Special Honours For Pharmacist Fool

I promised I'd have a real live person to induct into the Hall of Shame.

I've been scratching around for a suitable villain, but this is the best I could do at short notice. He's not exactly well known, or at least he wasn't until yesterday when this story adorned the inside page of the Herald.

White-haired Mt Albert pharmacist David Baird met his first living, breathing politician yesterday - and gave her an earful.

"Hi, I'm Melissa Lee, National candidate for Mt Albert," said the politician.

"Well you won't be getting my vote because I don't think we need any Asians in Parliament," the pharmacist shot back tartly.

Korean-born Ms Lee, a former journalist who has been in New Zealand for 21 years, asked brightly, "Why not?"

Mr Baird said he had his reasons. "They are very difficult people to deal with. They don't spend any money. I don't see that they bring any money into the country. Another problem is their English is very bad.

"You're all right," he told the candidate later. "You are almost 100 per cent. But, seriously, we find it difficult, particularly old people. We have Titus here to talk to them."

This particular article got the blogosphere especially heated, and it seemed to get the wingnuts and bigots actively typing on their keyboards. I won't link to any of the vileness, though you can probably guess where to find some of it.

I don't propose to debate at length the merits or demerits of what Mr Baird said, because what he said was clearly indefensible. However, Mr Baird's remarks don't bother me as much as they should. I'm not sure why that is, but it could be something to do with the everyday casual racism that appears everywhere in our society. Am I just so resigned to it all?

What really offends me (and I speak as a person who grew up a child of shopkeepers) is the crass stupidity of the man. A politician comes into your shop, followed by a journalist and a photographer. Wouldn't that be the perfect time to just STFU and smile? Sure, you're racist and can't stand Asians. So grin and bear it. You're a businessman. If you blurt out something stupid people may no longer come to your shop.

Now that's not to condone racism because, while the shopkeeper's son in me says this guy let the team down, I'm pleased the fool did have his brain explosion. Now at least we know to avoid his pharmacy.

Mr Baird is such a twit that he doesn't deserve a permanent place in my shame board. So I've decided to create a new category. He is our very first Fool of the Moment.