Hard News: I'm a Pakeha and you can stick your war
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I guess you have to at least admire Laws' breadth of knowledge on these matters; he's clearly read third-hand reports of aged executive summaries from largely discredited psuedo-science-based policy.
Interestingly, in the mid-90s when Guiliani appeared to be making progress in NYC and the Wisconsin mob were in the ascendency, the Ministry of Justice in NZ was, briefly, all over it. Fortunately, and despite Peter McArdle, wiser heads prevailed including Doug Graham (a usually sensible Minister but for some spectacularly ill-judged comments).
I agree Russell, celebrity writers are simply bad. Even when they can write, they often have little to say. I'd in fact prefer a less clever piece were it at least about something interesting (and perhaps even new, I'm sure Laws is simply rehashing something Rosemay McLeod's written at least a thousand times before).
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Feel free to read it, but you've read it before: it's the one Laws writes about once a month, contrasting decent, middle-class white families with feckless brown ones.
Dear Cate Brett: I can write equally stupid columns for the price of a carton of butts (Lucky Strikes preferably) shoved through the letter box every Monday morning. Give us a call.
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I got the revolution blues,
I see bloody fountains,
And ten million dune buggies
comin' down the mountains.
Well, I hear that Laurel Canyon
is full of famous stars,
But I hate them worse than lepers
and I'll kill them
in their cars.Neil Young
Revolution Blues -
[Michael Laws says young offenders have]: "the collective education of an Austrian cellar dweller"
He actually wrote that? Ugh. Just, ugh. What a bizarre and revolting thing to say.
It's tempting to respond that a writer would have to have "the collective empathy of an Austrian child-imprisoning rapist" to turn an atrocity into a cheap, tossed-off phrase like that ... but I won't, because a) it would be unsavoury , b) it would be unfeeling, and c) like the original analogy, it wouldn't even make sense.
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I'm an ex-Wanganui lad. It's my old patch. I haven't lived there for 25 years, but Laws appears to have done a reasonable job making that city vibrant again. But I lack good sources here!
I hate tagging and I simply don't understand the reasons why people do it. But Laws' article seems to appeal to destructive forces (racism) to make his point. But that's his brief and that's what the media want from him to sell papers and what he provides to make an income. It's his market.
Justice should never be based solely on race. Judges can't provide justice on a simplistic basis of giving everyone the same sentence for the same crime. Their rulings should be based on all the factors around an offence. But they make mistakes. I'm reminded of a land developer who willfully cut down ancient Puhutukawas and had no penalty. Is what he did less destructive than the actions of a tagger from Northcote?
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Laws is, well, ummm, ahhh, ermmm - at least he's predictable. You always know what you're going to get with him; a failed and deceitful MP (Antoinette Beck anyone?) spouting populist rubbish even his ex-Boss Winnie doesn't seem to believe.
But it's great that the most embattled and endangered group in NZ soceity, white middle-class men, have people like Laws on their side. I'm sure glad he's not on mine.
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This isn't the same as supporting taggers, but it did occasion this spectacularly revolting statement from the Sensible Sentencing Trust, in which Garth McVicar declared that "her comments are hugely provocative at a time when a decent hard working citizen is facing a murder charge because of his frustration over this issue."
I'm going to state the obvious, in thinking that he faces the murder charge because he stabbed someone with a knife and they died, rather than, he got frustrated.
Frustration leads to high blood pressure, not 10 - 15 in jail.
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but Laws appears to have done a reasonable job making that city vibrant again
No, that happened before Laws. I don't think he can take credit for the main street clean up, the museum, the art gallery, Ucol or even the Rutland Arms.
All I have seen from Laws are sneering attempts to dismantle any "vibrancy".
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For some reason, Michael Law's latest column, A Pakeha Fights Back, is among the editors' picks on Stuff this morning.
I've often wondered about those picks, though. They seem pretty random. (Currently, the editor is quite proud of "Showdown will put Tua back on the map" and "Sky TV Web service to be open to non-subscribers")
Dear Cate Brett: I can write equally stupid columns...
Oh, no, you couldn't. It takes a very special kind of person. We all think we could be that person if we chose to, but really we couldn't, which is why that particular type of scum rises to the top, as it were.
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I'm reminded of a land developer who willfully cut down ancient Puhutukawas and had no penalty.
Where was that? You're not thinking of the development in Royal Oak? There the offender was ordered to plant replacement pohutukawas, and tend to them for the next 25 years. Smack in the middle of the section he'd planned to subdivide, which was why he'd cut the originals down in the first place.
As justice goes, it was a remarkably creative solution by the court. There was some token (quite a few thousand dollars, but little more than nuisance value to a man who owns a fairly hefty chunk of Newmarket) monetary penalty, but the order to rectify his environmental vandalism was just so perfect that I think it's the kind of sentence that should be passed more often. -
No, that happened before Laws. I don't think he can take credit for the main street clean up, the museum, the art gallery, Ucol or even the Rutland Arms.
All I have seen from Laws are sneering attempts to dismantle any "vibrancy".
Yes, in thinking about that issue I was a little hasty in attributing much at all of Wanganui's recent vibrancy to Laws. The advent of UCOL there saw the influx of youthful creativity which was lacking without such an instituion. Like many youth before this, one had to leave Wanganui to pursue education options.
And Matthew, I don't think it was the same case. I'll delve into my brain archives and get back to you.
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Perhaps Andrew S you were thinking of [Sandra Goudie, National MP, and her mates who did not even get prosecuted for illegally clearing mangroves in Whangamata? (Link is to an old post, but there was no prosecution in the end).
Last I checked "frustration" was not a defence to murder. Perhaps McVicar is trying to expand "self-defence" to include the right to kill someone who is really really pissing you off?
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Matthew, yes that is the story I was told about. I heard that the developer had basically been let off. But the kind of justice meted out to him does seem just and what is a good example of Judges using wise discretion.
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It's a particularly reductive view of 'Pakeha' culture. I identify as Pakeha, I think we have a culture that is distinct (admittedly largely due to Maori and geographical influences), but I wish more was done constructively to nail it down and study it.
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So the next time I get "frustrated" with Garth McVicar I can come at him with a knife?
Get in line.
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I'm going to state the obvious, in thinking that he faces the murder charge because he stabbed someone with a knife and they died, rather than, he got frustrated.
Knives don't kill people. Frustration-over-the possibility-of-minor-vandalism kills people.
And I'm with Jolisa over the Austrian cellar dweller gibe - I've seen the odd mild joke about that awful affair that was (just) on the fair side of the decency/comedy line, but directly impugning the education of a girl imprisoned and raped for decades to make your (already offensive) point is so far beyond the pale of any culture I can identify. -
Laws seems to polarise the locals as far as his mayoral job goes, but they had the same mayor, one Chas Poynter, for many years previously. Half the population had probably never heard of him. So on the positive side, Laws has certainly got the attention of his citizens and brought Wanganui into the spotlight. He can't claim to have brought artistic vibrancy - cheap real estate, the polytech and artists settling in for the long haul have done that.
Seems I'm not alone in getting my news fix & some decent analysis, vigorous opinions, links via blogs like PA etc - fed up with the blah in print media & TV news - I'm seeing similar thoughts elsewhere, notably on poneke today.
Print media columnists like Laws, McLeod, Black are v. predictable and seem calculated to pander to a demographic. Rosemary McLeod & Tom Scott in their heyday were great - provocative, witty, genuine personalities.
Better class of wit on here these days!
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Last I checked "frustration" was not a defence to murder.
There is however the partial defence of - I forget what it's technically called - blind rage. I have no reason to think it's being invoked here. But you might remember it from the "I killed him because he propositioned me and I'm not gay" defence. That makes me so angry I could... complain.
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michael laws: two words, "eye" + "liner".
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Knives don't kill people. Frustration-over-the possibility-of-minor-vandalism kills people.
Genius. Do you think that extends to frustration-over-the-__gross-lack-of-talent__ kills people
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And I'm with Jolisa over the Austrian cellar dweller gibe - I've seen the odd mild joke about that awful affair that was (just) on the fair side of the decency/comedy line, but directly impugning the education of a girl imprisoned and raped for decades to make your (already offensive) point is so far beyond the pale of any culture I can identify.
I've been thinking about line that today. I'm more shocked that no editor had the good sense and decency to yank it out.
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I heard that the developer had basically been let off.
Quite aside from the court-imposed penalties, he had to front to a "restorative justice" meeting with the locals where he was roundly abused by all and sundry. Sounds like it actually went a bit OTT, but the basic message was, "The people whose community you've just deprived in the name of crass lucre think you're utter scum."
Some more of that, along with a complete prohibition on name suppression for people found guilty of environmental "crimes", would do wonders for the subdevelopment community's propensity for running rough-shod over the natural features of their latest targets. -
Lyndon, I thought that only applied to being killing gay people.
You are right, it is so f'ed up and offensive. What is the point of trying to punish hate crimes, if the fact that they were gay is a defense.
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My Michael Laws Story
Make of it what you will, and it actually happened TODAY
this morning in fact:Laws always starts his 9am Radio Live show with a 15-20 minute rant to get the listeners stirred up and calling in. At 9.14AM on 12 May 08 he said (I'm paraphrasing, but I believe I'm completely accurate) that the current situation in Myanmar was tragic and that something had to be done. But that nothing could be done because of the despotic regime ruling Myanmar. Laws suggested that the obvious solution would be for the US or the UN to simply invade Myanmar, and who could argue with that because the people of Myanmar needed rescuing from the corrupt/evil military that control the country.
That in itself should have been enough to foster debate and encourage calls. But Laws decided to ramp it up a bit further. In his effort to alert listeners as to just how bad the Myanmar regime was he said they were worse than the Nazis. Because at least the Nazis didn't kill their own people - unlike the Myanmar military who were indiscriminate and would kill anyone and everyone. Laws even referenced the Gas Chambers, as if they were less brutal, and spoke about all the innocent Myanmar kids who's lives have been ruined.
I found the whole so rant outrageous I actually called the station and I was told I would be the first caller on. In order to be polite and allow Laws the opportunity to save face I prefaced my comment with "Michael, I appreciate this is a live show and that you shoot from the lip sometimes, but don't you think you should reconsider your comments about the Nazis at least not killing their own? I don't think the Jewish people would agree" (I'm paraphrasing myself here).
At this point I found myself 'on hold' (as a former Radio Pacific panel operator I know what this is - the caller is put on hold meaning they can hear the host but the caller can't be heard by the audience) and Laws responding "Of course not, don't be so silly" and then cutting my call.
So I didn't get to tell Laws that I think it's silly to claim the Nazis didn't kill their own, and that he was splitting hairs if he thought Nazis only killed non-Nazis. The Nazi Party was a political party - it was the Germans who killed the Jews and they started with the German Jews. So they were killing their own. And there were plenty of Jewish children slaughtered too.
But evidently Laws thinks the Nazis weren't as bad the Myanmar military junta. By that logic Saddam Hussein wasn't so bad either because he didn't gas his own people - just the Kurds.
Russell: you should try and get the log tape of Laws' opening rant this morning. It might make a suitable topic for your TVNZ7 show.
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So on the positive side, Laws has certainly got the attention of his citizens and brought Wanganui into the spotlight.
Personally I'd be happier with a council leader that keeps the pavements in repair and the garbage collected then a failed national politician / minor media commentator out to boost his own fading self-importance.
I think the elected mayor concept just encourages egotripping assholes (it's just the same in the UK). We'd be better off with leaders chosen by a (preferably proportionately elected) council majority - that way, we'd get someone who could build a broad coalition of supporters.
Plus, why is it considered reasonable for media outlets to employ elected politicians? In a lot of overseas countries, it's generally expected that one should resign from broadcasting (at least) to run for office.
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