New Zealanders have sparked a debate on Twitter after complaining about white South Africans who bring their "racism" down under.



It all started when @Brad_Kul, who listed his location as Aotearoa, the Maori name for New Zealand, pointed out that there were certain people they would not accept in their country.

He recently tweeted: "In New Zealand, there's only two types of people we will not tolerate. 1. Racists 2. White South Africans. Honestly those people are the f*cking worst! When are we marching and holding peaceful protests against those fuckers! Have you met one? The worst!"

His tweet received more than 3 000 retweets.

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He added shortly afterwards: "This is me poking fun at my own prejudices and irony. I hear a South African accent and immediately assume that they will be racist assholes."

His comments elicited a mixed bag of replies.

Many New Zealanders added their personal experiences to support his tweet, while some South Africans applauded him for speaking out and others asked him not to generalise.

User @kilbrniesanders, who listed his location as Wellington City, tweeted: "White South Africans who have emigrated to NZ to escape the end of apartheid who then complain about NZ multiculturalism are world champions in missing the point."

Another user, @surlymermaid, commented: "Literally 95% of the time I meet a white South African I can guarantee they will say something racist, sexist or homophobic within the first 10mins. Don't @ me if you are a white South African in the 5%, instead tell your fellow white South Africans to shut the hell up."

User Franda Zondagh, who lived in Hamilton City, asked New Zealanders not to generalise.

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She tweeted: "I promise we are not all like that. While I embrace my Afrikaans heritage & language as it undeniably shaped me into who I am, I chose to keep the good and reject the bad. It makes me sad that I have to be ashamed of my culture. Please don't judge us all by the actions of some."

User @DuppieCharl commented: "I am a white South African living in NZ. The irony is, that when I meet a large majority of Kiwis, and they recognise my accent as being from SA, they immediately see it as a safe zone to express their own racist opinions. It is sad that they assume I will not find it repulsive."

Many users from South Africa applauded @Brad_Kul for his comments.

User @Zulu_Kamikaze tweeted: "I don't think @Brad_Kul realizes how much of a legend he is becoming to us Black South Africans, keep dropping facts bro, we are definitely listening."

@Muhle_New said: "If only we could exchange all of them for you...all of them, free of charge."

Seemingly from South Africa, @whatonearthSA asked why racial tensions were being stoked, tweeting: "Hello Brad, I trust you are well. I see White South Africans bother you. What have they done to cause you to feel that way? I've never been to your nation but I have only positive impressions from the New Zealanders I know. Given the tense situation in South Africa, why the hate?"

A few Twitter users noted that New Zealanders could not point fingers because of the historical racism in the country, citing examples of how the Maori population had been discriminated against.