. Yes, get it off your chest. Not a damn thing positive to contribute here. Everyone’s an idiot because they’re not like you.
You may not be interested in why the word vulagi arouses such strong feelings but others are. As I say, you have aired your bias. Now bugger off.
I commend you CommonMan .
This subaltern semiotic analysis struck a chord within. It spoke to me throughout the week. Vinaka !
Yes, indeed you have stated the very obvious. Politicisation of traditional lexicons create immense pain and harm ethnic relations in the long term.
For me, your perspective opened up that space when Fijians of Indian descent , who are often told or slated as ‘Kai -India’ , actually made a lot of sense.
An honourable guest whose original roots came from the sub-continent, India.
In a reference, devoid of any political illusions, it makes sense why it is said.
Similar to someone coming from Lau, Lomaiviti or Kadavu. Amongst the indigenous i-Taukei community , knowing and acknowledging your roots is a source of pride .
So , the socio-linguistic codes used by one indigenous community may not be valued correctly in all its essence , by the other communities because they do not share the same reference points.
The pragmatics of how and when and the context in which it is said often results in the ‘Kai-India’ feeling more like a foreigner than the Vu~lagi ,honoured guests .
This unfortunately is played upon by politicians in both communities.
As a people connected by colonial history, both consider roots and cultural legacies important.
If we remove the veil of misconceptions , like your literary piece has tried very valiantly , we will realise that we all are victims of our many presumptions.
For the Fiji -Indian subalterns ( not speaking for the capitalist elites here ), many have also grown deep , roots in Fiji and they know of no other home than this nation. So belonging is central to identity making .
Inclusive of all minority communities, deep down , many feel we are Kai-Fiji first despite the Oceanic voyages made by our ancestors. We honour the generosity of being looked upon not as foreigners but under the protection of cultural benevolence.
Best for your next one ! CW.
I find the unwillingness to even consider another opinion is half the problem
Have a conversation and enlighten and learn from each other
So easy to be destructive with words or deeds,but rebuilding trust and faith takes years.
Unfortunately I feel in my humble opinion the damage has been done as far as Fiji Indians are concerned and Australia, NZ, USA or Canada are reaping the benefits
Honestly ,I could not bear to bring up my children or grandchildren in the racist or crime infested times and quit Fiji
It appears worse now that the country is even more Orwellian
I will always be fond of Fiji but being constantly told I don’t belong hardened me to say enough
The elites are alway leading you down the proverbial. Wake Up
Hope things change for the better and people make better choices for the next generation
Should the brain drain continue Fiji may become like other island nations without any so called Vulagi.
The Panacea Rabuka envisioned in 1987?