I see John Key has joined the bleating about the undie 500.
Get a grip people, students are young, they let some steam out from time to time. Its a nuisance that's for sure but not much more.
Its not as though its a new phenomena either - in my days at Otago we had sky rocket fights, launching them at each other with vacuum cleaner pipes. Its ancient history now. It caused much hand wringing from the authorities and in the media back then.
And they were having 'student riots' at Oxford back in Elizabethan times - the remedy back then would have been the birch applied to the naked posterior of the worst offenders I believe, ouch!
Anyway fines will be meted out, life will go on and twenty, thirty years from now the magistrate dishing out whatever penalties apply to rowdy students then will be being handed out by someone who is an Otago student today more than likely.
So it goes.
Get a grip people, students are young, they let some steam out from time to time. Its a nuisance that's for sure but not much more.
Its not as though its a new phenomena either - in my days at Otago we had sky rocket fights, launching them at each other with vacuum cleaner pipes. Its ancient history now. It caused much hand wringing from the authorities and in the media back then.
And they were having 'student riots' at Oxford back in Elizabethan times - the remedy back then would have been the birch applied to the naked posterior of the worst offenders I believe, ouch!
Anyway fines will be meted out, life will go on and twenty, thirty years from now the magistrate dishing out whatever penalties apply to rowdy students then will be being handed out by someone who is an Otago student today more than likely.
So it goes.
Actually, the police stated that no more diversion will be had this time, and that students arrested will end up with criminal records. So it is unlikely that any arrested will become magistrates.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is not kids being a pain in the ass. These lovely creatures are rioting and fighting with police. I have no sympathy for them.
I have no sympathy for them.
ReplyDeleteNor me either, Mr Tips, but some perspective it is not an issue that need exercise our Prime Minister surely?
And I surely would hate to see our youth put into pinstripes at birth.
Yep. It's one thing having a bit of fun and letting off some steam but in this instance a good number of these pimply face bastards need a good kick in the arse.
ReplyDeleteThe total lack of respect for the NZ Police was appalling: the creme of out academic elite - a bunch of drunken fools wearing tutus and gorilla masks.
For what it's worth I reckon there are far too many students enrolled at universities doing courses of dubious value.
The rockets were aimed at other students (I had a flat between Arana & Selwyn College which made life interesting in the lead up to Guy Fawkes) not at police.
ReplyDeleteThe rocket wars were dangerous (and banned some time ago) but were done in a spirit of fun. The weekend riots appear not to have been fun which got out of hand but deliberate damage and confrontation.
Agree with you on the PM Andrei. None of his business really; shades of Helen perhaps?
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't wish for any student to have their life tarnished either, but actions have consequences. Not a lot we can do about that.
Broken glass on people's lawns, cops assaulted, cars vandalised, trees uprooted...
ReplyDeleteHardly "a nuisance that's for sure but not much more".
Keith;
ReplyDeletemost of those things happen every weekend in that part of town - its the party area. My eldest daughter lives down there, she wasn't a rioter, its not her way of being at all - in fact she expresses contempt but she likes living in an 'exciting/vibrant' part of town which is why she chooses to live there.
As for cops being assaulted who got the better part of that?
I'm not condoning this at all you understand but I do think it needs perspective and I also think beating it up encourages more of the same.
Perhaps publicly birching the culprits....?