Thread: HDPA does indeed lie about firearms

[QUOTE=Tahr;518475]That's an interesting and rich back ground.
It's always interesting to know what sort of background informs people's views and opinions. I came from the other side of the table, but have become more liberal as I've got older.[/QUOTE
Thanks for your comments, Tahr. It's funny though we're from different sides of the table, and I find I've become LESS liberal as I've aged - not quite a redneck yet, but getting there, Unions have contributed hugely to societal improvements, but have become fairly gummy tigers, which in some ways is good and in others, not so great. I can remember as a child, sitting on my grandparents' table with adults sitting around talking over a beer, no doubt conspiring to overthrow some government. My grandfather did time in Mt Eden for printing and distributing "seditious literature". My grandmother was his typist. They, along with my parents were deeply involved in the '51 lockout of the Aucklnd Watersiders, along with Jock Barnes. Not sure whether it was before or after the lockout, but they had a big falling-out with Jock, I think over doctrine. Jim Knox and Bill Andersen were close family friends. Rob Muldoon detested my father and my grandfather, and nobody in the family feels diminished by that. They're all dead now, anyway, so it doesn't matter any more. I was born in Freeman's Bay, which was the heart of working class Auckland until the government tore it down to destroy the unity and cohesion that used to exist. Auckland has always been an "immigrant city" and the dispersion of the hard-core unionists combined with the ethnic diversity and differing needs and interests all combined to make it easier for the government to control a fairly free-thinking, liberal and stubborn populace that lost its leadership. And so the "social experiment" trundled on. I still have some memories of those days. Nobody was ever alone in trouble in those days. people helped each other, supported each other. And it was mainly the unions that made it happen. The support networking was incredible, compared to today. Now, you're lucky if you get to know your next-door neighbour. Then, all of us kids were in and out of each other's homes, and the parents always knew where everyone was.I remember the ice man delivering ice for the "icebox.No fridges, then The coal man lived a couple of doors down the street. Both big, strong, tough men. No pedophile would have survived. It's said it takes a village to raise a child. That was Freeman's Bay in those days'. I miss it.