Yesterday we witnessed the chaotic end to an incoherent protest and now it's time to pick up the pieces, like hungover teens cleaning up a house party that spiralled dramatically out of control. 

Let me reiterate that this protest was nothing new or unprecedented. People have been bringing tents to protests in public spaces and hanging around until they get irritating for years. Moutua Gardens in Wanganui was a classic.  

The Occupy protests were exceedingly painful. The Occupy camp in Aotea Square lasted 4 months before it had to be cleared. But none fell apart like this one. 

This one was different in that it was so wildly unorganised and unfocused. The anti-vax mandate core of it might have had a point if they'd raised it at the beginning of the mandates, but the rest of the mob were seen as rabble who were protesting about society itself. 

This protest was different in how quickly it went beyond being a peaceful protest towards being aggressive in its tone. Whether it was snarling at kids wearing masks or putting up nooses, the protestors were blatantly confrontational. Defenders of the protest will argue that it was interlopers who were causing the trouble but the trouble seemed to be tolerated inside the protests. 

It was also clear from the start there was to be no negotiation from the protestors. They didn't just want to show their displeasure with policies, they wanted them rolled back despite the fact that there was no way that could ever happen. They never seemed to realise how small a minority they are. 

So, once in place, there was nothing to do but to wait for the inevitable, futile and brutal end. And yet it was not brutal. The police simply swept the protestors off the ground. One or two scuffles involving the police were recorded but they paled into insignificance compared with the shocking videos of out-and-out street warfare by protestors. 

So, did they fail? 

Yes, they did. 

They achieved nothing but vandalism. 

Today, teachers will try to emulate the legal action that was successful for police and defence workers in dismissing the mandates. This is the way grown-ups get things done.  

What happened on parliament grounds looked like a school camp for zombies.