Jail and kill your political opponents

No I am not talking over Africa or the Middle East, but some of the hysteria in New Zealand. Green MP Gareth Hughes facebooked:

Just spoke at another asset sale protest. Parliament today is voting on it. What do you think about it?

Note Gareth has done nothing wrong. Thee comments just happened on his page.

A Phil Stevens commented:

When you put it together with the latest document to leak from the TPPA proceedings, it spells high treason. Many nations have put ex-leaders to death over similar cases. I don’t know if we need to go quite that far when life imprisonment would suffice.

This comment rather than be denounced as insane hysteria, got liked by a number of people including the President of Greens on Campus at Auckland University. Mr Stevens is not a Green, but seems to be involved with a party of six people called the New Economics Party, which looks like a hard left eco party.

One of the concerns I have is this neo-fascist zealotry that anyone who disagrees with them is a traitor, and should be jailed or killed. Never mind that the policy was campaigned on for 11 months and a general election fought on it. Mr Stevens, with support from the Greens on Campus Auckland President, is saying that those who won the election and are implementing the policies they campaigned on should be jailed or worse.

If this is the rhetoric of these people when they lose the election, I worry about what they will call for if they win. They seem to have no capacity to accept that people who disagree with them have good motives. It is that sort of view, which leads to political violence.

Now let’s be very clear that this is by no means a majority view in the Greens. I have a lot of time for many of the Green MPs, and think most are very reasonable people. And the same goes for many of their activists. The Auckland Campaign Chair for the Greens introduced himself to me at Auckland Backbenches and it was good to engage with him. Most people involved in politics I have respect for – they are standing up for what they believe in.

But there is a segment of the hard left/hard green movement who have no tolerance for dissent, for diversity, for respect for the rule of law. It may just be a comment on Facebook – but it is rhetoric that is dangerous.  Such comments should not be liked. The person who says them should be told to stop being a fuckwit.