International Ignorance, Part 2.

OK, so back on Oct 6 Curbed had picked up West Bronx Blog's mention of the French media describing a certain undesirable district in Paris as the "Bronx of Paris" and BoogieDowner hissed in displeasure with the rest of our aggrieved fellow Bronxites. Now this caricature of the Bronx as a synonym for any area that has social problems has spread to New Zealand.

The Dominion Post, a Kiwi newspaper, quotes a school trustee as describing her district the "Bronx of Gisborne."

"This is the Bronx of Gisborne. I'd like him [John Key, New Zealand legislator who visited the school] to see the reality of what we have to deal with. It's social problems we have here. It's a lot bigger than reading and writing. But this would be a start," said the chairwoman of trustees at Kaiti School, Karla Porou.

Ms. Porou might be correct in stating that real solutions to social ills take more than literacy initiatives, but let's not use a false and outdated image of the Bronx to make your point.

Why did Ms, Porou not call her district the Brownsville, East New York, or Compton of Gisborne? The BoogieDowner has officially placed New Zealand on the list of state-sponsored Bronx-haters and mis-informers. Take that Kiwis; not even Flight of the Conchords can save you now. You will remain on the list, along with France, until BoogieDowner has received a full apology from your head of state.

~ErLu