It was a sad day Maryan pulled the only bill in the Fortress that would’ve enacted an individual's rights, rather than the laws in the majority that destroy them; in this case the right to die in dignity, in warmth and in the company of family, not alone in a cold corrugated shed with a plastic bag over your head, reflexes fighting for a final breath.
I
almost didn’t put my previous satirical post up because, frankly, it
wasn’t very good. However, I’d just completed a big post on the burden of the
vicious snitch society championed by Green Leader, Russel Norman, when viewed in an appropriate literature; I’m busy and
behind with the day job; and I wanted to put a protest post up in the face of
my disappointment at Labour MP Maryan Street pulling her euthanasia bill from
the (ridiculous) parliamentary lottery called the ballot, stating she did not
want it debated in an election year. My post needed to take a dig at labour’s
paternalism, and the barbarity resulting from not being able, yet again, to get
a debate started on an issue that is so important to all of us, especially when
considered against the tsunami of pointless laws that floods out from the sand
pit of the Fortress of Legislation. Let it be understood my satire was at
Maryan’s expense, but at least she had brought this basic right to die in the
arms of one’s loved ones into the waiting room, albeit, withdrawn again: from
National there is only the conservative silence of cowardice, or worse, the cruelty resulting from their childish mystical belief in the God-Boy myth.
But
despite my post’s deficiencies, I’m pleased to say something useful did come
from it. Both Maryan and Iain took the hook and bit down on it. (And to that
extent, Iain, it did everything it had to, didn’t it :)
)
The
following twitter exchange (mainly) with Maryan brings up some interesting,
wholly depressing, points about the system of our democracy. I’ll put the
various parts of the exchange up, then where applicable highlight the questions
left open by it. But first, importantly, as I noted to Maryan and Iain, it was
satire. The first tag of the post included ‘Civilian Template’, thus I
obviously was not quoting either of the MPs. From the exchange, I probably
don’t have a lot of time for Iain: he went straight for the man, not the ball, plus
his private member bill, the first time he has hit my consciousness, indicates
merely another busy body wowser prepared to impinge on the rights of responsible
drinkers, in what will be a pointless exercise to stop a minority of
irresponsible drink drivers, given reducing the blood alcohol limit will do
nothing to stop those already driving over the existing limit. So that’s Iain, but those who’ve read this
blog will know that while much of Maryan’s statist beliefs are anathema to me,
for her euthanasia bill I have a lot of respect for her. I’m glad her last
tweet was still a smiley face.
So,
while the blogging world seems worried only about David Cunliffe’s timesheets, moving
back to what matters: policy, and please forgive the typos, it's Twitter.
@MarkHubbard33 @IainLG Does blogging mean nothing has to be true? No 'quotations' here are things Iain or I have ever said. #wideberthhere
— Maryan Street (@MaryanStreetMP) September 28, 2013
@MaryanStreetMP Apparently it's called satire. More honest than the lies that run our lives out of the Fortress of Legislation. @IainLG
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
@MaryanStreetMP Election year precisely the time for euthanasia debate. You're saying parties have 2 shelve their principles ... @IainLG
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
@MaryanStreetMP ... For electioneering. That's precisely the problem with social democracy. You should have left your bill in. ... @IainLG
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
@MaryanStreetMP so instead of getting a basic right, I get @IainLG trying to stop me have a couple of wines with a meal out. #Disgusted
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
Aside now to Iain’s
drink-drive private member bill:
@MarkHubbard33 @MaryanStreetMP Get @TheCivilianNZ to do a re-write. Then it might be worth reading.
— Iain Lees-Galloway (@IainLG) September 28, 2013
@IainLG Your bill will destroy rights of responsible drinkers, not affect irresponsible 1's. Reply? @MaryanStreetMP @TheCivilianNZ
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
@IainLG @MaryanStreetMP Nice to know I hit your consciences though. @TheCivilianNZ
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
@MarkHubbard33 @MaryanStreetMP A couple of wines with a meal out would be ok at 0.05.
— Iain Lees-Galloway (@IainLG) September 28, 2013
@IainLG Can you email me evidence of that? mhubbard@ihug.co.nz. I usually drink half a bottle of wine with a meal - under? @MaryanStreetMP
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
Iain
didn’t contact me again, nor did he email any evidence of his claim.
Does
anybody know if half a bottle of wine with a meal would put me over the 0.05
alcohol limit he wants via his new bill? (A 40% reduction from the current
limit of 0.08).
The Euthanasia Debate
Continued:
@MaryanStreetMP That friend I wrote of who decided to not take treatment for her cancer: hard luck it's election year ?? Wait 2015? @IainLG
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
@MarkHubbard33 @IainLG How do you think I feel about the guy who took his life last Sunday?
— Maryan Street (@MaryanStreetMP) September 28, 2013
@MaryanStreetMP Sorry for that. I imagine you'd feel miserable. And fired up to run the debate, now, not never never time. @IainLG
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
Here’s
the first interesting bit, Maryan referring to her End of Life Choice (EOLC)
bill:
@MarkHubbard33 @IainLG Public would be fine to discuss EOLC in Election year. MPs not so much. #myproblem
— Maryan Street (@MaryanStreetMP) September 28, 2013
@MaryanStreetMP Jesus, well what the hell is that saying about our system? Let me off this insane boat of state please. @IainLG
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
And
my reaction is still the same. A senior member of our Parliament will not have
a bill dear to her debated in election year because she cannot trust MPs to
work honourably, or think dispassionately and non-partisanly, given the exigencies of getting themselves elected.
Questions:
Can
a representative democratic system work with such apparent low quality
representatives? My sand pit admonition when writing on the Fortress seems well
placed.
If
MPs can only be expected to work conscientiously two years out of three,
shouldn’t their salaries be docked by a third? My tax money is not taken from
me for their private electioneering one year in three surely?
If
our MPs are so witless that principles and manners
are sacrificed to power lust every third election year, then is this an argument for a five year term? (With
the rejoinder that other than for this bill, I’m quite happy for MPs doing
nothing, rather than spewing out law after law after law restricting my
liberty, and taxing me for the privilege).
Or,
is this Martyr Maryan falling on her sword after being pushed by new Leader David
Cunliffe, as I implied in my original blog piece?
Anyway,
onward …
@MarkHubbard33 @IainLG Stop the world I want to get off? Haven't heard that for a long time.
— Maryan Street (@MaryanStreetMP) September 28, 2013
@MaryanStreetMP Not the world. Statism. Paternalism. Dying with dignity is a basic right that shouldn't be up for debate. Agree? @IainLG
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
@MarkHubbard33 @IainLG Has to be debated to become a right in law. Not illegal to commit suicide. Illegal to help someone. So guy dies alone
— Maryan Street (@MaryanStreetMP) September 28, 2013
Maryan’s
first sentence here is a valid point under our system, although I disagree with
it entirely. So long as there are doctors, and there are, willing to operate a
euthanasia service, then because the way I choose to die is nothing to do with
the state, this is no part of a state debate. For that matter, nor does the
Medical Association have a moral mandate to speak for all doctors on such a
matter of conscience.
@MaryanStreetMP Yes. Precisely the point of why we need your bill now. So people can die with their loved ones. His suicide alone a tragedy
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
@MaryanStreetMP & yet here we are, 2013, and we still are no closer to even debating such a common right (to die in arms of loved ones).
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
And
so to the David Cunliffe issue:
@MaryanStreetMP Lastly, my piece was satire (Civilian Template in tags). I like you. But your judgement pulling your bill was way off.
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
@MaryanStreetMP & I will continue to believe in your good judgement, thus you must have been pushed by your leader @DavidCunliffeMP
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
.
The
fact that David Cunliffe may have put pressure on bills such as this to be
withdrawn so as not to scare voters in 2014 was mentioned in my original piece:
Maryan never commented on that. In face of my last post above, Maryan did not
answer to that, either, or David Cunliffe. The final tweet was:
@MarkHubbard33 My meeting has started again. Signing out sorry ;)
— Maryan Street (@MaryanStreetMP) September 28, 2013
And
so my question remains unanswered:
@MaryanStreetMP :) Interesting u didn't rebut my last tweet: https://t.co/LMbZGboWnv
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
It
was a sad day Maryan pulled the only bill in the Fortress that would’ve enacted
an individual's rights, rather than the laws in the majority that destroy them;
in this case the right to die in dignity, in warmth and in the company of family, not alone in a cold corrugated shed with a
plastic bag over your head, reflexes fighting for a final breath.
Imagine yourself, or your loved other, in that damn
shed. Wonder why an election year should make any difference.
I’m
mad as hell at Maryan for doing it, but as the only MP with such a bill in the
offing, am at the same time glad she is there, if we must have this tyrannical
form of governance. Though if this was her Party Leader’s doing, then there’s
not enough letters in my scrabble set to say what I would wish to him and this
trading away of our very humanity for votes.
That other question.
Given
my earlier posts I had to get this one in:
@MaryanStreetMP And while I have your attention: why didn't a woman MP put their hat into the ring for leadership, after wanting quotas?
— Mark Hubbard (@MarkHubbard33) September 28, 2013
No
answer.