Posts by Chris Waugh
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Hard News: Not good enough, Eden Park, in reply to Sacha,
it’s a tool and it has its uses
they all do
I dunno, I've come across some pretty bloody useless tools in my time. But yeah, I guess I should've said "legitimate uses". I'm not overly comfortable with the cameras in my classrooms, but I quite like the network of cameras monitoring conditions on Beijing's roads - especially because the Traffic Management Bureau turns that monitoring into actually useful information it puts on its own website, Weibo, and a network of electronic signs around the road network. I see no reason why Eden Park and other similar venues shouldn't be using CCTV to monitor crowd behaviour and direct security to areas where problems may be occurring.
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Hard News: Not good enough, Eden Park, in reply to Martin Lindberg,
Do we really need more CCTV?
I don't know about more, but it's a tool and it has its uses.
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Hard News: Not good enough, Eden Park, in reply to Tom Semmens,
Russell wrote that, not me, but yes, I agree with him. And here's where I can't understand your logic: I fail to see how beach balls or paper planes or pushchairs represent a threat to anyone's safety. Mexican waves, possibly - I took part in every Mexican wave when I went to watch a game at Carisbrook because I knew what would be coming down after it passed and wanted to protect my head. Verbal and physical harassment of another spectator whether it's homophobic, racist, sexist, or just plain random is a safety issue. If they can deem beach balls, paper planes, waves and pushchairs unacceptable, how can they allow people to be harassed? I may be setting an arbitrary standard here - but then again, both Jesus and Confucius taught "do unto others as you would have them do unto you", so I'm not alone here - but it's not a very subjective or unnecessarily low standard. I'm with Danielle, I just can't understand why anybody thinks people should have to tolerate verbal or physical abuse because Big Brother.
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Hard News: Not good enough, Eden Park, in reply to Angus Robertson,
What are you going to do?
Precisely what they do for other kinds of misbehaviour. Use technology like CCTV and have security staff patrolling and removing people whose behaviour crosses the line.
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Hard News: Not good enough, Eden Park, in reply to Tom Semmens,
I don’t think hate speech should be banned, one groups hate speech is unfortunately another communities commonly expressed opinions.
I agree, but context matters, and speech should be modified according to context. That is one part personal responsibility - if you're in a large, diverse crowd like I assume one would find at a test match at Eden Park, it's probably a good idea to keep the hate speech quiet. If you're in the privacy of your own home or at a Destiny Church or National Front meeting, go ahead. It is also one part management of Eden Park setting and enforcing minimum standards of behaviour, and that standard should include making Eden Park a welcoming venue for all people - see, for example, what Craig has been saying about European Football and racism.
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Hard News: Not good enough, Eden Park, in reply to Tom Semmens,
What Bart said. After all, it's not like it was a couple of random strangers she passed in the street. And it wasn't just an isolated comment or slip of the tongue. And you're still missing the bullying and physical harassment she was subjected to when she exercised her right to object to their behaviour - that is not freedom of speech. And no, it's not about going all Beijing style and swamping the stadium with uniformed and plainclothes police, including phalanxes of doghandlers and both civilian police and People's Armed Police - if you want heavy security, try a Beijing Guoan match at Workers' Stadium. It's simply a matter of enforcing a minimum standard of behaviour, which, as Russell, Craig and probably others have pointed out, Eden Park already does.
And sorry, but I can't see how "over-priced beer in flimsy plastic cups" is the flip side of relaxed security/a free society.
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Hard News: Not good enough, Eden Park, in reply to Tom Semmens,
You still seem to be missing the bit where they turned around and bullied the person who objected to their offensive language.
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Hard News: Not good enough, Eden Park, in reply to Tom Semmens,
So a "couple of dudes" have a right to be obnoxious pricks and then bully a young woman when she objects to their behaviour, but that young woman somehow doesn't have a right to object to their obnoxiousness? How does that work?
Or how's about a certain sector of society stops squealing about their rights and shouting "PC gone mad" like petulant 4 year olds and starts accepting the responsibilities that come with freedom and adulthood, like, for example, the responsibility to treat others with basic respect and common courtesy?
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Hard News: Not good enough, Eden Park, in reply to Scott Chris,
Any crowd is going to have an arsehole or two, at the least, and even the most thick-skinned of us can be offended, so what are we supposed to do? Lock ourselves up at home and never go out? Or demand a minimum standard of behaviour in public (including online)?
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More good news.... convoys of wind turbine blades awaiting delivery, Badaling Economic Development Area, last month. They ain't perfect, but they do represent less coal burnt. I was surprised how vast this complex was and just how many turbine blades there were ready to go, and more in various stages of getting ready.
