A Brisbane School student, Kyle Thomson, 16, has been suspended for 15 days after being blamed for throwing a vegemite sandwich as an otherwise friendly group of students mobbed the PM.
This has generally been dismissed as a harmless incident with radio announcers playing it up, and adults saying it was just kids being kids, but my issue is if this young man shows this level of disrespect to the Prime Minister of our Nation, how does he treat his teachers, his parents, the police and future bosses. There is a general lack of honour of authority in our nation which I think stems from our penal colony past, but at some point we all need to learn the value of honour. Whether you are a fan of Gillard or not it shouldn’t change the honour you hold for the Office of the Prime Minister of our Nation.
Democracy is great because we have the freedom to express our opinion. But democracy should not be an opportunity to act dishonourable toward the PM or anyone in authority.
We have to have ads running these days telling people not to abuse nurses – where does this lack of respect come from. Well thousands of children have been taught a very powerful lesson in the last 24 hours. If you don’t like the job performance of someone, you can throw a sandwich at them and you get 15 days off school as a reward, and 15 minutes of fame in the media. This spills over from politicians to police, to paramedics, to nurses and beyond.
Australia – its time to bring honour into our national culture.
What do you think Kyle Thomson’s punishment should be?
Peter
(If you are on Twitter connect with me @PeterPilt)
Categories: Current Affairs, Political Commentary or Thoughts
peterpilt 
I completely agree. It saddened me to see the mother saying “show me the evidence” with smirking child beside her. He needs to write a letter of apology to the PM and do some community service.
Hello Peter
I just asked both my boys 13 & 11 yo if they thought it would be ok to throw a sandwich at the Prime Minister of our country? Their answer was no, I then asked why? And their answer was because you have to respect them it is disrespectful!
I believe a suitable punishment would be to have Kyle and his parents attend a meeting with the Prime Minister to both apologise to her. While he is on suspension maybe he could serve his local council by picking up litter or removing graffiti from walls. Maybe he could have all his privileges/most prized possessions eg skate board/iPod/iPhone taken from him and given to another permanently and maybe he could be taught the history of this nation and the inheritance he can receive because of the honorable men and women who have served this nation proudly. Maybe he could go and spend his 15 days with the army corp teaching him discipline and respect and pride and honour. Maybe he could be told how valuable he is in the eyes of God and the community and that he has a lot to offer. Maybe he and so many other youth in our society could be accepted as all of our responsibility and we act and teach and empower them by reaching out to them in love not condemnation.
Bit of a ramble but that’s my thoughts
Di xxx
Well done Kyle! When the government treats the people with such utter disrespect, placing corporate profits above the well being of the people and the environment, it is totally appropriate that the people show no respect. Julia Gillard has lied repeatedly to the Australian people, where is the honour in that?
What about honor for the office of the PM? What about the ramifications of the lack of honor?
I’m a bit more concerned about the ramifications of a lack of integrity.
Our response should be to vote them out of office at the next election if they are doing an unsatisfactory job.
Stop the press, they got the wrong student! Kyle is now allowed to return to school as a 15year old student has now confessed to 7 News he was the one who threw the sandwich.
To the point, no one deserves a sandwich thrown at them, no matter who they are. It’s called respect for others full stop. Does not matter if its the Prime Minister, a grandmother, or fellow student.
People are being pressured primarily by governments and they are angry. They display and speak their anger in front of their children who accommodate that same spirit (demon if you will) Children do not appreciate the consequences of disorderly behaviour and so act unrestrainedly. People of God who really believe in Him, know that He will provide and protect irrespective of circumstances so they conduct themselves blamelessly. Christian parents need to be teach and example their faith in God. Those without God and without hope in the world will behave rebelliously.
Good thought Tim