Robin Hood and his Murderous Merry Men

The highly publicised incident of several Auckland Grammar boys bowing down in front of a Nazi flag, captured on camera and put up for some lols on Facebook, has prompted calls for a greater understanding of the Holocaust. Naturally, Your Views is all over it: "What history should schools be teaching our students?" So basically, what magical history topic will stop ignorant teenage behaviour?

A fairly predictable array of responses from the Your Views bunch: "more on the World Wars!"/ "more on the Treaty of Waitangi!"/"less PC propaganda!"

But one comment stood out from the rest with for its clear insight, finally exposing the link between the welfare state and systematic mass murder.

AGW Sceptic (Greenlane)
What should be taught is that the term NAZI stood for National Socialist. That's right, the NAZI party were a pack of socialists, so all those from the left of the political spectrum who accuse the free market right wing of being NAZI's need to take a good look at themselves. They should also be taught that the death toll attributed to Adolf Hitler was nothing compared to that of other leftist leaders such as Stalin & Mao. The further left you go the more murderous they become, but I haven't heard of any free marketeers murdering people yet.

They should also be taught that Robin Hood was a thief & a murderer, not a hero.
 
Yeah, bloody Robin Hood should have let the richies keep their riches and wait for the money to 'trickle-down' to the poor.

The People in Power: Cardigan-wearing Bureaucrats and Right-wing Nutters

The Herald reported on the endorsement of a proposal by the transport committee for the Auckland City Council which seeks to extend the hours of pay-and-display parking in the CBD until 10pm at night, rather than the 6pm cut-off as it now stands.

It seems today the NZ Herald online were a bit short of Your Views questions, so they posited the question "Will the new parking charges kill the CBD at night?" to their readers. The question is obviously Auckland-centric, assuming that the term CBD can only apply to Auckland by not putting the city's name somewhere in the picture.

Mark S (Remuera)

Heck, if The Edge hadn't dropped a bundle, staging that expensive flop 'My Fair Lady' - and the other duds - then the Council's "greed glands" wouldn't be pumping so vigorously, trying to recoup the losses by targeting city-bound motorists. It's not so much being short-sighted as being totally blind. But you'd expect nothing less from a bunch of self-important cardigan-wearing bureaucrats who take their Gladwrapped lunches to work, along with quartered-and-peeled apples in plastic containers.

Woah! That is one of the most intricately detailed stereotypes I have ever read on Your Views. It's fascinating that someone could be criticised right down to the way they prepare their packed lunch. I get the feeling that Mark S may be a disgruntled ex-council worker who got the inside scoop on the fashion tastes and food habits of his fellow employees.

On the other end of debate, although still dissatisfied with the potential change to parking charges and highlighting their "greed glands", is Ian from Glen Eden:

Ian (Glen Eden)
All this talk of going to the dogs!
This is exactly what happens when you've got right-wingers running things - it's all about money, money, money. Absolutely NO good will or encourangement of people coming into the CBD for enjoyment and pleasure and a free carpark. Instead it's all about how much money the Council can fleece out of you.It's only going to get much, much worse if people like John Banks control the new Super Council.My God we are surrounded by right-wing nutters in positions of power now (since the last general election). Greed is the catch-cry now and we are going to the dogs already!

With this somewhat apocalyptic tone, Ian seems pretty convinced that Auckland is already "going to the dogs" and parking charges in the Auckland CBD at night are just the start of the bad things to come if "right-wing nutters" are in control.