I watched with a mixture of 'Yeah---go for it' and 'Mmmmm---is that what it will take?'
I am referring to the segment on Youtube of those ladies getting stuck into staff at Countdown in Rotorua. I don't know the background to the fracas outside the shop, but I guess I have to assume that the ladies had been helping themselves to some 'specials' that the rest of us usualy don't have access to.
Were ther trying to put 'food on the table'? or were they opportunistic thieves, meeting their comeupance from hard-working staff?
The shot went viral and will probably help police with 'their inquiries.'
Some may argue that the economy is against the ladies and they acted out of desperation, while others may say that most people, no matter how down and out, do not resort to ripping off shops and other services.
From my comfortable middle-class position, I have never known what it is like to have absolutely no fall-back in the form of a credit card or a relation (usually Mum and Dad). I have never had to say to kids that there is 'nothing in the cupboard.' Life is not a fairy tale where there are magic beans or a golden goose to hope for. The cold light of dawn that brings another day of struggle is foreign to most New Zealanders; most of us manage to get from one pay packet to the next.
Just remember, before you judge (and I have to put myself in this boat) that increasingly more people wake up with that dreaded scenario--- then it is over to the choices they make.
I would like to think that there are agencies out there who can help---- but they too are stretched.
There are many out there, who have little or no sympathy for those who act out their frustrations in the manner displayed in the Youtube segment; lets face it--- I regularly hear people close to me stating how they would like to 'deal to the low- life' who transgress resonable standards and that they should face the consequences of their actions.' I cringe at some of the comments.
So what are we going to do as a nation? The Youtube item is simply symbolic of the troubles that lay ahead for more of us as New Zealand is affected by the economic readjustment that is creeping ever closer to our shores. I guess we are going to have to wake up and find a Kiwi solution so that we do not have members of our society acting out in ways that are fed by their circumstances and by their inability or choice not to help themselves. We are going to see more on Youtube and various other media services that will underly what is happening in society. I hope it does not divide us--- but brings us together.
I am referring to the segment on Youtube of those ladies getting stuck into staff at Countdown in Rotorua. I don't know the background to the fracas outside the shop, but I guess I have to assume that the ladies had been helping themselves to some 'specials' that the rest of us usualy don't have access to.
Were ther trying to put 'food on the table'? or were they opportunistic thieves, meeting their comeupance from hard-working staff?
The shot went viral and will probably help police with 'their inquiries.'
Some may argue that the economy is against the ladies and they acted out of desperation, while others may say that most people, no matter how down and out, do not resort to ripping off shops and other services.
From my comfortable middle-class position, I have never known what it is like to have absolutely no fall-back in the form of a credit card or a relation (usually Mum and Dad). I have never had to say to kids that there is 'nothing in the cupboard.' Life is not a fairy tale where there are magic beans or a golden goose to hope for. The cold light of dawn that brings another day of struggle is foreign to most New Zealanders; most of us manage to get from one pay packet to the next.
Just remember, before you judge (and I have to put myself in this boat) that increasingly more people wake up with that dreaded scenario--- then it is over to the choices they make.
I would like to think that there are agencies out there who can help---- but they too are stretched.
There are many out there, who have little or no sympathy for those who act out their frustrations in the manner displayed in the Youtube segment; lets face it--- I regularly hear people close to me stating how they would like to 'deal to the low- life' who transgress resonable standards and that they should face the consequences of their actions.' I cringe at some of the comments.
So what are we going to do as a nation? The Youtube item is simply symbolic of the troubles that lay ahead for more of us as New Zealand is affected by the economic readjustment that is creeping ever closer to our shores. I guess we are going to have to wake up and find a Kiwi solution so that we do not have members of our society acting out in ways that are fed by their circumstances and by their inability or choice not to help themselves. We are going to see more on Youtube and various other media services that will underly what is happening in society. I hope it does not divide us--- but brings us together.
