Mob rule called for in NZ

The Letter to the Editor, shown below, was published today in the dead tree edition of the NZ Herald. It relates to the current debate over the issues surrounding the Hillary Bequest. Adam has not included it under that heading. The reason being the content of the letter. Little did Adam think when he heard on the radio about the latest decrees in Fiji that he would be contemplating something not so far distant in NZ.

Letters to the Editor - NZ Herald - May 20

This letter is yet another example of how ready New Zealanders are to ignore the law and quite possibly the wishes of Sir Edmund Hillary, in order that the so called will of the people can be given effect too.

This is a call for mob rule . Note the statement about judges. There is a presumption here that judges should bow to the will of the people. The letter is also an ad hominem attack on Vanda Vitali. A favourite tactic in NZ Adam has come to realize.

The writer fails to understand that the court case is between the Hillary children and the executors of the Hillary Estate. Also the case is not about vindicating MS Vitali, but about seeking a declaration as to the respective rights of the parties. These parties do not include MS vitali, other than in her capacity as director of the museum. However, let us not let facts get in the way of a call to arms for the mob.

The writer has a presumption that the Museum must be wrong and the Hillary children must be right. Yet based on the limited information so far seen it is clear there are at least two arguments here and it is not necessarily the case that the Hillary children are in the right.

Yet we have seen letters and comment whipped up by the Herald, and to a lesser extent other media, against the Museum.

It is little wonder that we have gangs in NZ who disregard the law, when so many are willing to ignore the law in order to pander to their own prejudices and to demand that any facts be ignored and the law trampled upon.. Indeed, the fact that MS Vitali is not a New Zealander has frequently surfaced in the comments on this matter.

Consequently, Adam is driven to think that with views like those espoused in the letter we are not so far apart from Fiji after all. After all many who have commented in the media on the Hillary issue seem to have no regard for the rule of law or fact or rights.

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