I'm nearly 40. I'm working on my grumpy old man persona. Bloody young people and their goshdarnit ways ...
I know it is New Zealand that has a drinking problem, not just New Zealand's youth. And I'm pretty sure that simply putting the age at which alcohol legally can be purchased back up to 20 isn't an easy fix to the youth drinking problems we do have.
But when confronted with this evidence, I begin to wonder ...
The scene: a somewhat boisterous St Patrick's Day party (what a ridiculous event, by the way) has resulted in 70-odd students clambering up on to and all over a veranda, which is beginning to buckle under the weight. Enter the police, who gently suggest matters are somewhat dangerous and perhaps the event should move elsewhere. All well and good, until you reach this reaction from a participant:
"A 19-year-old second-year commerce student told the Otago Daily Times he was on the veranda because "everyone was up there" and it "looked cool".
Asked about the safety concerns, he said: "If I got hurt, everyone would." He said he could see the structure was sagging, but was not worried." So - an argument for keeping alcohol out of the hands of 18 and 19 year olds, for greater "straight thinking" education in our schools, or for the mass preventative detention of commerce students? Discuss ...