Average NZers repulsed by nasty protests

Stuff reports:

A man has been charged with assault after allegedly pouring a “brown substance” over Brownlee.

The encounter happened shortly after the ceremony at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens finished about 1.30pm.

Security staff grabbed the man who poured the substance and pushed him away from Brownlee, before he disappeared into the crowd.

Police said a 41-year-old male left the scene but was found and arrested a short time later.

He was charged with assault and is due to appear in the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday.

Brownlee declined to comment when contacted by Stuff..

“It was just a guy who just walked up at the end of the memorial service and said, ‘this is for you’,” he told NewstalkZB earlier.

Brownlee said he tipped a 2-litre ice cream container full of “pretty mucky stuff over my head”.

He would not speculate what was in the container, but it “didn’t smell too good.”

Assaulting politicians is never to be condoned – whether throwing objects at them or pouting stuff on them.

I suspect those who do it have a belief that it will damage the politician, as all their comrades will cheer them on for their act of defiance.

What they don’t get, and probably will never get, is that the average person is simply repulsed by such behaviour and, if anything, increases public support for the target of their nastiness.

It also have a detrimental impact on the ability of us all to have easy access to MPs. As John Oliver joked, in the US the person throwing an object at Steven Joyce would probably be shot dead. I like that we don’t have that culture here. But one day we may have, if the hate brigade get their way.

Hence I hope the person responsible is given a sentence that will act as a deterrent.