Commentary

I'm so ashamed. Yeah, that's me, second from the left. (btw, what's going on with my jacket? Did I walk around all day with the collar twisted up like that? Probably.)

I was waiting outside the Coup when a writer from Dose asked to interview me about violence and the Boxing Day shootings in Toronto. I should have said no. Please see my entry about street evangelists for other examples of being far too nice to random people on the street.

She asked me a few questions about violence in Calgary and whether I felt safe living here. My answers were basically: yes I feel safe, no I don't think the city is getting more violent, no I'm not worried about random shootings, yes random shootings are sad.

I'm surprised they managed to find anything usable in that milquetoast, but I guess they were desperate for 'commentary.'

I'm embarrassed because I now have printed proof that I'm just as full of shit as everyone else. What do I know about poverty and urban violence? Nothing. But that doesn't mean I won't talk about it into your tape recorder. And hey, would you like to know my feelings on Bush's exit strategy for Iraq? Because I'm ill-informed on that, too!

Oh, if you were wondering, some people were shot in Toronto on Boxing Day. The police think they were all bystanders - just people out shopping. Since this is Canada, this is national news. Which is kind of comforting, really. Or, as comforting as a story about random sidewalk shootings can be.