Lately over on X I’ve had people telling me I’m “going woke” whenever I use the word Aotearoa. Some assume that if you acknowledge the word, you must automatically buy into every part of the ideology that comes with it. That’s not the case.
There’s a difference between Aotearoa and New Zealand. They aren’t the same thing, and over time the gap between them has grown wider. To me, Aotearoa represents a particular political and cultural worldview, while New Zealand represents a very different one.
Here’s how I see the divide: