Dear Editor,
From time to time we hear a lot of people complain about how our politicians conduct themselves in Parliament. Many times, we hear how their behaviour has brought us shame. Now, while it may be true that some of our parliamentarians may get a little bit out of control, they are not all that bad.
We need to understand that these politicians were sent to Parliament by us to represent us. Many of them will argue that they have very strong feelings about some of the issues that come up from time to time. As such, their seeming aggressiveness is actually their way of making sure that our interests are properly represented.
If we think our parliamentarians are bad we should look at what happens in other countries, some much more developed than us. In the Indian parliament recently, some members were actually pepper-sprayed by one member who thought that his shouting wasn't enough. In Jordan, a member actually fired his AK-47 in parliament!
Recently in Venezuela, a dispute in parliament developed into a fist and kicking fight, leaving several members injured. Parliamentary fighting is not uncommon in Taiwan, where injured members often end up in hospital. In one case, a female parliamentarian who swallowed a bill in an attempt from stop it becoming law almost had her hair pulled out by angry colleagues.
Korean parliamentarians routinely give each other kung fu lessons. The problems with Ukraine aren't just on its borders with Russia, Ukraine actually has earned the title of the country with one of the most fights in her parliament anywhere in the world — complete with rotten eggs and smoke bombs.
There have been parliamentary punching matches in Turkey, Georgia, Macedonia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Thailand, just to name a few. Did you know that some parliaments around the world actually have ambulances on standby to ferry the injured members to hospital after each session? So let's give our parliamentarians some credit. We know that when some of them open their mouths they make us laugh our heads off. Others make us wonder how they got there, and some defy all understanding altogether. But at least they don't get physical. This must count for something; shouldn't it?
Michael A Dingwall
michael_a_dingwall@hotmail.com
Our parliamentarians aren't the worst
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From time to time we hear a lot of people complain about how our politicians conduct themselves in Parliament. Many times, we hear how their behaviour has brought us shame. Now, while it may be true that some of our parliamentarians may get a little bit out of control, they are not all that bad.
We need to understand that these politicians were sent to Parliament by us to represent us. Many of them will argue that they have very strong feelings about some of the issues that come up from time to time. As such, their seeming aggressiveness is actually their way of making sure that our interests are properly represented.
If we think our parliamentarians are bad we should look at what happens in other countries, some much more developed than us. In the Indian parliament recently, some members were actually pepper-sprayed by one member who thought that his shouting wasn't enough. In Jordan, a member actually fired his AK-47 in parliament!
Recently in Venezuela, a dispute in parliament developed into a fist and kicking fight, leaving several members injured. Parliamentary fighting is not uncommon in Taiwan, where injured members often end up in hospital. In one case, a female parliamentarian who swallowed a bill in an attempt from stop it becoming law almost had her hair pulled out by angry colleagues.
Korean parliamentarians routinely give each other kung fu lessons. The problems with Ukraine aren't just on its borders with Russia, Ukraine actually has earned the title of the country with one of the most fights in her parliament anywhere in the world — complete with rotten eggs and smoke bombs.
There have been parliamentary punching matches in Turkey, Georgia, Macedonia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Thailand, just to name a few. Did you know that some parliaments around the world actually have ambulances on standby to ferry the injured members to hospital after each session? So let's give our parliamentarians some credit. We know that when some of them open their mouths they make us laugh our heads off. Others make us wonder how they got there, and some defy all understanding altogether. But at least they don't get physical. This must count for something; shouldn't it?
Michael A Dingwall
michael_a_dingwall@hotmail.com
Our parliamentarians aren't the worst
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