Not sorry for Shylock comment
One time New Zealand Labour candidate Steven Gibson has retracted his apology issued last year for labeling prime minister John Key a “Shonkey Jonkey Shylock” in an August 2014 Facebook post.
Steve Gibson
The unsuccessful Labour candidate previously stood for Rangitata in the 2014 general election. He says he’s been reflecting on his comments since he lost the electorate contest last year.
Gibson has since cut all ties with Labour and accuses the Labour Party of undermining him. He says he regrets apologising for his remarks about the prime minister.
“I’m not apologetic about it at all.”
Gibson now says the remark was intended to draw attention to “the devious nature of the whole set-up with the Epsom electorate” in which ACT’s David Seymour won after National’s Paul Goldsmith ran the campaign for the party vote only.
He previously apologized to Mr Key back in September 2014, saying he did not mean to offend Mr Key with his reference and his remark was never meant to be antisemitic.
“I was only repeating what a constituent said to me. And it’s only now that I realise the connotations of it. To me it was like a Shakespearian reference. I’m sorry people have been offended and I’ll take the post down – that’s all I can do.”
Shylock is a Jewish moneylender out of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. The name Shylock is widely known for it’s antisemitic connotations.
The labour candidate went even further on his Facebook post calling Mr Key a “nasty little creep…with a nasty, evil, vindictive sneer”.
Gibson received heat from his Labour party members. Labour leader, Mr David Cunliffe, said he wasn’t happy about the comments and issued Mr Gibson with a “ final warning” and said the comment didn’t fit with the party’s ‘Vote Positive’ campaign.
Gibson, who now works in Christchurch, says the election has been on his mind for some time.
He believes he could have won the electorate on a platform of stronger water quality measures and increasing trade with other countries other than China, saying: “it’s about time New Zealander’s took a cold, hard look at themselves.”
Haha . Take a look at themselves? Who does he see in the mirror every morning? He made ignorant anti Semitic remarks and now has egg on his face