Is society screwed or just certain communities? Readers respond
Last week, I commented on how society is in trouble. I think my actual term was “screwed.” It was a strong opinion in response to two thuggish events recently witnessed. Both involved young people blatantly stealing from stores.
Apparently, I wasn’t alone in observing this kind of behaviour because many readers reached out to me to share their stories of seeing similar antics and, worse yet, being victims of crime themselves.
Nick wrote, “I totally agree with you. I was out walking my dog and someone ran up and grabbed my phone and stole it. I couldn’t believe something like that would happen in a rural area. Then, I was in Winnipeg and my car got broken into in the middle of the day. I was downtown for an appointment and my window was smashed. All those people around but someone could still get away with it.”
Nick suggests it boils down to parenting, something I eluded to in the previous column.
“Maybe if parents gave a crap and focused on their kids instead of their social life on their phone, we wouldn’t see so much disregard for other people’s property,” said Nick.
What’s worse is that people are comparing safety in Canada to that of our neighbours to the south.
“I used to think the States was dangerous because of their whole gun thing,” wrote Diane. “I actually felt safer in Phoenix last month despite knowing most people were carrying guns. Not sure I think Canada would be safer if we all had guns but I didn’t feel as threatened as I do in a place like Winnipeg.”
Isn’t that interesting? Normally Canadians would feel uncomfortable being in a place with so many guns but here’s someone making the comparison that potential gun violence wasn’t as dangerous as a random day in Winnipeg. It wasn’t that long ago that us Canucks used to say, “Wow, the U.S. is such a crazy place.” Are the tables turning? If so, that says a lot, doesn’t it?
Perhaps the bigger question is if society in certain areas is worse off than the general public? Is this a regional problem where certain neighbourhoods or communities have a problem?
I’m wondering if I need to rethink my blanket statement about society as a whole or certain areas being a hole. To Nick’s point, is it a generational thing with parents being more consumed with their own life rather than their kids’? I can’t quite put my finger on it.
