Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Do you feel safe?

Several years ago, I moved back to the area where I grew up. More by necessity, than by choice, this is where I am raising my kids -- but this is not the same community I knew.

When my kids first came home and told me about 'lockdown drills', I thought they were joking. The parents were not given any warning or information about it -- the school board just implemented them -- not that I would object, of course. In the past week and a half, all three of the schools my kids go to have had genuine 'lockdowns'. There have been drills in the past, but this time they were for real.

The lockdown begins with an announcement. All doors are locked -- outside and inside. Nobody gets in, and nobody gets out. The kids all move to a part of the classroom away from the window, and whenever possible are to sit on the floor so they are below the windows and stray bullets can't hit them.

The first real lockdown occurred when there was a shooting just along the street from my younger kids' school. The suspect fled the scene and their school was locked down along with two others in the area. My son, who is nine, thought it was 'cool', but my twelve year old daughter didn't. She was disturbed when she realised that some of her classmates live in the building where the shooting took place, and that it was right across from the grocery store we go to regularly.

The next incident involved a knife at the convenience store behind my eldest daughter's high school. Her school and my thirteen year old son's school are within close proximity, and both were locked down until past dismissal time.

These incidents happen to have occurred during school hours, but they are not all that is going on around here. The TTC shooting this week -- that was just a mile or two away. I'm less than a mile from where the notorious 'Galloway Gang' (used to?) call home. Mostly, I don't think about those things. It might be close geographically, but in a way it feels like that's a different world -- but when they start holding lockdown drills in the local schools, and then those lockdown drills stop being drills . . . Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the school board has these procedures in place without someone having to die first -- what I'm lamenting is that such a procedure has to exist at all.

I wonder if Irwin Cotler's, Dalton McGuinty's, David Miller's, kids/grandkids practice lockdowns at their schools.

canadianna

24 comments:

bob said...

Welcome back again, C.
I would doubt any of them -- if they have kids -- would have them in lockdown-able schools.

Junker said...

My school started doing these drills the year I graduated.

Its nice to see an effort, I guess, and the drills would be effective in some situations, and not so in others.

I suppose you do what you can.

The Brigadier, Red Ensign Brigade said...

My son's high school is doing lockdown drills now . . . and we're in Whitby. I think most schools in the GTA are probably doing them by this point.

Junker said...

I suppose I didn't answer the original question.

Here in Saskatoon I usually feel pretty safe. It all depends what area of the city it is. After dark downtown it gets a little edgy. After dark on the westside, well, I just avoid that situation all together.

At home I feel safest. Strong metal doors, stout deadbolts, and a little something I keep in my closet it in case it ever gets really dicey.

Lester Price said...

This is really all about lawyers. There are so many of them now that they no longer wait in their offices for clients to come to them. They are actively looking for work. And they know that a lawsuit against schools or the government is bound to end in a settement. They wait and they salivate at the potential.

Anonymous said...

Society reaps what it sows. From Trudeau to Martin, we have had a steady diet of socialism, relativism, libertinism and secularism. Spanking is all but outlawed and if the Senate and Sharon Carstairs get their way then legislation will soon be on the way to criminalize it completely. Schools teach sex, sex and more sex and God is a dirty word. Yes, reap the wind and you inherit the whirlwind.

Canadian Sentinel said...

People in Canada are now living in fear in the big cities. No longer can the Liberals trumpet a high quality of life and safety, etc. People now lock their doors, get security systems, etc. and rottweilers to accompany them on their walks.

It's time to clamp down on those who perpetrate the gun violence.

Simply forcing duck hunters to register their Remingtons will not prevent street punks with Magnums and Colts from putting bullets into peoples' heads.

The left doesn't seem to understand that social programs will not do screw-all to help the situation. Good old-fashioned jailing is the answer. Murderers in jail cannot be out there shooting law-abiding citizens. Murderers don't care for social programs, do they? They just want to kill, therefore lock 'em up and keep 'em there. It's as simple as that.

Anonymous said...

Good to see you posting again, Anna. It's been too long since I have been dazzled by your insight and eloquence.

And I am not being facetious.

Nicol DuMoulin said...

Do I feel safe?

My wife and I were accosted by a 'gang-banger' type claiming to have a gun on New Year's Eve 2 years ago. It was at 3:30 in the afternoon and he spat on us and yelled vulgarities. When I moved towards him he motioned under his belt as though he had a gun.

I backed off and he walked away. The neighbourhood was the upscale Younge and St. Clair.

I feel safe on a decreasing scale in Toronto. Things aren't horrible...but they aren't great.

People say they want change, but they won't vote for it.

Glad to have you back. Hope all is well.

Justthinkin said...

Welcome back Anna. This is from an Edmonton perspective. Do I feel safer? No less or more than 21 years ago. I think I am lucky to live in a safe part of the city. But just a 10 minute drive away, my grandkids go through lockdowns also.I couldn't agree more with jetskid. He/she says it all. We sow what we reap.

Canadian Sentinel said...

I wonder if everyone realizes what's going on here, with the explosion of this kind of violent, murderous culture among inner city youth in Canada.

This isn't a left-right issue. Every law-abiding citizen has the right to feel safe within the borders of the nation. It's the duty of the state to do all within its power to ensure this safety.

What evidence is there that the state, currently controlled by the ruling Paul Martin Liberals, is doing anything concrete (or has ever done anything at all) to ensure safety? Do they have any policies which effectively prevent/deter this sort of violent culture from flourishing? My answer is no. All I personally see them do is mess around with political correctness, throw tax dollars around with, attached, claims of positive, desirable effect, but which don't help, but rather harm.

The ruling Paul Martin Liberals have demonstrated time and again that they don't take safety seriously. Nor national security. They let the avowed Al Qaeda Khadr terrorist family walk freely and openly among us. They have no plans whatsoever to deal with Canadians who have and plan to go to Iraq to fight shoulder to shoulder with the Jihadist "insurgents" against the coalition forces. See the following post on my site wrt this:(http://thecanadiansentinel.blogspot.com/2005/10/cdn-terrorists-go-to-iraq-to-fight.html)

All evidence points to the failure of our three levels of government, most notably in Toronto, to do anything to combat this expanding handgun-related violence. No longer can they tout Canada's supposed relative safety compared to that of the US. The worthless, super-expensive gun registry only serves to harrass law-abiding sport hunters with long guns, rather than murderous, concealed- illegal-handgun wielding inner-city scumbags.

These are "Liberal" values at work, folks. No wonder nearly seventy percent of voting Canadians would not vote Liberal.

Liam O'Brien said...

The 2005 UNDP Human Development Report shows that a greater percentage of Canadians have been exposed to crimes, including violent crimes, than have people in the United States.

Canada's sentencing laws remain a joke. We coddle the worst kind of violent offenders. It's the great Canadian shame. Several examples have been documented right here on Canadiana's blog. There are many many more examples.

I guess it's time for people to stop lookingdown their noses at other countries and start to realize that we still have a serious problem right here.

PS - welcome back Canadiana.

Anonymous said...

Mr Music said...

I want to tell you all a story 'bout a GTA urban wife

Who had a teenage daughter who attended Harper Valley Junior High

Well her daughter came home one afternoon and didn't even stop to play

She said Mom I got a note here from the Harper So-Cons in the G.T.A.

The note said Misses Urban Girl, you're wearing your dresses way too high

It's reported you've been talking to the youth and ethnics, women’s groups and gays

And we don't believe you ought to be a bringing up your little girl this way

It was signed by the secretary, Harper So-Cons GTA.

Well, it happened So-Cons G.T.A. were gonna meet that very afternoon

They were sure surprised when Misses Urban Girl wore her miniskirt into the room

And as she walked up to the blackboard I still recall the words she had to say

She said, I'd like to address this meeting of the Harper So-Cons G.T.A.

Well there's John Reynolds, sitting there and seven times he's asked me for a date

Messrs. Flaherty and Clement always missing that retirement is just 4 months away

And Mr. Capobianco can you tell us what your smokin’ that makes you blind

And shouldn't Peter Kent be reading news not playing with you wasting all his time

Well Mr Harper couldn't be here 'cause he’s filling sandbags for the bunker again

He may as well get ready cuz the writing’s on the wall – “you loser has-been”

Then you have the nerve to tell me you think that as a mother I'm not fit

Well this is just a little piece of urban Canada where none of you are ever gonna fit.

No, I wouldn't put you on because it really did, it happened just this way

The day my Mama socked it to the Harper So-Cons G.T.A.

Candace said...

hmm... cute ditty but seems a bit off topic.

Another Edmonton viewpoint. My daughter attends an "inner city school" because it's one of the best, academically, in the city and has a very strong arts program. When we toured the school prior to registering (mid-year) the AVP mentioned that, because it's K-12 (she's still elementary) there is a full-time cop at the school (apparently this is the norm for high schools - probably to deal with drugs etc), which kinda threw me for a loop, but makes good sense, so I was okay with that.

She went on to point out that the elementary kids were on the 2nd floor as it's an inner city school and sometimes street people wander in (not often, but it happens). Kids in elementary usually don't question adults, but the same isn't true of junior high (who will and have questioned adults that appear suspicious). This also threw me for a loop, but I appreciated both her candor and the forethought that had gone into the physical placement of the kids.

She also informed me of the "lockdown" drills, and the whys and wherefores (see previous paragraph for an example). (In three years, there has been one actual lockdown.)

I went ahead and registered her, despite my misgivings about the neighborhood it's in, because at least they have a plan in place.

My sister, on the other hand, lives in the outskirts of the city in what used to be considered a "safe" neighborhood. Her daughters attended the elementary school down the block, and were unexpectedly locked down when someone was seen through a window with a gun. It was locked down again the next week for something else. The junior high in the neighborhood is rife with drugs & gangs, and she ended up transferring her kids to a different jr/sr high with a military focus (go figure) that is closer to downtown and in a "rougher" looking neighborhood. No issues after 4 years; I don't recall even hearing of a lockdown occurring.

Having lived single more often than not, I've come to realize that the personal security drill is so ingrained that I don't even notice it until it's pointed out. "Mommy, why are we parking here instead of there?" "Because the lighting is better." "Mommy, what if someone was in our backseat?" "We wouldn't get in the car" "How would you know?" "I always look first."

In my teens (70s) hitchhiking was an accepted mode of transportation, although it was getting dicey by the mid-70s. We are a much more mobile society now and guns, drugs... you name it, can be bought or sold in any parking lot, shopping mall or school.

Overall, though, do I feel safe? Yes. I'm in a secure building that has the odd parking lot breakin, but that's about it. I have a dog that weighs 170 lbs and looks very scary. She would defend me & my daughter to the death, but is essentially a wimp when it comes to wind, thunder and other unexpected loud noises... oh, and aggressive dogs. But even when she's scared, she stands between me & whatever is scaring her (okay, she leans, shaking, on me to the point of making me move away from the scary paper bag).

Candace said...

PS: Welcome back!

Anonymous said...

Ok really. I can see how the Liberals aren't really doing anything to keep down crime, and yes the gun-registry while being a good idea didn't really work at all.

However to say that there is more violence and the cities are less safe because of liberals is crap. Conservatives it seems like to go around and blame everything that is bad in Canada on the "evil" liberals. Just because they're liberals doesnt mean that everything that goes wrong is because of them. With the conservatives in power there would still be the same problem because the "crackdown" that the conservatives will supposedly bring will only work to a small degree because criminals will always find a way to get guns.

I agree that the Liberals are corrupt because they've been in power to long. However I'll continue to vote for them until a party that I'm not scared of is able to form a government.

Canadianna said...

luke -- exactly where do I blame the Liberals for this? I mention three names, two Liberals, one NDP. Their names are there not because of their political affiliations, but rather because of their positions in government i.e. They are in positions to take action -- whereas Stephen Harper, Stockwell Day, Tony Clement et al are not.

Not even any of my commenters puts the blame squarely on the Liberals, simply on inadequate legislation. But of course, if the shoe fits.
As for your voting decision . . . well, if you can read 'blame the evil liberals' into my post and its responses, then I'm not surprised that you are 'scared' of other political parties. Some people just see what they want to see -- unfortunately, the rest of us will suffer the consequences of your lack of vision.

Canadian Sentinel said...

Luke, my recommendation is to crack down on the people who use the guns to harm and kill others, not just on the guns.

Therefore, if the Conservatives crack down on the gun-toting murderers and actually keep them in prison, then it won't matter that criminals can get new guns on the street- they're behind bars, so they can't. Take away the evildoers to protect the innocent rather than let them go free to do whatever harm they will. Today, the case is that the criminals are on the street and will use whatever weapons they choose to harm and kill others. Guns are obviously the most efficient way of doing their evil, so they naturally gravitate towards that weapon.

It's not enough to take away their guns- if they're caught with illegal handguns, lock them up for a long time to protect others from them and to deter others from possessing illegal handguns. For murder, be it w/ a gun or whatever, I would recommend stiff sentences, up to life w/o parole, ever.

That's not hard to understand. The Liberals know it'd work, but they won't make it so as it'd offend the left, with all their myopic politically-correct extremism.

That's the Liberals' problem: they depend on the votes of the leftists for the continuance of their lock on power. Just watch them, therefore, not crack down on the gun-wielding scumbags who go around planting bullets into people.

What has happened to Canada? It's supposedly a pragmatic nation, yet it has fallen into an abyss of paralyzing, dogmatic political correctness, born of lord knows what kind of "thinking"...

http://thecanadiansentinel.blogspot.com

Canadian Sentinel said...

Luke:

I would ask of you some questions.

Upon what empirical evidence or pattern of happenstance do you base your contention that the new Conservative Party of Canada would basically be as ineffective and incompetent and do basically the same things as the Liberals have?

How is it unfair to blame the Liberals for having done nothing to deter crime such as that we've been discussing wrt handgun violence? They've been in power and absolutely so since 1993 and had all the time and resources to get tough on crime and instead went easier and easier on the bad people amongst us. They're completely to blame. No doubt about it. This is the kind of society they've given us with their actual policies and practices.

Also, what do you know of actual, official CPC policy? What is the source of your "information" as to it? If it's the MSM or the CPC's political opponents or various leftist groups, organizations and individuals, then you're misinformed. You need to read the policy declaration of the CPC to know what the policies actually are. Then you'll be able to be specific about which policies may concern you and why you're "scared" of them.

Also, don't you realize that the Liberals not only have scary policies themselves, but have demonstrated extremely scary behavior as we've learned from the Gomery Inquiry testimony and from their uncaring attitude with respect to the threat posed to us all by the terrorists? They, after all, allow actual, sworn Al Qaeda members, the Khadr family, to walk freely among us. Also, Paul Martin is quite friendly with the Tamil Tigers terrorist group, having dined with them and all, refusing to ban them as a terrorist organization, to boot.

The Liberals are scary. They've turned major cities into Canadian versions of Fallujah and Gaza, where the governments have no control over armed extremists. The Liberals are in a position to crack down, yet refuse to do so, instead building community centers, for which drug lords and gangbangers care not a whit. The Liberals are about as effective at deterring violence as was Yasser Arafat. Neither has bothered to try. One must ask why.

What's so scary about offering an alternative that's basically only about providing good government according to what the average person needs and wants? That's all the CPC is really about.

Linda said...

My totally unscientific way of looking at this: how safe did your parents feel as kids, how safe did you feel as a kid, and how safe do your kids now feel - all in the same large city? Just take a measure of their freedom too - or lack thereof. I moved from Montreal to P.E.I. when I was 12 - major reason my parents gave - increasing violence. It was pretty safe back then in P.E.I. Now, due mainly to a proliferation of drugs and online kiddie porn, even 'the land of Anne' isn't as safe as it used to be... But underlying all this - it comes down to what worldview prevails in a nation. Since our country has been steadily jettisoning its Judeo-Christian heritage like so much excess baggage, the moral vacuum that's been created has, of course, been filled. And it ain't pretty. With all the talk about rights and freedoms, we're actually less free than before: if we have to live in dometic versions of Fort Knox, enrol ourselves and our daughters in self-defence classes, plan our activities around safety considerations... where will it end? Like the proverbial frog in the pot of water slowly being heated to the boiling point, it seems that most people have just become 'acclimatized' to increasing levels of violence and the commensurate loss of freedom... After all, the great Nanny State is in control, right?

"Hush little citizen, don't say a word, Paulie's gonna buy you a gun registry.

If that registry is panned, Paulie's gonna buy you a daycare plan.

And if that daycare plan don't fly [fill-in-the-blank]..."

Welcome back C. - of course I had to appear for Halloween - grin!

Canadian Sentinel said...

Quickly, as I haven't time now, Luke, I would just like to ask you exactly how is it you believe that conservatives are "closed-minded" wrt race and equality? That's a matter worthy of discourse. In fact, I can easily demonstrate that it is Liberals and NDPers as well as US Democrats who are "closed minded" wrt race and equality. I've written and discussed extensively over the past decade, not professionally, but I have, about this issue and how actually leftists are far worse wrt race and equality than non-leftists. I would like the opportunity at a later time here to convince you of this, if you're open-minded as you believe yourself to be.

Later. I must be off to work.

Canadian Sentinel said...

Luke:

Actually, my blog is only a month and a half old, so there's only so much to refer to, but do feel free to browse through it. Just excuse the partisan slant.

As for the "homosexuals and non-Christians", may I remind you that not every conservative person is Christian? There's all kinds of religions represented, including in the CPC caucus, which is the most ethnically diverse in Parliament? There are also many conservative atheists. There are many immigrants who are conservative, including in the CPC caucus. May I point out that there's plenty of conservative people out there who identify themselves as homosexual? I was surprised to see so many in the blogs, commenting, and some even have their own conservative blogs. With all this diverse representation of all groups of society among conservative folk, it's quite difficult for one to make the case that conservatives are on average any more closed minded than lefitsts or so-called "centrists" (these labels-- I wish we didn't have to use them, but it's convenient and saves space in writing).

And with respect to being "closed-minded" towards non-Christians, how do you justify the obviously strong anti-Semitism apparent throughout the left? There's no denying the left's vicious closed-mindedness towards Jews and towards Israel. And towards Christians, actually.

Leftists are in the nasty habit of shouting over and insulting conservative folk when they're trying to say something. Isn't that being actively closed-minded, refusing to allow people to speak?

We must all take a critical look at the left. It's not all warm and beautiful as it's been made out to be. There's a lot of frightening darkness in the left. Just look at communism and what it has done to humanity over history and you'll see it for yourself.

Canadian Sentinel said...

I'll get back to you on that later, Luke.

Very interesting comments you've made here.

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