$2,500! What a kick in the belly. I don't understand why he was not ordered to pay her legal fees and then double that amount for using the justice system to continually harass her. Appalling.
Yeah, he worked the system and the system works for those with the means. The victims are often left in the dust. And even when people are ordered to pay out - these decisions are sometimes not enforced, or the amount lessened.
As someone going through something very similar to Rachel, what this man has done is such an awful act of violence against women, he has made it so women won’t want to come forward and unfortunately today people still think they won’t be believed or they won’t be supported and he has just reinforced this, a court should have stepped in years ago to stop him rather than allow his abuse to continue!
From my experiences I hate to say it but I’d tell anyone thinking of reporting to think twice and contact outside support first and I hate that so much, I never thought I’d think like this but how women continuously fight against this system is beyond me, it’s exhausting and I know I wouldn’t survive ten years of it, Rachel is so so strong and I admire her so much
I am so sorry to hear this Lauren. All I can say is I hope you do have good people around you - and also, fuck that noise. If you never need to vent I am always at davidfarrier@protonmail.com. Stay strong. Fuck.
Thank you, I’ve got some great people to support me (plus two crazy cats) and knowing you’re there for a vent is so kind! Honestly thank you for sharing these stories and using webworm for good, so few people use their platform that way nowadays!
$2500? TWENTY FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS??!!! What kind of anti feminist, woman hating, victim shaming, rape encouraging fuckery is this? It’s not even a slap on the wrist it’s a gentle and tender stroke. I am Jack’s raging bile duct. I’m increasingly concerned about NZs justice system. It’s so, soooooooo flawed.
BTW Do you happen to know what that weasely little man is doing these days out of interest? Furthering his personal wealth? Troubling other women??
thank you buckaroo david i have been very busy lately and had very little times to sit down and READ something and this was first thing i sat down and had a good read with. this is a very important post of self reflection and i appreciate it very much.
Oh, thanks Chuck. I know it's hard to just READ sometimes when you are so busy writing, so this means a lot. Thanks. As always, it's a thrill to know world's greatest author is reading is peasant words!
Yep, if victims speak up they just better be damn rich or get lost - that's the message from this and yep I completely agree DF, Rachel is a total hero and I will give to any trust around to help her with her legal fees. I will do that for ANYONE who needs support to fight this crap. Go you, for putting this out there - much like CC decided he should put himself 'out' there lmao. The man is a total arsewipe. My daughter and a Uni colleague, way back when he was just getting into politics, decided to work for him and deliver pamphlets (it was a paid gig coz he did not have that much voluntary support, lol). Their first jaunt out they read what was in the pamphlets and their first and only stop was a big rubbish skip in the suburban shopping centre nearby. They took the money as well (was only one day's cheap pay) but only because, by refusing it, they would have to tell him what they had done and they were worried he would do more than not pay them. No doubt he would have, with his narcissistic litigious rich man tendences. I say this now because it is well past the time that he CAN do a damn thing about it. I confess - I told both girls they were legends and supported their choice to take the money and protect themselves. I am even more supportive of that choice now after I saw what happened to Rachel. He could afford it, the $120 bucks - and he deserves to be personally placed in that rubbish skip, IMO.
The skip - the only place those pamphlet should have gone. Pamphlet drops were a part of his downfall, too. Kudos to your kid. And the one good thing out of this is more people know the true soul and centre of this man like never before.
I don’t often go into your posts knowing what to expect, but this one was even more unpredictable than usual! I agree with you, I thought the entire sauna sequence was absolutely hilarious, and I actually agreed with Colin’s perspective on that, too; what’s the harm in having a little fun with things? From that next news clip, and the amount of controversy they’re alluding to, you would think that you had pulled a Sacha Baron Cohen on him!
Poor Rachel, being put in that position of having no choice to defend herself legally, but not having even a fraction of the power or finance of Colin Craig. This is exactly how so many sexual harassment and assault cases by politicians get swept under the rug. She really is a hero for going through with it all, despite endless hurdles. She is unbelievably strong to go through all of this regardless, but especially under such public scrutiny. I certainly admire her!
Yeah - look, I'm glad the sauna was potentially the straw that broke the camels back (in that he lost his job) - but the fact that is where he decided to violate the suppression that had been put in place really, really bums me out. And just, I guess, adding to the *humour* of the man. Because there's nothing fucking funny about him! Or those who enabled him throughout this. It's really, really dark eh.
Totally. Like you said, the potential upside is that he lost his job, and hopefully lost a lot of support. Although you made that mistake, I think the most important thing is that you have supported Rachel as much as possible, and are doing what you can to right any wrongs. I don't know where she is in her life now, but I hope that it's tons and tons better than it was before, and I hope all of Craig's misdeeds catch up with him.
Urgh. URGH. She is a fucking heroine. And Craig is a callous creep and a monster. Although I do have to give him begrudging respect for being able to keep robotically and nasally droning on whilst you were dissolving in a puddle next to him. I would have followed up the sauna interview with a DNA test, cause I'm sure you have heard the stories about the reptilians... ;-)
Jokes aside, thanks for coming out and 'repenting' for your part in giving him a platform. You didn't know, you went for a fun gag. Even had you reached out to Rachel beforehand, I bet ya she would have honoured the confidentiality agreement. But it just shows how well-meaning or light attempts to satirise a monster still give that monster a platform and help to normalise them.
And that is my biggest issue with this, and so many of your other stories (and society in general): We haven't dealt with any of the many structural, systemic, toxic -isms that we are all completely blind to cause we are surrounded by them, societally. Now that some of the younger and more liberal among us finally 'woke' up, the fascists have weaponised wokeness and 'cancel culture' (even though they, like Colin has shown here, are the biggest cancellers of anyone who could attempt to dethrone their white male supremacy status). What's worse is when you combine the dark triad or even just malignant narcissism, money and privilege - we are still watching with amazement the orange nuclear blast fallout tear apart the richest and most powerful country on earth.
And yet, we, collectively as a society, the mainstream media, even academia are so completely ignorant to the destructive power of malignant personality disorders and instead celebrate and empower those who have no shame, no fear of consequences, and no empathy. I wish they'd taken all his money and given it to Rachel and his many other (undoubtedly) victims out there who were too afraid speaking out after watching her go through that.
I will read that essay this weekend. Thanks. And you're so, so right - I think the fact is existing in this system just makes it hard to SEE sometimes. So, so hard. And almost like Josh said in that climate change piece I published a few weeks back: We are trapped in a system we cannot escape.
That was a really powerful piece you wrote there. It's hard to read, because I think many women/femme socialised people have been there. I know I was there for a long time before I learned how to see these things for what they were, and stand in my power and call them out. It took me 28 years. And I made excuses for people through those 28 years which were just awful. I know better now. We know better now. And I'm fighting back, in every way I know how.
Thank you for saying this, really appreciate it. It was a very heard realisation at age 38, after all I had achieved and overcome in my life, to find out I had been perpetuating sexism myself. Even though I was largely a victim and traumatised from a young age and it was "just like that back then" - in hindsight none of that are excuses. I had to accept I was not a good ally and to then do my best to become one. And be willing to speak up and mea culpa - even if it helps one person, that's a better thing than staying silent and letting the monsters keep ruling and poisoning all of us. That's why I love David's posts, he's not afraid to fight for the underdog, but also able to acknowledge his own failings when he didn't manage to do so, or accidentally caused harm.
It's a hell of a hard realisation - I have memories of saying and doing some really awful things - but all I can do, all we can do, is learn better and do better. I was a well-traumatised victim as well, and that is a reason - but it really isn't an excuse. But it's also past. It's how we go forward that matters. Being brave enough to say "I did wrong" is so important, and I respect both you and David for being public and doing so. I hope one day I'll compose the right words to do so myself.
Thank you for sharing your experience! The problem with everyday sexism I've experienced is it can be so insidious you often don't realise it's happened until a few moments later, and then you're still processing it. Also as women were taught to make constant excuses for men and to victim blame women 😒
SO true!!! I asked a male journo friend of mine to give me feedback on the story and he basically said “it’s nothing new, we all know these types of men are bad, you should give examples that aren’t so obvious…” and yet, I’m still friendly / collegial with all of the perpetrators to this day! One liked the story on FB, clearly not seeing himself in it. Another did apologise to me the next day - and proceeded to harass me again that same evening! We talked about it since and he apologised again and told me about his marriage and drinking problems at the time and… it’s very much not as black & white as we may like to think. Even with such “obvious” examples. And that’s why it takes even us victims sometimes so long to see it or act on it, and sometimes we don’t at all, or the excuses seem valid enough, or… it’s a very protracted, societal issue that goes deep into the fabric of how we act around each other and maybe talking about it acknowledging it’s not B&W will make a difference 😔
I think the world is slowly waking up to realise that boundary setting is OK and the "I was so drunk" excuse isn't cutting it anymore 🤷🏻♀️ You're right that it's not black and white though, that makes it so much harder to nip it in the bud when it happens 😔 Pretty frustrating that the dude liked the post and didn't apologise 😳
David, you made a mistake and you are owning it and now championing the true hero - Rachel :) (donation ✅)
Colin is revolting and deluded and can't accept he basically is a walking mistake. All the shitty components of an entitled white male rolled into one self absorbed, lying in a meadow, loser. Rachel will always be the winner because she is not wrecked (fucking yay!) and she has fought the bravest fight to show others you can. Incredible. Legal system allowing him to abuse the system like this - awful and definitely needs review. Amazing woman fighting for what is right- just the best and let's rally and make sure the financial burden is not one she needs to carry into the future!
Thanks Beck. She will appreciate this. It goes into a Trust so it's all managed, and the idea is to help other woman once her legal bills are paid. And the bills are steep. Really steep. So - thankyou, on her behalf. Would not surprise me if she reads these comments, and if not I will be passing some on to her :)
Rachel is a warrior, so impressed with how she has stood up for herself. He is an awful, creepy man, so frustrating that a pest like that has endless funds to put towards legal harassment. The only bright side is that he is highly unlikely to ever have a future in politics in NZ and as such won’t have the profile and platform he seeks…..but Trump taught us you can’t count anything out, I desperately hope he fades into obscurity.
Rachel rules, eh. Warrior is correct word. Thanks, Tenille. She'll read this, so it's cool to have you here. As for Colin - yeah, I'd say the general public have zero respect for him after this. Although I hate to think what his church thinks.
I honestly don't think you can be too hard on yourself about this one bro. If anything you just increased the group of people that thought he was bizarre. I remember his party and politics at the time (think I read one of those pamphlets that another commenter was talking about) and I found him to be a bit of a joke, I didn't agree with his politics and the Conservative party seemed like they weren't going to get anywhere politically? Craig seems like he would have imploded in some way eventually, that your segment was the catalyst is maybe hard to take but it seems inevitable that he'd alienate everyone and trash his political career spectacularly. The thing that I CAN NOT STAND is his grandstanding through our legal system! Did you read what his reason for appeal was? He didn't think the JUDGE UNDERSTOOD some random law in his case! He thought he was doing new Zealand a favour by teaching idiot judges how to do their job in future! And he thinks he's ACHIEVED THAT! Grrr.
Anyway, I'm off to donate to Rachel's trust. I think it's disgusting that victims of harassment can become bankrupted by their rich bully! What the actual f**k?
Hey Paula - yeah he attempts to ground his logic in "helping the system", but all else be damned. Including his victim who he's re-traumatising. The arrogance in him is astounding. Ugh. Thanks for donating. Rach and the trust will appreciate it loads. It's very generous.
Thanks Joy. I still think it was overall "dumb" to put him on TV. The only light I suppose is that it perhaps helped get him out of politics. But yeah, he certainly went on to cause chaos elsewhere. Feel very conflicted about it!
You helped expose him fully. You need to be proud of what you did. You feel conflicted as you are a good man and this is so complex. I am 100% certain that you did the right thing. Nothing you did in that interview made him look like a pleasant, harmless and affable man. Trust the viewers on this.
Colin is a clueless sociopath. I also interviewed him in 2013, a couple of years before you. I asked him to tell me a joke. He told me a blonde woman joke. Rachel (a blonde woman) was in the room.
Have donated to Rach too. Stay strong hero.
On platforming terrible people: there’s so much work to be done here with journalists to get them to understand that by reporting on certain things it gives jerks power and credibility and even worse a recruiting tool.
Oof, that oily forehead! And dear God, that joke. And fuck me, this quote: " I think at the moment people see me as, I don’t know, a bit of an odd unusual person. Whereas people who know me well consider me infinitely reasonable."
This from two years prior to my interaction. Jesus H Christ.
And that’s why he’s clueless sociopath. He has no ability to view his actions from others perspective — he knows other people do find him odd, but does not understand why because he unquestioningly believes he is right. About everything.
Thanks for the kind words, and more importantly donating. Surreal and small New Zealand in that of course you spoke to Colin, and of course Rachel was in the room. His litigiousness is on another level. I have more to say, but I am going to save that for another time.
Hey David, the $2,500 relates only to this application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court by Craig, and doesn't relate to costs in other courts or other cases. I'm sure Rachel MacGregor will still have lost a lot of money regardless (including on the Supreme Court application) but it's a bit misleading to compare it to her overall costs figure of $300,000.
$2,500! What a kick in the belly. I don't understand why he was not ordered to pay her legal fees and then double that amount for using the justice system to continually harass her. Appalling.
Yeah, he worked the system and the system works for those with the means. The victims are often left in the dust. And even when people are ordered to pay out - these decisions are sometimes not enforced, or the amount lessened.
I thought so too, absolutely appalling.
I agree, coz I have seen that actually happen. Clearly, the Justice system doesn't recognise this as worth the direction to do so. Disgusting process.
As someone going through something very similar to Rachel, what this man has done is such an awful act of violence against women, he has made it so women won’t want to come forward and unfortunately today people still think they won’t be believed or they won’t be supported and he has just reinforced this, a court should have stepped in years ago to stop him rather than allow his abuse to continue!
From my experiences I hate to say it but I’d tell anyone thinking of reporting to think twice and contact outside support first and I hate that so much, I never thought I’d think like this but how women continuously fight against this system is beyond me, it’s exhausting and I know I wouldn’t survive ten years of it, Rachel is so so strong and I admire her so much
I am so sorry to hear this Lauren. All I can say is I hope you do have good people around you - and also, fuck that noise. If you never need to vent I am always at davidfarrier@protonmail.com. Stay strong. Fuck.
Thank you, I’ve got some great people to support me (plus two crazy cats) and knowing you’re there for a vent is so kind! Honestly thank you for sharing these stories and using webworm for good, so few people use their platform that way nowadays!
$2500? TWENTY FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS??!!! What kind of anti feminist, woman hating, victim shaming, rape encouraging fuckery is this? It’s not even a slap on the wrist it’s a gentle and tender stroke. I am Jack’s raging bile duct. I’m increasingly concerned about NZs justice system. It’s so, soooooooo flawed.
BTW Do you happen to know what that weasely little man is doing these days out of interest? Furthering his personal wealth? Troubling other women??
Yeah, it's deeply flawed here. You can harass the fuck out of someone using the courts - and that is what happened here.
Can't comment on anything current because - well, defamation. Working on it.
Yeah you don’t need any more emails from lawyers…..! Appreciate what you’re doing, keep pushing.
thank you buckaroo david i have been very busy lately and had very little times to sit down and READ something and this was first thing i sat down and had a good read with. this is a very important post of self reflection and i appreciate it very much.
Oh, thanks Chuck. I know it's hard to just READ sometimes when you are so busy writing, so this means a lot. Thanks. As always, it's a thrill to know world's greatest author is reading is peasant words!
Yep, if victims speak up they just better be damn rich or get lost - that's the message from this and yep I completely agree DF, Rachel is a total hero and I will give to any trust around to help her with her legal fees. I will do that for ANYONE who needs support to fight this crap. Go you, for putting this out there - much like CC decided he should put himself 'out' there lmao. The man is a total arsewipe. My daughter and a Uni colleague, way back when he was just getting into politics, decided to work for him and deliver pamphlets (it was a paid gig coz he did not have that much voluntary support, lol). Their first jaunt out they read what was in the pamphlets and their first and only stop was a big rubbish skip in the suburban shopping centre nearby. They took the money as well (was only one day's cheap pay) but only because, by refusing it, they would have to tell him what they had done and they were worried he would do more than not pay them. No doubt he would have, with his narcissistic litigious rich man tendences. I say this now because it is well past the time that he CAN do a damn thing about it. I confess - I told both girls they were legends and supported their choice to take the money and protect themselves. I am even more supportive of that choice now after I saw what happened to Rachel. He could afford it, the $120 bucks - and he deserves to be personally placed in that rubbish skip, IMO.
The skip - the only place those pamphlet should have gone. Pamphlet drops were a part of his downfall, too. Kudos to your kid. And the one good thing out of this is more people know the true soul and centre of this man like never before.
I don’t often go into your posts knowing what to expect, but this one was even more unpredictable than usual! I agree with you, I thought the entire sauna sequence was absolutely hilarious, and I actually agreed with Colin’s perspective on that, too; what’s the harm in having a little fun with things? From that next news clip, and the amount of controversy they’re alluding to, you would think that you had pulled a Sacha Baron Cohen on him!
Poor Rachel, being put in that position of having no choice to defend herself legally, but not having even a fraction of the power or finance of Colin Craig. This is exactly how so many sexual harassment and assault cases by politicians get swept under the rug. She really is a hero for going through with it all, despite endless hurdles. She is unbelievably strong to go through all of this regardless, but especially under such public scrutiny. I certainly admire her!
The sauna thing to me always struck me as an example of Craig arrogantly believing he could control everything.
Yeah - look, I'm glad the sauna was potentially the straw that broke the camels back (in that he lost his job) - but the fact that is where he decided to violate the suppression that had been put in place really, really bums me out. And just, I guess, adding to the *humour* of the man. Because there's nothing fucking funny about him! Or those who enabled him throughout this. It's really, really dark eh.
Totally. Like you said, the potential upside is that he lost his job, and hopefully lost a lot of support. Although you made that mistake, I think the most important thing is that you have supported Rachel as much as possible, and are doing what you can to right any wrongs. I don't know where she is in her life now, but I hope that it's tons and tons better than it was before, and I hope all of Craig's misdeeds catch up with him.
Urgh. URGH. She is a fucking heroine. And Craig is a callous creep and a monster. Although I do have to give him begrudging respect for being able to keep robotically and nasally droning on whilst you were dissolving in a puddle next to him. I would have followed up the sauna interview with a DNA test, cause I'm sure you have heard the stories about the reptilians... ;-)
Jokes aside, thanks for coming out and 'repenting' for your part in giving him a platform. You didn't know, you went for a fun gag. Even had you reached out to Rachel beforehand, I bet ya she would have honoured the confidentiality agreement. But it just shows how well-meaning or light attempts to satirise a monster still give that monster a platform and help to normalise them.
And that is my biggest issue with this, and so many of your other stories (and society in general): We haven't dealt with any of the many structural, systemic, toxic -isms that we are all completely blind to cause we are surrounded by them, societally. Now that some of the younger and more liberal among us finally 'woke' up, the fascists have weaponised wokeness and 'cancel culture' (even though they, like Colin has shown here, are the biggest cancellers of anyone who could attempt to dethrone their white male supremacy status). What's worse is when you combine the dark triad or even just malignant narcissism, money and privilege - we are still watching with amazement the orange nuclear blast fallout tear apart the richest and most powerful country on earth.
And yet, we, collectively as a society, the mainstream media, even academia are so completely ignorant to the destructive power of malignant personality disorders and instead celebrate and empower those who have no shame, no fear of consequences, and no empathy. I wish they'd taken all his money and given it to Rachel and his many other (undoubtedly) victims out there who were too afraid speaking out after watching her go through that.
I also just wrote about the toxic issue of everyday sexism and how all of us are so blind to it - with my own mea culpa: https://medium.com/@DrSeaRotmann/why-did-it-take-me-38-years-to-understand-sexism-even-though-it-happened-to-me-every-day-375f8850eead
I will read that essay this weekend. Thanks. And you're so, so right - I think the fact is existing in this system just makes it hard to SEE sometimes. So, so hard. And almost like Josh said in that climate change piece I published a few weeks back: We are trapped in a system we cannot escape.
That was a really powerful piece you wrote there. It's hard to read, because I think many women/femme socialised people have been there. I know I was there for a long time before I learned how to see these things for what they were, and stand in my power and call them out. It took me 28 years. And I made excuses for people through those 28 years which were just awful. I know better now. We know better now. And I'm fighting back, in every way I know how.
Thank you for saying this, really appreciate it. It was a very heard realisation at age 38, after all I had achieved and overcome in my life, to find out I had been perpetuating sexism myself. Even though I was largely a victim and traumatised from a young age and it was "just like that back then" - in hindsight none of that are excuses. I had to accept I was not a good ally and to then do my best to become one. And be willing to speak up and mea culpa - even if it helps one person, that's a better thing than staying silent and letting the monsters keep ruling and poisoning all of us. That's why I love David's posts, he's not afraid to fight for the underdog, but also able to acknowledge his own failings when he didn't manage to do so, or accidentally caused harm.
It's a hell of a hard realisation - I have memories of saying and doing some really awful things - but all I can do, all we can do, is learn better and do better. I was a well-traumatised victim as well, and that is a reason - but it really isn't an excuse. But it's also past. It's how we go forward that matters. Being brave enough to say "I did wrong" is so important, and I respect both you and David for being public and doing so. I hope one day I'll compose the right words to do so myself.
I hope so too! I'd love to read them. I only just started myself :)
I'll save this thread and link you when those words come <3 because they are important words to share.
Thank you for sharing your experience! The problem with everyday sexism I've experienced is it can be so insidious you often don't realise it's happened until a few moments later, and then you're still processing it. Also as women were taught to make constant excuses for men and to victim blame women 😒
SO true!!! I asked a male journo friend of mine to give me feedback on the story and he basically said “it’s nothing new, we all know these types of men are bad, you should give examples that aren’t so obvious…” and yet, I’m still friendly / collegial with all of the perpetrators to this day! One liked the story on FB, clearly not seeing himself in it. Another did apologise to me the next day - and proceeded to harass me again that same evening! We talked about it since and he apologised again and told me about his marriage and drinking problems at the time and… it’s very much not as black & white as we may like to think. Even with such “obvious” examples. And that’s why it takes even us victims sometimes so long to see it or act on it, and sometimes we don’t at all, or the excuses seem valid enough, or… it’s a very protracted, societal issue that goes deep into the fabric of how we act around each other and maybe talking about it acknowledging it’s not B&W will make a difference 😔
I think the world is slowly waking up to realise that boundary setting is OK and the "I was so drunk" excuse isn't cutting it anymore 🤷🏻♀️ You're right that it's not black and white though, that makes it so much harder to nip it in the bud when it happens 😔 Pretty frustrating that the dude liked the post and didn't apologise 😳
He may not have read the actual story. Or he may have been too drunk to remember. Or… see, there’s me making excuses for them again! 🙄
It's ingrained 😅😅😒
David, you made a mistake and you are owning it and now championing the true hero - Rachel :) (donation ✅)
Colin is revolting and deluded and can't accept he basically is a walking mistake. All the shitty components of an entitled white male rolled into one self absorbed, lying in a meadow, loser. Rachel will always be the winner because she is not wrecked (fucking yay!) and she has fought the bravest fight to show others you can. Incredible. Legal system allowing him to abuse the system like this - awful and definitely needs review. Amazing woman fighting for what is right- just the best and let's rally and make sure the financial burden is not one she needs to carry into the future!
❤
Thanks Beck. She will appreciate this. It goes into a Trust so it's all managed, and the idea is to help other woman once her legal bills are paid. And the bills are steep. Really steep. So - thankyou, on her behalf. Would not surprise me if she reads these comments, and if not I will be passing some on to her :)
Yes, she is a hero. But Craig is a sad little man and deserved nothing but disdain.
Sad and little is it. You nailed it.
Donated. The fact that he brings all the court proceedings and Rachel has to pay costs makes me sick.
Thanks Dan, all this helps. And thanks to you and others here I think this newsletter has seen some really wonderful giving. Thank you.
Rachel is a warrior, so impressed with how she has stood up for herself. He is an awful, creepy man, so frustrating that a pest like that has endless funds to put towards legal harassment. The only bright side is that he is highly unlikely to ever have a future in politics in NZ and as such won’t have the profile and platform he seeks…..but Trump taught us you can’t count anything out, I desperately hope he fades into obscurity.
Rachel rules, eh. Warrior is correct word. Thanks, Tenille. She'll read this, so it's cool to have you here. As for Colin - yeah, I'd say the general public have zero respect for him after this. Although I hate to think what his church thinks.
I honestly don't think you can be too hard on yourself about this one bro. If anything you just increased the group of people that thought he was bizarre. I remember his party and politics at the time (think I read one of those pamphlets that another commenter was talking about) and I found him to be a bit of a joke, I didn't agree with his politics and the Conservative party seemed like they weren't going to get anywhere politically? Craig seems like he would have imploded in some way eventually, that your segment was the catalyst is maybe hard to take but it seems inevitable that he'd alienate everyone and trash his political career spectacularly. The thing that I CAN NOT STAND is his grandstanding through our legal system! Did you read what his reason for appeal was? He didn't think the JUDGE UNDERSTOOD some random law in his case! He thought he was doing new Zealand a favour by teaching idiot judges how to do their job in future! And he thinks he's ACHIEVED THAT! Grrr.
Anyway, I'm off to donate to Rachel's trust. I think it's disgusting that victims of harassment can become bankrupted by their rich bully! What the actual f**k?
Hey Paula - yeah he attempts to ground his logic in "helping the system", but all else be damned. Including his victim who he's re-traumatising. The arrogance in him is astounding. Ugh. Thanks for donating. Rach and the trust will appreciate it loads. It's very generous.
I loved the piece and I think the Sauna story truly exposed the hypocrisy of this monster and was excellent journalism.
Thanks Joy. I still think it was overall "dumb" to put him on TV. The only light I suppose is that it perhaps helped get him out of politics. But yeah, he certainly went on to cause chaos elsewhere. Feel very conflicted about it!
You helped expose him fully. You need to be proud of what you did. You feel conflicted as you are a good man and this is so complex. I am 100% certain that you did the right thing. Nothing you did in that interview made him look like a pleasant, harmless and affable man. Trust the viewers on this.
Colin is a clueless sociopath. I also interviewed him in 2013, a couple of years before you. I asked him to tell me a joke. He told me a blonde woman joke. Rachel (a blonde woman) was in the room.
Have donated to Rach too. Stay strong hero.
On platforming terrible people: there’s so much work to be done here with journalists to get them to understand that by reporting on certain things it gives jerks power and credibility and even worse a recruiting tool.
For context interview is here http://ruminator.co.nz/colin-and-me/
Oof, that oily forehead! And dear God, that joke. And fuck me, this quote: " I think at the moment people see me as, I don’t know, a bit of an odd unusual person. Whereas people who know me well consider me infinitely reasonable."
This from two years prior to my interaction. Jesus H Christ.
And that’s why he’s clueless sociopath. He has no ability to view his actions from others perspective — he knows other people do find him odd, but does not understand why because he unquestioningly believes he is right. About everything.
PS: it’s awesome that you’re owning the mistake. My general cynicism to journalists doesn’t apply to you, DF!
Thanks for the kind words, and more importantly donating. Surreal and small New Zealand in that of course you spoke to Colin, and of course Rachel was in the room. His litigiousness is on another level. I have more to say, but I am going to save that for another time.
What is it with Craigs
I don't think you're quite in the same category, Craig
Hey David, the $2,500 relates only to this application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court by Craig, and doesn't relate to costs in other courts or other cases. I'm sure Rachel MacGregor will still have lost a lot of money regardless (including on the Supreme Court application) but it's a bit misleading to compare it to her overall costs figure of $300,000.
Roger that - I cleared that up in the following newsletter - but may well add this in to this one too, if people are revisiting it!
Oh ok fair enough, didn't see the next newsletter :)