2 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Judging on graft and careening while LOL
Civis is intrigued by ethical dilemmas, such as those faced by Logan Park High School and the "misappropriated" $365,000 (including GST and associated costs).
Sadly, such conundrums are almost always shadowed by loss and misfortune. Behind them likely lie stories of falls from grace, hurt and pain.
But they are informative, offering insights into a world that's neither black nor white. The pros and cons are difficult to balance.
Put simply, Logan Park's quandary is a case of pragmatism versus principle. By not going to the police and instead focusing on recovering all the money, the school plumped for pragmatism.
Who can blame the school's board and senior management? Recovering such a large amount of money serves the school's immediate education focus. It preserves those resources for future use. The matter doesn't drag on, distracting and disrupting school authorities in time and effort.
From a practical standpoint, the school's approach was efficient. Respected law professor Mark Henaghan said retrieving the money was the most important thing for the school. That priority would have been first on their mind before seeking justice.
Prof Henaghan said a trial could be time-consuming and unpredictable. Even the police might have been relieved to avoid the cost and complications in the absence of an official complaint.
Left out, however, are broader public interests. The failure to prosecute weakens deterrence, sending the wrong signals to others who might be similarly tempted. Because public funds are at stake, shouldn't there also be a transparent legal process?
What about punishment? Recovery trumped retribution.
Crucially, the guilty party has avoided public scrutiny. Other organisations could unknowingly employ the same person, potentially suffering the same fate.
Such circumstances have arisen in Dunedin business circles. Companies can avoid hassles, costs and reputational damage by discreetly parting ways with guilty parties.
Also, is there a moral imperative to report such crimes because they are inherently wrong? Are Logan Park and the police setting poor ethical precedents? Are they remaining true to what should be their ethos, their principles? You be the judge.
★★★
Here's another in the changing meaning of words sequence. Alan Edwards, of Dunedin, has noted the Otago Daily Times using "careen" or "careened" when referring to an out-of-control car. But he says his Chambers Dictionary (1998) limits the word to ships or boats, especially when placing them on their sides, usually for cleaning or painting.
Alan suspects the modern "misuse" stems from confusion with "career", which his dictionary defines as "to gallop; to rush wildly; to move or run rapidly", from the Latin carraria — a carriage-road.
A blog on says that "careen" once meant to turn (a ship) on its side for cleaning or repairs, as well as to lurch or sway, especially when in motion. But in modern usage, careen has come to mean to move fast, especially in an uncontrolled way, making it synonymous with career.
"Searching the web, we find much opposition to this change, and the supposed misuse of careen seems to peeve many people. But it's a lost cause. In current news and blog writing that is searchable online, we find zero instances of careen used in the old senses, versus hundreds of examples of the word used in the new way.
"So while each of us is free to preserve the old meanings in our own writing, most of the English-speaking world has moved on (with rare exceptions in nautical contexts)."
★★★
A teenager has warned Civis about the dangers of using emojis in ignorance. One of the "laughing so hard until you cry" emojis was mistakenly sent in an attempt to express empathy after misfortune.
It reminded Civis of someone back in the day who misinterpreted text-speak, using "LOL" to mean "lots of love" instead of "laughing out loud".
civis@
