Posts by Hilary Stace
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As Jim Anderton wryly mentioned last night in the minor party leaders' debate - Labour won more votes than National in 1978 and 1981 but the media didn't clamour for Labour to become government then.
And re the Standard - there is some good investigative journalism going on there currently on conflicts of interest and more undisclosed share holding by two front bench National MPs. It is a lively website and worth checking out at www.thestandard.org.nz
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The first time round I mentioned the great customer service that is the norm from Arthur at Thorndon Pharmacy in Moleworth Street, in particular a time of great stress when he was particularly helpful. I've been in there a couple of times since and it continues - he's the sort of gentlemanly health professional you can trust with all your pharmacological secrets.
But the first time around I also mentioned the great customer service in the bigger sense that we get from some of our MPs. I have been thinking of this since and that every so often there is a law change that causes a cultural paradigm shift, and MPs usually do this work at great personal cost. Fran Wilde's Homosexual Law Reform Bill two decades ago was one. Sue Bradford's Child Discipline Bill is another. In a generation we will look back at this and marvel that people thought it was OK to hit children. Helen Clark has copped a lot of the flak for this from the pro-hitters, but Sue was the one who plodded away on it for years. If you think of customers as the citizens of NZ, including disenfranchised children, then this is really great customer service.
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Just to keep this discussion going I have just read the National Party education crusade stuff and see the way they are going to get around having to include kids with special ed needs in their testing results league tables is to force them out of the mainstream schools and into more special schools or satellites. Now how many kids would chose an exclusionary education if anyone gave them the choice? Roll on the vote for disabled children. (Warning I will probably go on about this a bit more in the next month)
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I'm interested to see the voting age discussion has gone on. I'd still like to see it at 12 years by 2020. I was dead keen to vote when I was 12 so I would like to give others the chance. It would be an option - not compulsory.
I have also been a bit disturbed at some of the able-ist assumptions creeping in linking intellectual ability and voting eligibility. This is a human rights issue that is covered by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. And would you deny it to an older person just because they had dementia - I hope not.
And while we are at it I would like to see all prisoners able to vote (currently it is only those with sentences less than three years or something exclusionary).
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Tim - that's an example of the the sort of political education I had in mind. And most Year 7 and 8 year olds have participated in some sort of election process, either for class reps or a mock one at national or local election time. The more practice we have at democracy at all levels the better we will get at it.
The 12 year olds of 2020 (those babies born this year) will probably be as sophisticated as the 18 year old new voters of 1975.
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I/S, I agree. I have long thought our voting age needs to be lowered. It was a Labour Govt that lowered the voting age to 18 over 30 years ago. Like other policies it could be brought in progressively - eg 16 years by 2010 (for local body elections) and 14 by 2015 and 12 by 2020. That would give schools, the media and the govt time to increase resourcing in civics type education, plain language policies and get their heads around what being accountable to young people would really mean. Would be great for building an inclusive society too.
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My friend Martin can never remember names so he just makes one up, and says, Hello, Alan, how are things going?. Afterwards when I ask who that was he claims he has no idea what what their real name is, even though he has met them several times. But, he says,he looked like an Alan. He says they can correct him if it bothers them.
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There are interesting reflections on this kind of thing in a couple of books by people with autism I have just read. As adults with autism they have analysed what makes them different from other people, including not recognising people. Temple Grandin's 'The way I see it' - is just that, on a variety of topics. John Elder Robison is the brother of writer Augusten Burroughs. His book is called 'Look me in the eye' - something he has never been able to do and was punished, or socially ostracised for. Among other things he was the creative genius behind the special effects used by Kiss, including the flaming guitars. He says as his social skills developed his amazing creativity energy diminished.
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Re Brian Rudman (whoever he is) I'm also coming to the conclusion that reading the daily papers is increasingly hazardous to one's health. Apart from the wonderful Simon Collins, there is a lot in papers like the Herald - esp the op-ed pieces - that is toxic, negative, narrow minded, ignorant and mean spirited. Just plain depressing. Which is a pity as there is a great potential for the 4th estate to properly analyse and inform and provide a bit of vision. Or even reflect a NZ society that is actually positive, caring, generous, happy to live here and believes in a fair go.
So I'm pleased to see that the pundit.co.nz now does a daily news round up with some interesting informed links.
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Russell, that facial recognition things sounds interestingly autistic. Perhaps your strengths are exceptional auditory and tekkie ability instead. I've often wondered how people can hear so much more than me in music and be so entranced by frustrating appliances like computers and iphones. But I never forget a face.
There is a saying that we are all a bit autistic these days - although I imagine those on the spectrum would object to us all jumping on their bandwagon.