I am afraid, so very afraid. I have come to learn that my so-called peaceful life in Calgary, Alberta is actually a series of near death experiences.
As I look to the west I see a rolling mass of black cloud charging towards the city. The recent string of tornados and lighting strikes in Calgary and surrounding area leave me to wonder whether it’s only a matter time before I am victimized by nature’s wrath. Statistically speaking, the odds of being struck by lighting are approximately 1:280,000[1]. Statisticians are obviously not aware that Calgarians are at increased risk; after all, let us not forget mother-nature attacked four homes in just a matter of seconds in July 2006[2]. She brazenly struck on July 10th, 2008, setting ablaze a northwest Calgary home[3] and continued her rampage just eight days later by assaulting yet another dwelling[4]. Is there no end to nature’s “rain” of terror?
Mother-nature despises many things, but in particular, she is especially adverse to golfers and those who use electronic listening devices. In July 2007 experts warned about lighting strike injuries accompanying the use of electronic equipment. As reported in the International Herald Tribune: “Listen to an iPod during a storm and you might get more than electrifying tunes”[5].
From my second storey vantage point, I see an oblivious young man walking outside, wearing headphones and carrying an aluminum hockey stick. Does he not know death lurks from above?
Rather than attract the fellow’s attention I quickly duck away from the window. Please do not think I am indifferent to saving lives. But for the fact that the young person is an Asian male, I would have certainly shouted for him to run for cover. However, as an informed Calgarian, I am aware of all the risks. I have learned from recent media reports that shouting “run for cover” to any person (especially a young Asian male), can result in dire consequences.
Let me explain.
In the not too distant past Calgary was a peaceful city of just a few hundred thousand people. Today, Calgary’s population has burgeoned to approximately a million people – of which a large portion I believe are members of various criminal organizations using our once tranquil prairie-mountain haven as a destination for conducting a host of nefarious activities. As media reports flooded newspapers and television stations over the past few years, my trepidation over the likelihood of being innocently victimized by roving gangs has increased exponentially. As if I don’t have enough to worry about already!
Fear of Mother Nature, terrorism, cancer, killer bees, fire ants, the Norwalk virus, online sexual predators, offline sexual predators, Greyhound Buses, sinister men everywhere and now gangs comprise just some of the fears carted about in my trepidation backpack. From various media sources I have come to learn that life is really just a number of near misses. If I am not hit by lightning, surely I will be infected by the Norwalk virus, stung to death by killer bees, eaten alive by fire ants or just victimized by a sinister man somewhere? Add terrorism and gangs to the mix, and I am no longer sure I can live safely in this metropolis. After all, as one journalist reported: “Like a terrorist attack on Canadian soil, it's only a matter of when, not if, some innocent Calgarian gets caught in the crossfire of rival gangsters”[6]. I am an innocent Calgarian.
I watch as the young Asian saunters away and thank my lucky stars; for in a heroic moment to save the young fella from the zap of doom I could have been caught in a hail of bullets unleashed by a gun wielding gangster. “Whew”, that was close.
From this I pause to reflect upon what I am sure are a number of near misses over recent days. Just yesterday, while exiting my Jeep Rubicon, I observed what appeared to be a 20 year old Black Male wearing a dark hoodie exiting a high-end SUV whilst talking on a cellular telephone. This fellow was also sporting a stylish wristwatch which I recently saw in a local department store selling for $300.00. Immediately I was reminded of Police Chief Rick Hanson’s warning to parents: “If parents are not intelligent enough to ask where their son got a $300.00 watch or a new SUV, then there is a real problem”[7].
Though I am not a parent, I am no fool. Assuredly that dial-a-doping young gangster was living off the proceeds of crime. What was this man doing in downtown Calgary? How could a 20 year old black male possibly afford to talk on a cellular telephone during expensive daytime hours? What was he doing with a cellular telephone anyway? Why was he wearing a dark hoodie? How could he pay for that expensive SUV? How did he buy that $300.00 wristwatch? Instinctively, my thumb moved towards the 9-1-1 speed-dial on my mobile phone.
Fortunately, no bullets were exchanged on this occasion, but I fear next time I may not be so lucky. The hour hand on my Breitling tells me I am late for an appointment, no time to wait for police.
Returning to the moment, I observe a Calgary Transit bus pickup the young Asian who still carries the aluminum hockey stick. I observe at least a half-dozen or so unsuspecting passengers seated throughout the bus. The young person may have escaped Mother Nature, but who is going to protect passengers from what is potentially a hockey stick wielding maniac?
As a result of a recent brutal incident on a Greyhound bus, I am told there are serious concerns about bus line security. If security is an issue on Greyhounds, similar concerns must exist for other forms of public transit or any other place, for that matter, where strangers exist in close proximity? The Canadian Press reports that there have been five violent incidents, one resulting in death, on Greyhound buses over the last eight-years[8]. Public transit systems are used by hoards of strangers; many of which are likely knife wielding, gun-toting killers, capable of instantaneously turning savage upon unsuspecting passengers. It strikes me that I should not only stop taking Greyhounds, but rethink public transit and even avoid the dark confines of movie theatres, nightclubs, auditoriums and places such as McMahon Stadium and the Saddledome altogether. The bus rolls away. Oh the horror!
Let’s get serious.
Apparently there have been 12 deaths linked to gang warfare in Calgary over the last six years[9]. To date, not a single bystander has been killed or injured in the conflict. Since 2001, there has not been a single terrorist attack on North American soil. Since 2000, there have been only five victims of violent incidents on Greyhound buses.
In the words of Barry Glassner, “[a] single anomalous event can provide us with multiple groups of people to fear”[10]. By the same token, a single anomalous occurrence can provide us with multiple events to fear. Interestingly, one is left to wonder whether we fear the right things or whether we should even be afraid at all.
In 2004, there were 2,434 fatal motor vehicle accidents in Canada and 148,866 collisions resulting in injury[11]. Despite the high number of fatal motor vehicle crashes, people drive cars without hesitation.
There are an average of 10 Canadians killed by lighting every year[12]. Though there are exponentially more deaths by lighting strike than violent incidents on Greyhound buses, citizens arguably appear to be more afraid of taking the bus than walking in the rain. The CBC reports that there have been 20 deaths associated with Tasers since 2003[13]-- far more than deaths and injuries combined from violent acts on the Greyhounds during this same period. What should we fear more, riding a Greyhound or interacting with a member of the local constabulary?
The purpose of this article is to caution readers against becoming unreasonably absorbed into a culture of fear. George Gerbner, Dean-emeritus of the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania highlights aspects of fear culture in a theory labeled “mean world syndrome”. Essentially, “[w]atch enough brutality on TV and you come to believe you are living in a cruel and gloomy world in which you feel vulnerable and insecure”[14]. Though various media sources communicate information to the public, the information communicated often lacks balance and perspective. Regrettably the imbalanced conveyancing of information does not promote effective dialogue. Rather, it potentially promotes unreasonable fear mongering resulting in the adoption of extreme measures to fix relatively anomalous problems. When citizens come to believe they may be next, the risk is, they may “…accept and even welcome…repressive measures such as more jails, capital punishment, harsher sentences – measures that have never reduced crime… – if that promises to relieve…anxieties”[15].
If anxiety grows enough, what measures will be accepted in the name of safety and security? Random searches of the person, home or automobile? Arbitrary detention under the rubric of public safety? Mandatory curfews? If worried enough, perhaps citizens will even agree to voluntarily submit samples of their DNA so State authorities can biologically test for evil genes? May as well identify a problem before it becomes one -- right? Even if things do not regress so far, maybe citizens will just live in such constant and perpetual fear of each other that they’ll simply miss out on enjoying life. That seems rather ironic, doesn’t it?
Submitted by:
David G. Chow
Barrister
Fagan & Chow
http://www.faganandchow.com/
[1] http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_pls/probability.html
[2] http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2006/07/26/lightning-strikes.html
[3] http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2008/07/10/lightning-fire.html
[4] http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2008/07/18/lightning-house-fire.html
[5] http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/13/business/ipod.php
[6] http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Martin_Kevin/2008/07/10/6115176-sun.php
[7] http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/story.html?id=978491b5-e903-4a2c-9e67-9da1fbb6910e
[8] http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5j3RObRdkVj4vAV6-aKQzkeC7SajA
[9] http://www.660news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20080727_121007_5024
[10] Glassner, Barry, The Culture of Fear, (Basic Books, New York) 1999: pg. xiii.
[11] http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/tp/tp3322/2004/page1.htm
[12] http://www.sirc.ca/press_releases/30_30_cards.cfm
[13] http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/map-tasers-canada/
[14] Glassner, pg. 44.
[15] Ibid., 45.
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