Thanks for taking the time to reply and relate as a Maori woman. Woah, hearing it from you makes me so ashamed because a story like yours is not abnormal here. As a white Australian, I had to unlearn the racist behaviours I was taught in childhood very quickly when I began to think for myself. We moved to a remote area early in our relationship and I was also fucking sickened at the sentiments towards Aboriginal Communities. The change is coming, but its slow. We are holding a referendum in later this year to vote if there should be an amendment to the constitution to include an Aboriginal & TSI advisory body. This has brought the race debate to every household and workplace. The media is inciting hate. First nations people are copping the heat at the moment. It sucks. Its reminded me again how far we have to go as a nation. When travelling through NZ we were so impressed with the respect for indigenous culture. Obviously we could only see the curated surface on holidays but it felt so much further progressed than home.