Just sick and evil

Sue Bradford is once again being targetted with threats, specifically threatening her life:

Anti-smacking campaigner Sue Bradford has received chilling death threats and been warned she could be New Zealand's "first political assassination".

Police are looking at stepping up her personal security after the vile warnings on Twitter. The Green MP said: "There has been a whole lot of stuff. Some of it is pretty nasty."

She told Sunday News: "I was on Twitter and someone sent a tweet saying, 'Sue Bradford should be the first candidate for a political assassination’.

"There is another email that was really ugly a few weeks ago that we referred to police." (1)

Note how the sick little bastard focuses on the woman. John Key is the one calling the shots now - unfortunate choice of metaphor - you pillock.

It is interesting that the wording is almost identical to the threats made in 2007 (2). Does this mean it is the same person, or that all misogynistic rightwing knuckledragging hatefilled child beating bigots are the same?

I assume the 'big' rightwing bloggers would not endorse this sick sentiment, but I wonder if the hatred and hysteria they allow and sometime encourage contributes to this low? Some jumped up little arse decides he (or, in a slightly more unlikely scenario, she) wants to 'do a whaleoil' and comes up with this repulsive little outburst of venom.

Farrar and Whale et al might deplore and excoriate this viciousness, but at the end of the day, there blogs have provided a platform for people to shrill their hatred and grandstand. They've been happy enough to let it go on, enjoying the noteriety and the boost it gives to their profile. They built the sewer and even fed the rats now scurrying about. They have to take some responsibility for the coarsening and unpleasantness of what passes for political discourse on the right.

1 - "Death threats to Sue Bradford," by Neil Reid, 30th of August, 2009. (http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/2815457/Death-threats-to-Sue-Bradford/)
2 - "Google shuts down controversial blog," unattributed AAP article. Published in The Age, 22nd of February, 2009. (http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Google-shuts-down-controversial-blog/2007/02/22/1171733908232.html)

Key preparing for Section 59 U-Turn?

Asked whether upcoming referendum on smacking might change his views on the repeal of section 59, John Key didn't seem to want to give a straight answer:

NZ Prime Minister John Key said while the law technically said smacking was illegal that was not how it was being administered.

Police reviews showed it was working well.

"I've always argued that if the law doesn't work we will change it. If an overwhelming bulk of New Zealanders vote no then what that should do, I think, is give Parliament the strength of courage to change the law if it starts not working," he told Newstalk ZB.

Mr Key said the government had other priorities. (1)

Which begs the question, what does "not working" mean? So much crap has been put out there about what the repeal was and was not meant to do, that Key could select almost any criterion he likes and use it to claim that the law was, or was not working.

With 83% of New Zealanders indicating it should be okay to smack in some circumstances (2), I can't help t can't help but imagine that a review of it in ... oh, about two years time ... might find that it hadn't worked, in which case National might feel the need to turn the next election into a de facto referendum on repeal.

1 - "Anti-smacking law not working: Kiwi poll," unattributed NZPA article. Reproduced in the Brisbane Times, 3rd of AUgust, 2009. (http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-world/antismacking-law-not-working-kiwi-poll-20090803-e6sc.html)
2 - ibid.

Smacking

Yes, it should be ...

Thug beats daughter with concrete block

I'm sure he thought he was applying reasonable force as he tried to split her skull with it:

Judge Geoff Rea said on February 22 this year Muliipu had become involved in an argument with his daughter who refused to attend church. He chased her down the street and back into the house picking up a lump of concrete along the way. He then whacked her over the head in a bedroom with the concrete causing skin on her head to split and start bleeding. They were both "covered in blood" and he kicked her in the face causing bruising. (1)

What an evil, savage, thick piece of human detritus. Hopefully, his reign of terror will be cut short before he turns his children into savage clones of himself, and condems his daughter to a lifetime of abusive relationships due to her shattered self esteem and acceptance of violence.

[Hat tip: Tumeke! (2)]

1 - "Man beat daughter over church refusal, court told," unattributed article from the Hawkes Bay Today, reproduced by the New Zealand Herald, 9th of July, 2009. (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10583411)
2 - "Pro-smacking lobby gets a new poster boy," posted on Tumeke! by Bomber, 10th of July, 2009. (http://tumeke.blogspot.com/2009/07/pro-smacking-lobby-gets-new-poster-boy.html)