Protest is one thing...prejudice is another

This is something I cannot abide...especially of the New Zealand I grew up in. The judgmental idocy of some of us in this country is so blinding sometimes that it makes me ashamed to be a New Zealander...especially with guys like John Minto...who are to the point of making one person, and example for the wrongs of their government.

Last week, a visiting tennis player Shahar Peer was subject to protests from people who were opposed to Israels war in Gaza. And while I'm not a fan of the thing myself, why on earth were you trying to make an example of someone who has no ties to the government or really, may not even like what is happening herself? Why should she bear any responsibility for the bombs their country drops...but you know what...New Zealand is going to be labeled because of the actions of Mr Minto. Idiot he is.

"They say she should speak out against her government's Gaza campaign and quit the tournament.

"We are asking her to make a big sacrifice but it's not as big as the sacrifice Palestinians are making every day of their lives," says John Minto of the Global Peace and Justice network." (from the TVNZ Website http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/crowd-gathers-protest-asb-classic-2436620)

Hold on...let me pull one more thing out here. A few hundreds of years ago the Catholic Inquisition killed thousands of people simply because they weren't catholic. Lets protest every single catholic person. Lets protest outside their churches because we think that every catholic today is a murdering, religiously intollerant religion and they teach this every week in their sermons.

Even more relevant and close to home. All maori are money hungery leeches because all they want now is money and land and to be a law unto themselves and if they don't get their way they occupy land until they do.

Even if Minto was saying she should step down from the tournament herself as a protest measure, you are still asking her to take a measure of responsibility for what her government and their military are doing. If she does it here, whats to say another group won't follow her to the next tournament and try and get her to do the same thing? Why should she give up her livelihood?

Now its gone so far as a cafe owner in Invercargill has sent two Israeli girls from his cafe and refused to serve them because this is his own little protest. What a fool!!! New Zealand has something called the Human Rights act preventing exactly what you just did. Hang on...you must know John Minto...or am I stereotyping again!!!

Protest all you want...but now you have crossed the line into prejudice. You should be pointing the finger as much at Hamas as you should Israel. Its simple...stop firing rockets into Israel, they might just leave you alone. I find it funny a little...Hamas still in the middle of thousands of their own people being killed, still shoot rockets into Israel. Talk about non-feeling or caring. Kind of reminisent of Hitler, who would have sacrificed every German to beat the allies.

Hang on...what about this intolerance we are seeing here...is this reflective of the intensive hate that most middle eastern countries have for Israel...now gee there is a thought. We're as racist as them.

A line from the first Men in Black movie seems appropriate. "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals...".

The cruel heart of business

This morning on Radio Lives news I heard the report of a car rental company, NZRCS based in Wellington I believe has just sent a bill for over $1,000 to the parents of those two Australian tourists who were killed at Fox Glacier last week.

At the face of it...its heartless! No doubting it. Simply put, your two sons are dead...here's the bill for getting our car back and replacing the key.

But then...as I always say, there are two sides of the coin. The other side is, this is a business, times are hard. In the end, they would have to pay for the costs of getting the vehicle back to base. And to be honest, its not like these two were murdered in cold blood.

These two guys we have to remember were killed because they made a decision to cross a safety barrier (regardless if its rope or brick wall), and put themselves in harms way.

We all know the signs on the Desert Road say at certain points not to go off road because it is a military training zone and there are tanks around or at the very least, guns. There is no great wall on either side of State Highway 1 to stop people, and not even rope along the side of the road. Yet for the most part, people do not venture off the road.

While I agree with the sentimental side, that this was a bad move for NZRCS to make in the wake of a tragedy, it for the most part was, and sorry to say, much like the tragic Mangere house fire, a self inflicted injury. The people made a mistake and the cost was far to high. But I think the business, is well within its legal rights to ask for payment but certainly not morally in the right.

As a businessman myself, I would certainly ask for payment, but be very, very paitent and understanding and allow a lot of time. And if it does, sweet, thank you very much...but if not...then for goodwill and publicity, write it off as a loss.

It may not be the business thing to do...but it is the right thing to do.