Posts by Craig Ranapia
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Hard News: The Wall and the Paper, in reply to Russell Brown,
Also, the Mayor said that “Council contractors mistakenly painted over this mural after a request by an Auckland Council anti-graffiti volunteer”.
Which is hardly a great boost to my confidence. Before Christopher swoops in and accuses me of taking a "cheap shot" at Len Brown, "whoops" isn't really good enough when it come to what I don't think it's hyperbole to call local government vandalism of private property without good cause. Or, it seems, any damn accountability.
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Hard News: The Wall and the Paper, in reply to Russell Brown,
It’s more that the Star Times will print this tosh with a straight face.
And if David Kemeys is going to keep saying he doesn't bear any editorial responsibility for the content of any part of his newspaper, then it’s time for someone at head office in Sydney to ask what the hell they’re paying this numpty to do all day.
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Hard News: The Wall and the Paper, in reply to Jacqui Dunn,
while there is such a focus on Mr Laws, he is getting that very thing that any tantrum and insult thrower wants more than anything else – attention .
Sure - but the thing about Laws is that he also calculatingly targets people he thinks can't or won't fight back -- solo mothers, beneficiaries, rape victims, "black slugs", we all know the roll call. It's trolling, pure and simple. And while "don't feed the troll" is a very sound principle, there are times where trolls and their enablers need to be told loud, clear and repeatedly that their dog won't hunt. You don't effect culture change quickly or painlessly, but it's worth playing the long game.
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Hard News: The Wall and the Paper, in reply to Kyle Matthews,
I think the point is, you have to be a purchaser of the good or service to have actual power via boycott.
And that's not totally unreasonable, as far as it goes. But, IIRC, Toyota pulled their advertising from Holmes in the wake of cheeky darky-gate. Perhaps I need to know a better class of motorist, but I don't know anyone who turns over their car every year; but at any given moment there are a lot of people who are mulling over a new car as their next big ticket purchase and Toyota is part of a crowded, and extremely competitive, marketplace. Alienating potential customers in the face of a considerable backlash doesn't strike me as bringing the smart.
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Hard News: The Wall and the Paper, in reply to Che Tibby,
Kearney’s is pretty reasonable about it. preci: don’t necessarily like what he’s says, but defend his right to do so [in my paper].
Actually, Kearney is full of shit. He knows full well that there’s plenty neither he nor Fairfax will defend, let alone allow to go to press. (I think Laws has used up all his strikes pretending name suppression orders don't apply to him, for example.) There’s a fine tradition of high grade trollism among newspaper columnists, but it would be nice if someone was honest about it: "Laws shits on black people, beneficiaries, rape victims and other people who don't figure in our demographic -- and more importantly, don't have the means to drag my arse through the courts. Fuck 'em."
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Hard News: The Wall and the Paper, in reply to giovanni tiso,
I don’t like boycotts. Democracy for people with the biggest wallets doesn’t impress me much.
Gio: M'kay... I'm pretty sure that those black people living in Montgomery, Alabama in 1956 who boycotted their city's public transit system (and incidentally financially crippled it -- who'd have thunk all those po' blacks who wouldn't sit at the back of the bus also make up the majority of its paying custom) would have a grim smile or two for that characterisation. And, yes, I make precisely no apologies for declining to patronise companies that engage in racist, homophobic or sexist practices, explaining why to anyone who cares to listen, and encouraging others to do the same.
You may call it pocketbook pseudo-democracy. I prefer "the free market at work".
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Hard News: The Wall and the Paper, in reply to Russell Brown,
In general, the issue of council officers’ power vs. that of elected representatives is worth discussing in the Super City.
It's worth discussing everywhere; because I truthfully have a lot of sympathy with officials who have to try and apply policies that have a high degree of, shall we be polite and say, politically useful strategic ambiguity. "Tagging is evil" is never going to lose anyone votes on the campaign trail, but making it work is another kete of kai moana entirely.
It's also politically useful that those despised bureaucrats can't (and shouldn't) respond to with the international sign for "dude, I've seen sceptic tanks less full of crap than you." (If you'd like to make one at home: Take one clenched fist, then fully extend your middle finger. Repeat until you feel better.)
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Hard News: About Arie, in reply to Hilary Stace,
Why is he so angry and frightened?
Hilary: Honestly, I’ve wondered that for a very long time. I’ve seen fairly close up what a vindictive little skid-mark he can be – all directed at people he thinks can’t, or won’t, fight back.
Someone commented that he’d already decided not to lay an official complaint and presuming that was a free and informed decision on his part, I hope everyone would respect that.
Kyle: Yes I can. But as a citizen and a tax-payer, this just isn't good enough. I know O'Connor and his ilk loves to dismiss every critic of the Police as crim-coddling "cop-haters". Bovine excrement to that. I respect the Police officers of my acquaintance enough to know they're better than this, they see the worse every damn day and do so with honour and integrity. They sure as hell deserve real leadership.
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Hard News: The Wall and the Paper, in reply to 3410,
I’d appreciate hearing from the mayor or councilors as to whether or not this is official policy.
Oh, I’ll be cynical enough to guess Len will be cheerfully playing “blame the officials” with the best of them. But may I suggest it’s an easy way to score some positive ink from people who are keenly aware that the next election will not be a referendum on John Banks.
If Auckland Council’s graffiti prevention adviser Rob Shields is really going ’round applying some sort of political acceptability test to Art on private property, well, that’s just not acceptable, I’m afraid.
I’m honestly not trolling for a fight here, but isn’t “heritage” all about political acceptability applied to private property? Seriously interested in where people draw the line.
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Hard News: The Wall and the Paper, in reply to Stephen Judd,
Fran O’Sullivan we’ve all bagged at one time or another, but she’s not unreasonable per se, just starting from a very different set of political axioms.
And her actual reporting is pretty damn solid – she has good contacts and knows how to use them.
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