When hunting wildlife, you must wait for a certain season to open up.
However, when you want to hunt human feelings, you simply turn to social media; it’s open season.
I want to start with something I saw numerous times this week. References to unhoused individuals as “those people” were on the tame end.
I don’t know what it is about individuals who enjoy picking on people who can’t defend themselves. Does it make you feel bigger? Does it give you a false sense of entitlement? I’ll never understand what drives individuals to bully and belittle others.
Before you give me, “Look what they do to the city, they steal, they do drugs … blah … blah … blah …” it’s a bunch of malarky.
As a former member of the unhoused community, I can tell you, most of them do none of the above. Also, not all the crimes you see committed are caused by unhoused. Lastly, being unhoused is not illegal.
As I addressed someone online this week, loitering, theft under $5,000 and other summary crimes have a large berth for the Crown Attorney and officers to judge if and when they are laid.
Laughingly enough, most of the individuals commenting on crimes committed by others, commit crimes themselves daily.
Speeding, failing to stop and cyberbullying (sec. 264 criminal code, look it up) to name a few.
What makes one petty crime worse for society than another? When are some laws okay to break, but others not?
Very few individuals choose to be unhoused, and even fewer choose addiction. No one wants to suffer mental health issues that mainly go untreated by our health care system.
Enough about the unhoused, for now
As we head back into school season, some kids are dreading day one. Summer may have given them a small break from the constant bullying, teasing, and name-calling that awaits them on Tuesday.
As a kid, you can imagine what I was called when they took one letter out of my last name, but at least I got a break from it.
Back then, you could come home from school, be surrounded by family and not worry about what others said about you. Today, it’s 24-7 non-stop abuse, in person and virtually, the latter is generally worse.
We don’t have to look far to see who to blame for the mess. It’s not the school boards, it’s not the students, it’s their role models.
If, as a society of supposedly adults, we condone online bullying among ourselves, isn’t it hypocritical to tell younger generations to stop?So, instead of getting up on your high horse and calling other’s names to make yourself feel better, take a deep breath.
Look inside and address why you feel the need to belittle others, fix yourself first.
Leave everyone else alone, for once. The world would be a much nicer place for it.
Read More: Opinion: Back to J-school memories
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