THE GASLIGHTING GAME:

Paul Thistoll

05 May 2025 — 1 min read

My Dominion Post column today exposes the most insidious tactic in New Zealand's imported culture wars – accusation-in-a-mirror. While Winston Peters and allies directly transplant Britain's anti-transgender rhetoric into our politics, they simultaneously accuse others of importing "woke leftist" ideology. This propaganda technique – perfected by history's most notorious manipulators – allows them to flood our discourse with foreign conflicts while positioning themselves as defenders of Kiwi values. It's psychological warfare against public discourse itself. Read how this dangerous doublethink threatens our proud tradition of pragmatic, rights-based solutions to social challenges.

You can read it here.

Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata: A Life-Altering Masterpiece

I was 13 when I first encountered Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106—the "Große Sonate für das Hammerklavier." It wasn't merely listening to music; it was a cognitive expansion, as if my consciousness had suddenly stretched to new dimensions.

Letter of Complaint to Massey Concerning Dr Carol Hamilton's Genocidal Comments

Sunday 27 April 2025 Professor Jan Thomas Vice-Chancellor, Massey University Via email (cc: Dr Gerald Hamilton, Secretary Ethics Committee 3, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research – Professor Jo Cuillane) Tēnā koe Professor Thomas, Re: Formal complaint regarding Dr Carol Hamilton's inappropriate public statements I am writing to express my grave concern

Media Release - 12 November 2024 - Thistoll v Goldsmith

A Good Time to Repost This With this week’s revelations about incoming Chief Human Rights Commissioner Dr Stephen Rainbow—who described Muslim immigration as a “threat to Jewish communities”—now is a timely moment to revisit my judicial review challenge. The media release about it is below. Last November,

Two New Opinion Pieces: Moral Panics, Legal Fabrications, and the Politics of Dehumanisation

I’ve published two new opinion pieces addressing how fear, bigotry, and bad law are being used to target queer and trans people in Aotearoa. In the New Zealand Herald, I argue that the vilification of Green MP Benjamin Doyle is not a scandal—it’s a moral panic. The

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Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata: A Life-Altering Masterpiece

Letter of Complaint to Massey Concerning Dr Carol Hamilton's Genocidal Comments

Media Release - 12 November 2024 - Thistoll v Goldsmith

Two New Opinion Pieces: Moral Panics, Legal Fabrications, and the Politics of Dehumanisation