673;
Top of the morning to you sir, I hope you're getting the nice sunny day we are down here.
This is a really nettlesome and complex issue in my experience and I do mean experience in this case.
When I was managing the storage business in Penticton, it was behind the Canadian Tire on the bypass, which is also beside the soccer pitch and adjacent to one of the more scruffy sections of town.
I could tell you stories that'd curl my hair 673 and as you know, that's all under my nose...
Then there's buddy up in Vernon who can't go to the Polson Park with the grand kids anymore because of the homeless folks.
I've worked with people who had children living on the street so I get that aspect of it too. That has to be heart wrenching as a parent.
That said, when they were breaking into the storage yard sometimes 3 times a week and then breaking into RV's or our work trailers and vehicles it got fairly old in short order too. So no, they're not "victimless crimes" when that happens. Somebody pays for it - well we all do.
Then there's the times like when my late mother had her hip replacement surgery postponed for more than 6 hours while they were, as the frustrated nurse told me "jumpstarting junkies". Again it's affecting our lives directly.
Lastly, I'm going to note that this is affecting mostly men and as I think we've chatted about, when one listens to people like Prof. Jordan Peterson and we understand the subtle and not so subtle attacks on masculinity and men in general which have been going on for the past few decades, that's no surpise.
As you know too, there's a bunch of FN men or at least in the valley there is and NOBODY is talking about that are they?
It's not simple and it won't be a simple fix, but de-criminalizing self destructive behavior isn't going to be part of the solution in my view. It will in all probability mean more men die of OD's.
Sorry I can't be more positive this morning 673, but that's where I am on this.
Thanks again for the great conversation yesterday, was grand to catch up again.
Dwayne
