White privilege was also described as: • Assuming that everyone thinks the same way and has equal opportunities I mean [the nature of racism has changed] probably because of the CORONA. Everyone does look at Asians and they might think it but not say it. (Pākehā 3 focus group) [A friend] is monocultural and been raised monocultural and he truly believes everyone is born equal. He truly believes that… (Te Waipounamu Māori focus group) • Protecting white fragility rather than understanding and accepting personal vulnerabilities as well as those forced on other cultures and ethnic groups. Maintaining fragility. It keeps my fragility intact. It stops me from having to be fragile...The fear of acknowledging that your beliefs might possibly be harmful or not based on truth is too much for people. Taking responsibility is too shameful so it’s easier to reject everyone else. (Pākehā 2 focus group) I mean they could've included everyone, not just black people. People were saying Black Lives Matter and everyone was going All Lives Matter and then people were being judged for All Lives Matter. (Pākehā 3 focus group) • Denial and distancing from historical racism shown by colonial ancestors in Aotearoa New Zealand. There’s a sense of I didn’t do that, people might have done that in the past, but it wasn’t me. I did my study in Australia and I had to walk out of the tutorials. It wasn’t me, really angry and defiant that it wasn’t me that did it and that was in the past and I’m being blamed for their faults way back. (Pākehā 2 focus group) 7.6. Limited response to racism in Aotearoa New Zealand Some participants highlighted denial and deflection about racism from governing bodies and political leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand as contributing factors for racism. Jacinda did say this is not us and I remember being so upset like yes this is you New Zealand this is us. This classic deflection really upset me. It could have been a good chance to acknowledge it and make some real change. It was a classic deflection which meant there wasn’t reflection, there wasn’t the learning and the opportunities were missed. (Pākehā 2 focus group) Politics is usually the green light for racism, isn't it? There's Trump and his tweets. I know Mr Peters is renowned for sometimes making statements. I couldn't see a clearer green light for low-level racism than getting it from on high. For the individuals themselves, I don't know whether they experience more racism. (European migrant focus group) www.malatest-intl.com Drivers of racism – March 2021 75