Matt Heath: Look out for the old folk, people

The old are members of our society too, they are our neighbours, our parents, our teachers. Photo / AP

COMMENT

Like most New Zealanders I have a lot of opinions. More than I have weekly columns. I only have one of these. So here's two bonus opinions for the week. Three for the price of one. Quantity over quality.

ONE

"Only old people die from the virus so who cares?" You may have heard this common sentiment around the coronavirus. It is true that older people are at a much greater risk. According to the WHO the probability of dying if infected by the virus sits at 14 per cent for over 80s whilst at the time of writing no one under 9 has died from it.

But surely anyone dying is a bad thing. As Nicholas Christakis, director of the Human Nature Laboratory at Yale University said last week: "The old are members of our society too, they are our neighbours, our parents, our teachers. I hate the idea if it only afflicts old people who cares? This is ridiculous. These are human beings."

In good times and bad we should look out for our elders. Protect them as we would anyone in our society. If you are still young. Good for you. But you will be old one day. Hopefully people won't write you off when you get there.

There's comfort for parents in the fact coronavirus doesn't hit kids as hard. I have two children and their safety is the most important thing in the world to me. But what about my dad?

I love that guy too. He's my mid-70s hero. Sure he's as healthy as an ox. Dangerously good-looking too.

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But he is older and therefore more vulnerable. If there is anything we can do to stop my Daddy or your Mummy or grand daddy getting sick lets do it. Maybe virus time is a good time to kick the fashionable Chlöe Swarbrick-style boomerphobia to the curb.

It was fun in the good times. But as the Covid-19 rubber hits the road how about we look after our elders. Talk them up rather than down. Visiting may or may not be the right thing at the moment. We may need to stick together whilst remaining isolated from them.

TWO

Speaking of getting together, Eden Park wants to put on 6 concerts a year. They are currently allowed none. Submissions on the issue are being welcomed by the council. Surely this is a no-brainer.

The vast vast majority of people who live near the park want these concerts to go a head. An even higher percentage of the rest of the city agree. Excellent infrastructure was put in place for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

People can get in and out of the park easily. It wasn't cheap so we should really be using it. Eden Park is the only major stadium in the country currently not allowed to put on concerts.

The park has been there for 120 years. No one moved nearby without knowing it was there. Concerts would be great for park finances and the local economy. How good it would be heading into Kingsland pre- and post the event.

Mr Spock once said: "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one."'. We live in a democracy. Aucklanders should be allowed to use their national stadium. So have your say on wether there should be concert at Eden Park. You'll find a link at edenpark.co.nz. The council is taking submissions up until April 3.

THREE

Speaking of musical events, The Book of Mormon is in town. I saw it at the Civic last week. "This is the best thing I have ever seen" kept rolling through my head.

Two songs in and my face was sore from smiling. The pre-intermission climax Man Up had me welling up with tears of pure enjoyment. Not only are the songs great, but so is the story arc, the performances and the gags.

Sure it's hugely offensive in parts. But that doesn't seem to worry anyone. Young and old leave happy. Mainly because it's so heart felt. The characters are so likeable. So smiley. As Elder Price sings in Two by Two "We're fighting for a cause but we're really really nice. We are the army of the Church of Jesus Christ… Of Latter-day Saints."

Three opinions for the price of one. With corona in town let's look out for our precious elderly, if you want more concerts in town look out for Eden Park and if you want a a good time take a look at The Book of Mormon. While you still can.