The dangers of romanticising the past

That's the theme of a lot of my work. Portrait of a Knight is essentially based around this, and the 'danger' is literally stated in These Words Are Meant For Someone. Bad Man tackles this too, but that's Ethan's perspective. The Dakumentary is similar, in that the theme of that film is progress and legislating for the living rather than the dead. People like James Meager who think Gary's approach is all-or-nothing are missing the point. His philosophy is unwavering, but he still sets up petitions for incremental changes. We discuss incremental changes in our kōrero, but the goal of the Dak team, including Chloe, is to repeal and replace the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. Medical cannabis is a really good example of continued lobbying from the community leading to incremental changes which place 2024 Aotearoa at roughly where California was in the mid-2000's. For those who aren't aware that it's a new day, medical cannabis is now available in bud form, and can be consumed virtually anywhere. I think most people are still smoking it, but middle-class white folks are using legal tinctures and oils. I hate it when people think that I'm an uncritical nostalgist. That's prejudice coming from people finding me irritating and looking for ways to take me down a peg. Rachel's realisation is really powerful in Portrait of a Knight, and a number of people told me that they loved that farewell scene.