Radical thinkers want to silence opposition

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Responding to today's column . .

Aimee, if we are talking about labels, I regard myself as a progressive conservative — which covers all the bases that I believe are important and worth fighting for.

I favour retaining the things that have stood the test of time, and represent the values and governing systems that have worked and are acceptable to the majority of citizens — irrespective of race, gender, political and religious persuasion or position on the social ladder.

Contrary to what you consider to be the new world order, where minority groups are encouraged to have a sense of entitlement beyond what is considered reasonable by most rational people, I have yet to see there is a majority mood for the change you refer to.

However, it is interesting to note that these more radical thinkers who challenge the established order actually qualify as some of the more intolerant folk on the planet.

They don’t want to debate the issues. They just want to silence the opposition to their own point of view. Their commitment is based on hollow words that are unrecognisable to those who suffer at the bottom of the heap.

Their internationally accepted form of protest has involved some of the worst exhibitions of lawlessness — even anarchy — that we have seen in modern times.

The riots that followed George Floyd’s death, under the “Black Lives Matter” banner, resulted in death and destruction that made the “Jan 6th 2021 insurrection” look like a garden party. Yet few have been held accountable for those crimes.

So, if that is the sort of society you want Aimee — where everyone is equal under the law, except those who refuse to obey it — then good luck to you in your quest for change.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the pendulum has already swung back towards a democratic society where every person has the right to expect equal opportunity under the law.

I can’t see many voting for the sort of alternative you are proposing. The public aren’t stupid and are entitled to expect more from our leaders than they have been getting in the past.

Clive Bibby