If This Is The Worst of It

So, I don't seem to have too much to complain about today. My list is:

a. - my apartment is too warm;
b. - the Bombers are out of the playoffs;
c. - I had to get up Saturday morning and go to Smiths Falls with no chance of flying;
d. - it's going to rain a lot this week;
e. - there is no NHL hockey;
f. - we have a small snag with the truck for tailgating next week-end;

These are all first world problems. They don't really matter. They are minor inconveniences. In the big scheme, they don't matter. If you have a list like this to complain about, your life is going well.

Every day as I walk home from work I see a lot of people that have real problems. There are a lot of homeless people who panhandle on my walk home from work. Whether it's a result of their decisions or actions or the decisions and actions of others, the result is the same. They have real problems. It is compounded with the fact that winter is coming. Even though it's not a Winnipeg winter, I don't think anyone would choose to sleep outside in Ottawa in the winter.

There are unstable governments that are leading to atrocious treatment in many parts of the world. Hard working people can't make enough to feed their family properly. Those people have real problems. I don't have real problems.

It's not to say I don't want my problems to go away. We always want a comfortable life. I just can't see anything that is a threat to my lifestyle, safety, or existence so life in my world is good.

Not everyone is in that position so if you can make someone's day better, do it. It will make you feel better.

Let's Go Riot

I haven't been home since the Vancouver riot. Since I live in Ottawa, my worldly possessions were not in peril. Being away I have not had the time to write about what I think on this situation. The delay has allowed me to move past the initial gut reaction so many people felt.

I lived in Winnipeg for a long time. Winnipeg is a rough city. Anyone who lives there knows that. However, there has never been a riot in my lifetime. So why does the apparent forward thinking, cosmopolitan city of Vancouver suffer from this dark cloud?

I don't know.

There are reports that it was started by a small group and a lot of otherwise law abiding people got wrapped up in the moment. I'm no expert but that seems reasonable. We encourage individuality but often do not give outlets for great creativity. So when people se the chance to let their freak flag fly, they jump at it, even if it inappropriate.

I don't know how to prevent these sorts of things. I know I felt sickened, by the images I saw but I can't fix it.

I hope Canadians can move beyond this incident but it's going to take a lot of healing.