Dame Susan Devoy: Why be outrageous and rude to be entertaining?

Well, it's been an interesting old week.
Generally, a topic sticks in my mind, but this week a whole lot of events have happened that confirm what I have thought for a long time: that the world is truly mad.
First Tiki Taane, a very respected performer, gets arrested on a charge of disorderly behaviour likely to cause violence.
There are always two sides to a story, but it does appear that when the police arrived at the nightclub he broke into a rap anthem with derogatory lyrics towards the police.
It doesn't take much imagination to think what the words of this song might be, but Keith Locke of the Green Party has come out and said, "The right of expression - including the right to offend - is guaranteed in the Bill of Rights."
So, in essence, you are perfectly entitled to say what you like to anyone regardless of how offensive it may be.
Hard to argue this with teenagers who look up to Taane as a bit of a legend.
So I just want to know, why do we need to be so outrageous and so plain rude to be entertaining?
It just doesn't seem necessary, and common sense would tell me that winding up the police at a downtown night spot in the early hours of the morning was a recipe for disaster.
Damien O'Connor expressed his views of the Labour Party list quite clearly this week. The "gaggle of gays and unionists" comment didn't go down so well, and quite rightly he was asked to apologise. You can tell he isn't really sorry for his words, but sorry that he seems to have put the party in the spotlight for the wrong reasons again.
Talking of disasters, it seems Mark Hotchin is making them a habit. He has made the headlines again, having been duped by a Ponzi scheme. The looney-tuned scheme promised 160 per cent interest - and I thought I was dumb thinking I had won the Spanish Lottery a few years back.
Even more disturbing is that name suppression meant none of the people investing in Hanover were made aware that the people in charge of their investments were just as gullible and stupid as the rest of us.
It does appear that if you can afford it, you can get lawyers to cover your you-know-what all the time. Judge Weir granted name suppression to protect Hotchin's "dignity and privacy".
And for those who can't afford to pay for their own legal advice, there's always legal aid and that is about to have a major overhaul.
Of course many lawyers will be up in arms about this, but a system that encourages more minor cases in the Family Court to be resolved without resorting to court action is good. I think the public will be delighted to see efficiency in the public service. If all government departments are expected to look at ways to reduce costs, then legal aid shouldn't be exempt.
Staying with legal issues - the other astounding news I heard this week was that if you are at home serving your sentence with a bracelet around your ankle you will no longer be eligible to serve on a jury.
How on earth was it ever possible in the first place that a convicted criminal could serve on a jury ?
Told you common sense has gone out the window.