Minor breakouts of major gripes

I’d long ago realised that part of the reason I post cussy rants about things that seem like just small issues, not a huge deal, isn’t there something more important to worry about – is because those “small issues” just tap into much bigger problems.

Today, two such small issues reared their annoying heads.

The continuing saga of Oh Noes The Brown Man Said A Mean Word broke out on Red Alert, with Hon Trevor insert-duck-to-water-metaphor-here Mallard chipping in to the debate:

If a Pakeha used the term brown mofos it would be racist.  That standard should apply both ways.

Which actually hits several big Pisses Me Right The Fuck Off buttons.  But to summarise:  using the argument of “the same standard” is so close to “one law for all” they couldn’t legally marry in all 50 states of the US.  It’s “special rights”, it’s “level playing field”, and it’s bullshit.

There isn’t a fucking level playing field when one group of people has been historically shat on by another from orbit.  There isn’t a tabula rasa of race relations where such lovely “can’t we all just be equals and ignore skin colour and historical disenfranchisement and oh we tried to destroy your language and culture” ideas can be writ large.

There is a basic reason why a person of Maori descent can refer to “white motherfuckers stealing our land” which does not hold true for a person of European descent saying “brown motherfuckers stealing our car”.  That reason is privilege.  Learn you some.

Second small issue:  in the continuing if-they-wrote-this-for-TV-no-one-would-believe-it tale of Doug Schmuck and some possibly-dodgy legislative drafting, one quote nicely put its thumb directly on my White Middle Class Bastards Who Just Love Law And Order Until It Applies To Them button.

The 15-year fight for the Opua boat ramp had taken “a hell of a lot of time” and cost Mr Schmuck close to $200,000. “A few objectors can run the costs up so high that it makes things like the Resource Management Act untenable,” he said.

Ah, yes.  You can always spot a WMCBWJLL&OUIATT, by the way they seem completely oblivious of the fact that the law still counts even when it might stop them from doing something they want to do.

The classic example is provided every time there’s a Police crackdown on speeding, possibly by, oh the horrors, using hidden speed cameras.  Now, you might think “well if people don’t want to get speeding tickets they could try not speeding”, but such thoughts do not pass through the brains of White Middle-Class Bastards. No no no, this is just a revenue gathering exercise.

It’s not like their own speeding could cause accidents or cost people their lives or anything.  We all know that speed only kills when it’s those bloody Asian homestay students whose rich daddies send them thirty grand a month to buy Ferraris and meth with, obviously.  The laws of physics are very specific on this.

The other classic, of course, is the killing of Pihema Cameron – where the Your Sensible Is Not Like Our Earth Sensible Sentencing Trust decided that actually, that whole “tough punishment for violent crims is the way to save society” line didn’t so much count when the stabber was a rich white guy and the victim was [insert stereotype about Maori teenage boys here].

And so we have (oh Gods it makes me giggle every time) Doug Schmuck.  Who has been nearly bankrupted, dear readers, by busybodies and that bane of the WMCB, the Resource Management Act.  All because he built a private fucking boat ramp on a fucking public reserve.

It’s almost like some people expect Good Hardworking [White Male] Businessmen to obey the law or something.  Don’t they understand the law is for the little people?

Act MP: “We’ve got too hung up on people’s rights.”

Also covered at frogblog and The Standard: Act MP David Garrett, walking caricature of a conservative old white man living in the past century (nay, millennium) isn’t too concerned by multiple legal opinions saying his “three strikes and you’re out” law is, um, kinda in breach of basic human rights. You see,

“I’m actually more interested in a victim’s rights than a criminal’s rights. We are talking about the “rights” of someone who has served at least two sentences for violent offending and just been sentenced to a third lot.”

What’s that, you say? A member of the Nonsensical Sentencing Trust thinks criminals aren’t real human beings, and “victims” and “criminals” are two eternally-mutually-exclusive group, easily spotted by their respective halos and dark skin/propensity to wear leather/youth fiery wings?

This one doesn’t even required rant-space and obscenity. The man’s a living stereotype.

David Garrett dismissed a report by Attorney-General Chris Finlayson that found three strikes had an apparent inconsistency with the section of Bill of Rights protecting New Zealanders against cruel, degrading or disproportionately severe punishment.

Mr Garrett had not read the report, but told of its findings yesterday said: “So what?”

“Alter the Bill of Rights Act. We’ve got too hung up on people’s rights.”

…

Mr Garrett said the Attorney-General’s report focused on three strikes being punishment, when it was equally a protective measure.

“It is saying you have blown two chances; despite two warnings you have come out and done this behaviour again and we are not going to allow you to remain in the community to become a killer.”

Come on, he said  “So what?”, for Pete’s sake. If there were ever a universal rallying cry of pig-headed thugs who don’t want to be asked to actually think about things before doing them …

Seriously, Garth, can you HEAR yourself?

Bruce Emery, noted child-killer businessman has been sentenced for the manslaughter of young vandal Pihema Cameron, a child dope-fuelled tagging machine.

How much is the life of a brown kid worth these days? Four years, three months.

The starting point for sentencing was five and a half to six years jail because it was a homicide with the use of a knife, the judge said. But Emery received the benefit of mitigating factors, including his “family standing” in the community.

… So you can see that this post is going to get swear-y, right?

Give ‘em the death penalty I say

The Trust is absolutely committed to reducing violent crime through community awareness, education and research

… and breaking the law.

IrishBill at The Standard:

My first response to this was to wonder what kind of onerous administration “things” are involved in filling in a form and sending it to the the electoral commission? But then I had another thought: registered third parties need to declare donations and expenses.

Concered of Linwood:

So a pressure group with the express interest in making this country safer and more law abiding is going to break the law to suit their own needs, because they see fit to do so.

Stay classy, wankers.

I’m aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!

Worst house-moving in the history of domiciles. On the plus side, I had forgotten how AWESOME a steaming-hot bath is.

Anyways, some good reading to tide you over till I get some real writing done:

The Inaugural Down Under Feminists Carnival is up at Hoyden About Town. If that doesn’t keep you busy, there’s nothing for it but a Rubik’s Cube.

Concerned of Linwood has a nice piece up about the lobbyists I hate even more than Family First – our own “Sensible” Sentencing Trust.

And in case you were in need of a bit of a giggle, Jolisa over at Public Address brings the goods (hopefully that link works, my computer is being flighty) with her son’s conclusion as to why people* dislike hoodies:

Well, I said, some young people like to wear outfits with hoods, because they think it looks cool. Whereas some older people think the hoods look really dodgy and threatening.

He thought about it for a moment and then lit up.

“Oh, I get it. They think you’re a dementor!”

And for something completely different, a plug for my current webcomic obsession, Darths & Droids: Because The Phantom Menace is just so much better if you assume it was a slightly chaotic RPG campaign. Warning: may contain jokes about dice.

*If by “people” I mean “those who enjoy demonizing Da Yoof and damning their comfortable clothing”.

It Is Delicious Hypocrisy, You Will Love It

It was nearly three weeks ago, and I’m still so bloody mad about this.

One of my vicious pet hates is the fascinatingly obvious hypocrisy of people. Middle-class white woman in Hummer driving the littlies to private school is snapped by speed camera? MY GOD, IT’S A BLIGHT ON SOCIETY, IT’S JUST A REVENUE-GATHERING EXERCISE. Asian student in Mercedes is snapped by speed camera? GET THESE FOREIGN DEVILS OFF THE ROADS, THEY’RE ENDANGERING THE KIDDIES.

But truly nothing in my two-decades-plus-some on this planet ever really prepared me for this: