Mike's Minute: The Govt can't rule on 'Run it Straight'

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

If the headline is right, and I hope it isn't, the Government are seeking advice on what to do about Run it Straight.

If the Government is seeking this advice, they have been sucked in.

Unless of course they are saying they are seeking advice so everyone shuts up for a bit, because the whole thing has got hopelessly out of control.

We need to break the ongoing grip too many New Zealanders have with Government, or the ongoing spell that too many are under, that Governments run our lives and it is only Government that can do stuff.

Ardie Savea, God bless him, got it spot on last week. He spoke for all of us in trying to balance a sensible observation about an activity, while balancing the reason for the angst for the tragedy that led to the heightened upset around it.

What happened was a tragedy. But accepting that, we seem unable to separate out tragedy from Government, or accident from rules, or mishap from common sense.

We fail to recognise the most obvious lack of connection – Run it Straight the competition, the organised sport, was not involved in a death.

The death happened at a 21st party. As the Prime Minister pointed out, no law is stopping a 21st.

We want desperately to stop stupidity. We would like to find a way to prevent young men, mainly, doing dumb stuff young men do.

But as Ardie quite rightly put it, the athletic side of the activity is part of contact sport. We have all in our own way, whether it be bullrush, or league, or union, or MMA, all done something like it.

Savea and his brother did what many, many, many, young men do in backyards: try to run each other over. Why is his brother called 'Bus', do you reckon?

The heat I took on this last week when I said similar things was interesting. There seem a group who feel if they spray, or get aggro with a person like me, that makes them feel better.

Maybe psychologically they can absolve themselves for feeling helpless.

Tragedy generally leaves us helpless.

But looking to a government is pointless and a government looking for advice is even more pointless.

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