Thursday, September 27, 2007





Full moon here. This is what it looks like from "down under". Isn't it magnificent? Driving to work this morning, my two young daughters and I drove past this (above but not the one with the moon), a scene where the Police had shot dead someone. It's always a heated debate (an heated debate??) in this part of the world. Apparently the number of people shot dead in our entire history of Police is less than an average day in the USA. Apparently. This might be an exageration but its a scary thought for those who live in the USA!! It's about 41 here in about 100 years. Something the police can be proud of but maybe not if they're playing cricket. The debate about tasers rages on, the debate about people being marginalised in society also rages on. The debate about parents teaching right from wrong will continue. The rat in a wheel peddles on. And it always so sad when someone dies prematurely. The "what if's" and the "If buts" will continue - for the Police, the family, the officer conerned and his/her family. Kia kaha.

Meanwhile our lcoal elections loom. I have exercised my democartic right to vote and I'm trying to stir others into doing the same.

Lets make a difference.


4 comments:

Old Cheeser said...

My God, 41 dead in 100 years?!? I'm moving to NZ right NOW!!

London is unfortunately quite a crime-ridden place. I'm a little nervous about the area where we've bought our new flat, as it's not quite as desirable as where we're currently living and has a slight reputation (but the problem was affordability, hence the need to move). Anyway, just up the road from where we're moving to, a guy was stabbed to death by two youths (okay, not shot but similar) just because he confronted them when they threw a sweet wrapper through his car window. Ridiculous eh?

Okay I've just realised that isn't really relevant to the police shooting someone but you get the idea.

What are "tasers" btw?

Sounds like overall NZ is a safe and relatively crime-free place to live. Okay, in a few years' time maybe...

Steve said...

Yeah it's weird to think that 41 dead in 100 years would be an incredibly positive statistic here in the UK let alone America. But the real point is that 1 death is 1 too many, right? Unfortunately I don't have any smug solutions... I wouldn't want to be a police man for all the tea in china. I'm really crap at life or death situations - let alone having to decide that fate in relation to somebody else in a split second.

The Sagittarian said...

A taser is a kind of shooting thing that uses shocks to subdue someone. They can kill as well but its more rare!
Turns out that I know the policeman concerned as well. Weird.

Old Cheeser said...

Oh I see! Nasty!