Should They Be Punished?

A group of Auckland Grammar School students are facing disciplinary action after photos of them bowing down in front of Nazi regalia appeared on Facebook.

The images showed the boys, in school uniform, kissing a swastika, making a Nazi salute, and kneeling in homage before a Nazi flag at an Auckland War Memorial Museum exhibition, Radio New Zealand reported.

The photos were posted on social networking website Facebook, but have now been taken down.

Returned and Services' Association national president Robin Klitscher said the boys' actions were disgusting.

"Above all it's profoundly ignorant and I think that is probably what causes the greatest offence," he said.

"Would these young folks have done the same thing in front of the holocaust exhibition, for example."

Auckland Grammar School principal John Morris said there was absolutely no justification for the immature and unthinking actions of the boys.

All the students involved had been interviewed after the school became aware of the photos on Friday, and their families would be informed today, he said.

Sauce

I've always held the opinion that the men who went away to fight, went for, among other things, Freedom. That includes the right for people to act as morons.

Held up to public ridicule? Yes.

Punished? No.

Blank

Diaz wrote:I think they should be educated on a few facts and on critical thinking for that matter, this is just sheer ignorance on their part.

Maybe a compulsary history lesson or three...

Blank

Diaz wrote:

Waireka wrote:

Diaz wrote:I think they should be educated on a few facts and on critical thinking for that matter, this is just sheer ignorance on their part.

Maybe a compulsary history lesson or three...

Problem was they were in a museum......

You'd think they would have grasped the significance of what they were learning there, but obviously not.

Kids will be kids, look at all the colours, ignore all the signs, walk in thinking they know it all therefore ignoring any new information.

They have been punished already by this 'non-news' being plastered all over the media.

canterella wrote:They have been punished already by this 'non-news' being plastered all over the media.

not yet they haven't - they remain anonymous!

I reckon make them front up to their own grandparents to explain their actions. Surely they have someone in their family who was a soldier??

public ridicule & education

Depends on the 'punishment', though probably not.

Perhaps whatever it is that they need is something that should be given to everybody (their age) so therefore it would not be a punishment, but education/whatever.

If I were their principal, I wouldn't name or shame them, but I'd address all the children via assembly talk and class discussions involving their peers.