Crimes against tourists rank among the dumbest, most cowardly acts, and collectively we should be embarrassed as hell over the attack on two tourists in Paihia.
Was it too much to ask that the societal dullards among us could restrain themselves, at least during the sporting festival we are currently inthe throes of, from attacking innocent travellers.
Of the two attacks, the worst resulted in a young American being left lying unconscious in the road. While police were attending to him, the second attack took place. Rocket scientists that they are, the two teenagers suspected of attacking the tourists were still walking about Paihia and were identified through a combination of good information and police work.
Why does our community take such a dim view of this type of thing? To bash anyone unconscious for the sake of a few dollars and the adrenalin hit that comes with it is disgusting. To attack a tourist is reprehensible.
These are people spending money in our community, indirectly putting food on the tables of locals.
They are also here to enjoy themselves, in some cases to fulfil a life-long ambition to visit Aotearoa - land of the long white cloud. If they have a bad experience, they will tell others, who may choose to vote with their feet, and not travel to Northland.
In the past, some have mooted that penalties for people who attack tourists should be greater. Specific penalties would pose all sorts of comparable, time-wasting analogies, but attacking tourists should at least be considered an aggravating feature, and generally is. We should also consider that having taken several steps forward with our tourism image through the manner in which we hosted Canada, Tonga and Japan during the Rugby World Cup, here we are taking a few steps backwards.
I say we because the act of a few individuals taints an entire region.
Attacking tourists is an act that aggressively bites the hand that feeds us, and the biter's backsides should be aggressively kicked.
It is time these attacks became as socially unacceptable as drink-driving and domestic violence, or they will keep happening and Northland will never reach its full tourism potential.
