IN THE movie Hot Fuzz, the protagonist, police sergeant Nicholas Angel, is convinced there is a complex scam involving dodgy land deals behind a series of mysterious and grisly deaths in the little Gloucestershire village of Sandford. The reality turns out to be far simpler: the village hierarchy prefers their village to be idyllic and perfect, in order to win the Village of the Year Award, and anything that tarnishes that perfection is ignored, or disposed of.
In big cities, even in the flashest suburbs, people have that sense of realism that comes with living among diverse cultures and even more diverse pay cheques - you are powerfully aware of inequalities. It is entirely logical and inevitable there will always be those who are less fortunate among a general mass of people, and in a city people accept that; there is less disdain for those who are struggling day to day.
Some people are in this position because they make dumb decisions. In fact, let's be realistic. There are people out there who are probably wasting oxygen right now. There are people who were bad 'uns at school and it was only a matter of time before they faced a judge. There are those who absolutely expect society to mother them, as they mother yet another newborn. Their minds simply will not work in any sensible, societally acceptable fashion.
Wairarapa is a village. It is a fortunate and enjoyable place to be if you have a decent bank account, good health and a full stomach. It is a beautiful part of New Zealand. Overseas millionaires buy property here. Our own millionaires live here.
With a generally rural culture, and the challenges that come with it, we value those who work hard. But I wonder if these traditional village values cause disdain and a lack of tolerance for the unfortunates among us. In the city, we acknowledge the presence of the underclass. There are social agencies for every social ill. In the village, in the business of getting on with it, the underclass feels contemptible. Is it because, in a rural community, there's no place for those who can't seem to embrace a rural concept of hard work and enterprise? Or do we prefer not to acknowledge that society's bad 'uns exist in every pocket of society, and not just in the big smoke?
