\nToday was intended to be a new national holiday when all New Zealanders could put aside their differences and gather together, metaphorically and literally, to enjoy the burnination of an iconic loved\/hated NZ building, and thereafter commemorate it annually with a long weekend.
\nBut this promising new celebration isn’t going to be held this year. No, too many New Zealanders feel strongly about the buildings being destroyed in the Middle East to smile at the destruction of a building here. And how, in this atmosphere of international tension, will it be possible to emphasise that BTBD is an apolitical expression of mutual respect as well as the sheer joy of burnin’ stuff? The possibility that BTBD would be co-opted by one political pressure group or another is too great.
\nAnd so, with sadness, but with confidence that this is the right decision, it has been decided that the first BTBD will wait for next year.
\nThen, crowds will gather together in the courtyard of New Zealand’s parliament, and holding their little waxen Beehive candles they will watch as fires are lit in the Beehive. Children will clap and parents will smile and teenagers will look up from their cellphones for a moment. MPs will stand with labour unionists and business roundtable members, all united. All of New Zealand will join hands and, together, sing for our unity, our communal goodwill, and our mutual appreciation for burnin’ stuff up real damn good.
\nNext year.
\n
![\"Burn](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.additiverich.com\/morgue\/archives\/btbdsmall.jpg?resize=350%2C263\")
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