Andrew Dickens Afternoons

A couple of weeks ago I was hosting ZB Drive. When it came to the Huddle, one of the panellist welcomed me by saying, “Hello Anaru, how are you”Unfortunately, I was in a bit of a snippy mood and so I snapped back by saying, “Is Anaru my real name?”Chill out Andrew, I was just being friendly, said the panellist.I didn't take it any further but Anaru is not my name. It's Andrew. Not Andy or Drew either, but Andrew. Anaru is a Maori equivalent, but it's not the name given to me by my parents and that I have answered to my whole life.A lot of people have since praised me for standing up to what they called "wokeness". The liberal obsession with introducing the Māori language into our day to day conversations more and more.But that's not what I was doing. I was making a point.It was about mutual respect for the two national languages of our country. If Māori want me to respect their language then they have to respect my language too.If Māori think they can call me Anaru any time they please, then they can't compla