Moral Panics

Fear of perverts in aircraft

 

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Perverts in Aircraft


News Reports 1 : Nov 29-30 2005




Varsity.co.nz
November 29 2005

The Death of Commonsense

It’s official – all men are paedophiles. All men are rapists. If you know a man, go call the Police right now because they are BOUND to go and kiddy fiddle the second they are free. And if you are a man reading this, you should go down to the local cop shop and turn yourself in. It’s for your own good really.

I am of course talking about the latest pimple of the face of what we call Political Correctness – the Auckland man asked to move on a Qantas flight because he was sitting next to a young boy travelling alone and it is the airline's policy that only women were allowed to sit next to unaccompanied children. Obviously they think men are perverts and will fiddle at first opportunity. At least that’s not what they say directly but to have an empty seat next to an unaccompanied kid, or a female passenger – anyone but a man, indicates what Qantas and also Air New Zealand think about the mental purity of male New Zealanders.

National’s PC eradicator Dr Wayne Mapp has called this “political correctness that had got out of hand”. He goes on to quote (courtesy of stuff.co.nz, "I think this is a gross over-reaction by the airlines. What do they think men are going to do that women won't? It is the same as saying men shouldn't sit beside children on a bus."

Maybe men shouldn’t be on a bus with children if it is that dangerous. In fact, here are some changes I think we should make to society in order to better protect children from men:

Photo ID and over 18 for buying apples: photo ID needed, as any man who buys apples is surely going to put razor blades in them and sell them to children;

Men’s only buses and planes: Here the men can travel without posing problems to any young children who of course aren’t around. How they will all travel for a period of time without giving in to their fix of molesting a child will be intolerable cruelty for them surely, hence discouraging the use of public transport and increasing greenhouse emissions from private cars.

Male teachers, policemen, firemen, nurses, doctors and all other public servants and other types who interact with children must have female supervisors in order to monitor behaviour. Or else if that fails, segregate the entire culture into male, female and child. Movies theatres must be divided into three sections, with the men section surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards.

I’m sure I can suggest more, and you’re probably thinking I’m being obtuse. But am I really? What ever happened to the notion that most people are abused by people they know? Sure, the airlines do have a responsibility as the temporary guardians, as mentioned in the article, to protect children’s safety. But in this country, and most around the world, a person is innocent of a crime until proven guilty of it. But tell that to any Arabic looking person who’s had to fly anywhere in the past 4 years.

Although I generally disagree with him, I find myself ironically in agreement with Green Party MP Keith Locke. Mr Locke said "I will be writing to the Human Rights Commission asking them to intervene to bring the two airlines to their senses. The airline needed to recognise that men are people too”. He also adds that, "it is prejudicial to presume that men can't be trusted to have contact with children unless they are related to them or are specially trained”. He’s right – men are the new Arabs. Something goes wrong you see a man. The Patriarchy. Men are the root of all social evil in New Zealand. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.

I spent this year at uni taking the bus into Auckland city. Since I finished each day at 5, by the time I got on the bus there were plenty of school children on the same route. I managed not to touch any of them by they must have been extremely fearful of all the men who happened to be traveling. Had I been on THAT flight and asked to move I would have caused the biggest scene short of being arrested under anti-terror laws. Or maybe I would get arrested and make it a bigger deal than it already is now.

This article has to end now. I have to go and start nailing boards on my windows. Not to protect myself from the angry mob who only want to protect their kids from me, but to stop myself from doing anything I can’t control.