Richard Moore's Straight Talk Columns

Send police-battering scum straight to jail

28/12/2010

SO WE'VE just had another two young clowns attack a policeman with a machete and a knife.

The officer - who was working alone - was assaulted while investigating a complaint of boys, aged 16 and 14, fighting with knives at a rural property near Hamilton.

He managed to use his baton to fend off the little drunken scum, who fled into their house and eventually one had to be Tasered to be taken into custody.

It is the second serious machete attack on a police officer by young thugs - Senior Constable Bruce Mellor suffered horrendous wounds when allegedly set upon by two youths (18 and 14) near Taihape this month.

Now these attacks bring many things to the fore. Firstly, police in country areas should not work alone. It is too dangerous.

Secondly, officers should be armed - all of the time.

There is no point the woolly heads bleating ``Oh, if you arm the cops the crims will get guns too'' as that is pure bunkum.

Serious crims already have guns and if you want to stop thugs turning into really bad guys you have to do it early.

Sentences for assaults on police, or emergency workers, should be mandatory jail terms.

Our youths need to learn that they cannot hide behind their young ages to prevent them having to pay for their crimes and the age of them facing adult court should be dropped to 12.

They should also be named and shamed in the media instead of giving them permanent name suppression.

People under 20 should not be allowed to purchase a machete or a knife, other than cutlery pieces.

Unless something is done about its uncontrollable youth then in about 10 years New Zealand will be a war zone.

If you doubt that just check out the young dregs of humanity that hang out around the shops in Girven Rd.

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Thousands of Kiwis have shown their lack of manners and decency by putting unwanted Christmas presents up for sale on Trade Me.

As of Boxing Day night more than 12,000 ex-presents were being perused by bargain hunters, 20 per cent up on last year. To me that sucks.

Okay, you may not have wanted seersucker undies, a $5 bottle of Eaudepong, or a book on global warming, but someone thought you'd like them and did so enough to spend their hard-earned dollars buying them.

Not only that they took the time to battle crowds to do so.

If you don't want them either put them in a drawer and forget about them, or give them to someone else.

According to Trade Me spokesman Paul Ford the items most likely to be put up for auction included women's clothing, cosmetics and jewellery. He reckons

``This indicates plenty of Kiwi blokes out there aren't particularly good at guessing what the ladies in their lives actually want to unwrap on Christmas Day.''

I have it from another angle and this comes from ladies in the know.

They work in retail and Boxing Day - the day for returns and exchanges - is known in the trade as Ungrateful Bitches Day.

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YOU know I just never seem to have the luck while travelling.

When I'm at an airport all I ever see on a large display screen is flight details and often they are followed by the words flight delayed.

Some lucky devils in Bangladesh were waiting for their aeroplanes and what should pop on to the giant screens but a breast bouncing, sweat-inducing, full-on pornographic movie.

Actually popped isn't quite right as the show went on for five minutes before it could be turned off.

That's enough time for quite a bit of mental damage to be done to people in a conservative Muslim country.

Needless to say the authorities were not excited (outwardly) and promptly jailed the operator for two months.

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DO you ever wonder if your child is an emo?

You know, one of those troubled teens who secretly cut themselves.

Thankfully my gal isn't one of them. I know this because when she shaves her legs it's like she's gone 12 rounds with Freddy Kruger.

There is nothing secretive about the blood-spattered bathroom walls and trail of empty Bandaid boxes.

Fair go, safety razors have no meaning in her hands.

But even I was gobsmacked the other day when she appeared at the lounge door and sheepishly announced she'd cut herself ... on her toothbrush!

richard@richardmoore.com..