OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to an article titled 'Council OKs tent ban, funding for 'stab-proof vests' for staff' published June 19.
In regards to the article concerning stab-proof vests for municipal bylaw officers, I feel compelled to illuminate some points.
Firstly, I agree safety should always be deemed a practical consideration when addressing volatile situations that concern the entire community. That's a given.
Yet I worry that such a publicly proclaimed proposal runs the risk of demonizing and stigmatizing homeless residents in the public eye as a menacing brood of violent criminals when, in truth and from considerable personal experience, the majority of bush residents pose little to no threat to such officials. I cannot recall one instance when a bylaw officer was harmed since the first local tents sprang up in 2012.
This past year has seen an outpouring of noble public support locally and nationwide toward displaced populations and I urge readers to honestly weigh the realism in such a notion and to remember, once again, these are, in fact, fellow human beings whom are the results of prejudiced intolerance to begin with.
Do you really suppose a chronically fatigued, malnourished, traumatized street population is going to worsen their predicament by attacking a bylaw officer? Ask yourself.
The OPP have been exceptional, noble, compassionate and considerate to all of us street people. All year long from the street I have seen every single officer extend compassion and mutual humanity to us. They check on us on their own time, establish friendly levity beyond uniforms and I have not seen one instance where street people posed a threat to public safety.
True, open panhandling can become wearisome and a frustrating nuisance, yet we are not a ragged army of knife wielding prowlers or some tribal Mad Max type menacing army... It needs to be said! Yes, there is perhaps a five per cent exception, yet us homeless are tired, weary and just wish to keep to ourselves.
So I regard both sides of the issue fairly, yet I have faith Orillia has, and has always had, an extra helping of special, demographically.
Homeless Orillians are still Orillians and one thing we all have in common is that we all love Orillia.
Thanks Orillia! You're awesome!
Tyler J. Dunlop
Orillia
