Laws vs the schoolkids

Last time I wrote about Michael Laws, he was using his capacity as a radio talkback host to insult fire fighters. Now it seems he's been using his status as Mayor of Wanganui to engage in verbal attacks on school children.

NZPA reports that a group of year 7 and 8 students at a kura kaupapa unit in Otaki wrote letters in Maori to Mr Laws last month to weigh in on the Wanganui/Whanganui debate. In the letters, they said they were annoyed Mr Laws was against changing the name.

And did they ever get a response. For starters, he told them that "there are so many deficiencies of both fact and logic in your letters that I barely know where to start".

Well, they are intermediate school children, so we're not expecting them to be rocket scientists. I've seen translations of the letters, which appear to me to be pretty normal examples of intermediate school writing. Mostly they're pretty opinion-based, but a few of them point out what I would call facts - like how "Whanga" has a direct Maori translation, but "wanga" does not.

Next, Laws went on to tell them that "when your class starts addressing the real issues affecting Maoridom particularly the appalling rate of child abuse and child murder within Maori society, then I will take the rest of your views seriously".

Is he honestly suggesting that the seven students who wrote to him are somehow responsible for murder and child abuse, and for rectifying those issues? And if he thinks the spelling of Wanganui/Whanganui is not a 'real issue', then why does he have such a bee in his bonnet about it?

Laws then added: "Perhaps sacking your teacher for allowing such misapprehension to flourish?" Oh good - that's what we want to see coming from figures of authority, veiled threats and the inference that a teacher deserves to be sacked for getting kids involved in local issues.

And as a finishing touch, in handwriting at the bottom of his letter, Mr Laws wrote: "PS Controlling your anger might be a start!"

This really is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Do Mr Laws' responses sound like those of a calm, rational man? I think not. I'd go so far as to say he is the angriest man on New Zealand's local politics scene.

Before I saw the letters, I was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt - I thought maybe the content of the letters really was as abusive and "demanding" as he had been making out.

Most of the students stated that they were "very angry" with either Laws himself or the council as a whole. Some "strongly advise" him to consider changing the name, and one states that "you need to uphold the Treaty". That's about as "demanding" as they get.  Absolutely nothing that would raise the blood pressure of the average bureaucrat.

But even if they had contained abusive language of any kind, his correct response would have been to contact the teacher or the school directly to voice his concerns, not engage in personal attacks on a bunch of 11 and 12 year olds.

This is the mayor of a small city we're talking about. By writing what he wrote to those children he has lowered himself and displayed behaviour that is entirely inappropriate for someone in his position.

Later Laws was unrepentant, saying his reply to the 11 and 12-year-olds "was facetious, but had a serious intent of questioning the emotions contained in the letters".

Well, I hope he feels like a real big man, sending "facetious" emails to intermediate students. They wouldn't have known he was being sarcastic, they would only have known that they made the effort to contact him with their opinions and he basically told them to shut up or he'd fire their teacher.

I reckon the students involved should put his response on TradeMe, to be auctioned off for a local charity of their choice. At least that way Laws' poisonous words will do some good.

And now Laws has invited the students and their teachers to an afternoon tea, saying, "I am sure that after a good chat any misunderstanding will be removed from this discussion." If it were me who'd received Laws' angry response, I'd be extremely hesitant to front up to his office for tea and crumpets.

But I hope they do go, so they can look him in the eye and dare him to tell them again that their views don't matter or that they're not allowed to be angry on a subject that affects them - apparently only the mayor is afforded that privilege.

Children should be applauded for being interested in discussions like the Wanganui/Whanganui saga. After all, the public's submissions were sought on the issue, were they not? We're always complaining that today's kids are dumbed down and don't get taught anything of real use, that their teachers are tied to the curriculum and never think out of the box.

Well here's a group of kids who were passionate enough to write to the authorities with their opinion on a big and complex subject - and not only does he completely refuse to acknowledge their view, but he tries to blame them for other social issues, threatens their teacher and accuses them of having an anger problem.

Gang insignia may have been banned from Wanganui, but it's obvious there's still a bully in town.