7 May 2010 (graphic language warning!)
It's a rare day I call an ex-grunt or a Yank a hero, but today, I get to do both as I salute the life and lament the death of a Kiwi hero who died on the job.
Among the filthy jobs in the world, someone has to clean up the shit, someone else has to pick up the rubbish, and worst of all, someone has to guard the filth which inhabits our prison system.
For many years, this thankless job has been a stop for the desperate work-seeker, with the Corrections Department grateful to anyone willing to take on the dirtiest and most dangerous job in the country.
Last year, a young Yank immigrant, Jason Palmer, was accepted into the Corrections team seeking a long term career in being a prison guard. He was exactly the kind of immigrant New Zealand needs - young, keen, ambitious and smart. At the age of 33, he was married with two small children, yet felt this was a job he could do well and succeed in.
Alas, he was wrong, having yesterday been felled and killed by a single punch from an inmate - an inmate who is allegedly a member of the revolting pieces of shit who call themselves "Killer Beez".
This is the same gang which the band Smashproof's Little Sid is connected with. I cannot help but wonder whether the band will record a song to lament the tragedy of Jason Palmer's death in the same way they did with the death of the tagger killed in Manurewa by Bruce Emery. I'm pretty sure they won't, though.
In the meantime, don't let his family recall NZ only as the pace that killed their father & husband.
A nationwide charity is being set up this morning for Kiwis to donate money to his family.
We can at least show them and the world that most Kiwis are still generous and caring people - people who want to ensure that Jason Palmer's family never go short because their Jason isn't there any more.
Let's get those kids the best education and lifestyle money can buy.
It won't bring Jason back, but it will make sure they at least live in financial comfort.
Graphic addendum follows:
Alongside the tribute to the heroic Jason Palmer, I must pour invective on certain people in this saga.
Possibly the worst thing in all of the horror which makes up this story is the media comment by Howard League for Penal Reform spokeswoman Kathy Dunstall. Typically, she blames society and overcrowded prisons for the murder.
I have a message for Kathy Dunstall:
Kathy, you are a cunt. I find no other word capable of describing the utter contempt I have for you, your apologetics on behalf of violent scum and your gutless blaming society for actions of an allegedly thinking human being who chose to go to jail, then chose to assault and kill a man doing his fucking job.
Aside from the fact that people choose a life of crime before being sent to jail, your comments in this case are not just stupid, but absurdly wrong.
Springhill Prison is brand new, with single cells which contain an ensuite toilet and shower.
Kathy Dunstall, I don't know who the fuck you are and I have no idea what your background is, but I can tell from your revolting comments that you're an ignorant, apologist slapper of the lowest order.
Copyright © Alan Charman