View Full Version : An entertaining read... (Canadian Press).
Michigan cop wishes he could carry a gun in Calgary park; Twitter fires back
CALGARY - An off-duty Michigan police officer's public lament about not being able to carry a handgun in a Calgary park has him taking cyber fire from both sides of the border.
Walt Wawra wrote a letter to the Calgary Herald this week complaining about a recent encounter he had with two men in Nose Hill Park while he and his wife were visiting the city.
Wawra says the two men asked twice in a — quote — "very aggressive tone" whether the couple had been to the Calgary Stampede yet.
In the letter, Wawra laments that a man should have the right to protect himself when he needs to and says it felt strange not to be able to carry his handgun off duty.
Wawra's letter sparked a Twitter stampede, with many commenters mocking his position and commenting on the difference between Canadian and American gun culture.
The popular U.S. website Gawker did a story about Wawra's letter under the heading "American Becomes Laughingstock of Canada After Letter to Editor Lamenting Lack of Handgun During Mild Confrontation."
There was no answer at the phone number listed for Wawra.
iris lily
8-10-12, 11:01am
I've got one word for Walt Wawra: Arizona. Try that as a vacation place.
Hey Mrs M, we take our entertainment inquiries seriously here! Why, just the other day someone shouted at me from across the street, "why aren't you at the parade?"
I wanted to blow their *^#*^ head off!
Well that does it, Peggy, I'm bypassing stopping-by to visit you, and taking Iris Lily's advice, and going straight to Arizona!
http://ic.hobh.org/forums/images/smilies/1237398v1rcp2k7wb.gif
The cars burning and the crowds rioting in the streets near my hotel last time I was in Vancouver for a concert sure convinced me about Canadian superiority.
http://yerevanmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Vancouver-riot-after-Game-7-SCF1.jpg?a95a07
http://8.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/3vmyfifrontpic.jpg
So true bae, but the hockey fans don't have a monopoly on such behavior in Canada. Don't forget what a lovely job our neighbors to the north did hosting the G20 Summit.
867
And yes, the cops in Canada do have guns, but who really needs them when you have Sgt. Pepper?
868
Shameful to read how the police in the Great White North are struggling with the riot culture there (http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/05/18/police-struggling-to-cope-with-emboldened-riot-culture-in-canada/). Chalk it up to Vitamin D deficiency I suppose. They don't have that problem in Arizona.
Well, we didn't say that we were perfect just a little different, eh?:devil:
ApatheticNoMore
8-10-12, 2:46pm
Price of a free country.
Well, we didn't say that we were perfect just a little different, eh?:devil:
Don't get me wrong - the dim sum in Vancouver more than makes up for any shortcomings, and I'd hack my way through one of your riots with a hurley to get to such wonderful fare!
I've had a serious xiao long bao craving. Is it really worth the risk?
Don't get me wrong - the dim sum in Vancouver more than makes up for any shortcomings, and I'd hack my way through one of your riots with a hurley to get to such wonderful fare!For someone who fancies coming across as being educated, regularly flaring your wisdom, knowledge, and expertise around like free, sample packages of snake-oil, I'm amazed at how often you show here sounding rather... uneducated.
You are a rude and impolite person Mrs-M.
Mrs M, Bae was responding to my tongue-in-cheek in a similar vein. Holy smoke!
Mrs M, Bae was responding to my tongue-in-cheek in a similar vein. Holy smoke!
Perhaps, then, Mrs-M should have responded to you, instead of directly attacking me personally, as is her habit.
She should step down as a moderator, frankly.
gimmethesimplelife
8-11-12, 9:51pm
If I may put in my two cents? One thing I really envy about Canada is that OVERALL their society is less violent than the one they border. I have read that unfortunately Canada is becoming more violent but if you compare violent crime statistics for major Canadian cities with major American cities you will see Canada looking much safer. This is not to say that there is no crime there and that there is no violent crime there. And the pics of the mess in Vancover some time back are real, I won't deny that. I'm talking flat average - Canada is safer overall. Though I can see if you were in Vancouver during this you might think differently......Canadians I have known over the years take pride in this difference between the two countries, and I can't say that I blame them, I would to if I were Canadian. So I can see where some of this thread might come across in a less than pleasant way and to Mrs. M I say Gotta great country up your way, eh? Rob
Perhaps, then, Mrs-M should have responded to you, instead of directly attacking me personally, as is her habit.
She should step down as a moderator, frankly.
I will say this, bae. In the old days of this board that went on and on for years, you would be disappeared for calling out a moderator. Zap! the poster known as bae would be no more.
At least there is some tolerance now for pushing back.
gimmethesimplelife
8-11-12, 9:56pm
I will say this, bae. In the old days of this board that went on and on for years, you would be disappeared for call out a moderator. Zap! the poster known as bae would be no more.
At least there is some tolerance for pushing back.My opinion is that this tolerance is a good thing - within certain civil limits. Rob
My tolerance perspective is that I recognize that:
* all I have is one viewpoint not the absolute truth concerning all the facts and facets around an issue - guns, religion, abortion, same-sex marriage and all the other hot button topics that cause governments to rise and fall.
* some things will come under the "Agree to disagree" heading. As I would not raise such topics with friends with the differing view in my home, I choose not to raise them here without some compelling reason for doing so. So regardless of who raises such topics whether from inside North America or outside, I wonder how such a person would treat me if I had a differing viewpoint should I visit them? Often, it is the approach that can make the topic acceptable.
I will say this, bae. In the old days of this board that went on and on for years, you would be disappeared for calling out a moderator. Zap! the poster known as bae would be no more.
For a lot of reasons that is not the way things are handled anymore. That's progress, IMO.
My opinion is that this tolerance is a good thing - within certain civil limits. Rob
Agreed. The limits are going to remain way out there with the assumption that adults can maintain on their own.
One thing I really envy about Canada is that OVERALL their society is less violent than the one they border.
I don't have scientifically accumulated stats to back this up right now, but from everything I read and hear a huge percentage of violent crime in the US is associated with the drug trade. Mexican, Central & South American cartels run that. The US border with Mexico is exponentially more violent than the border with Canada in large part due to its proximity to the supply routes. It would be pretty simple to make the argument that the only reason Canada is less violent is because of its remote location.
I don't have scientifically accumulated stats to back this up right now, but from everything I read and hear a huge percentage of violent crime in the US is associated with the drug trade. Mexican, Central & South American cartels run that. The US border with Mexico is exponentially more violent than the border with Canada in large part due to its proximity to the supply routes. It would be pretty simple to make the argument that the only reason Canada is less violent is because of its remote location.
Remote location? As in Quebec vs. West Virginia? Or Montreal vs. Utah? A lot of Canada is remote - but so is a lot of the US.
Agreed a lot of violence is drug related - but I would think the vast majority is local factions vs. international drug cartels committing violence inside US borders. I don't think it's so easy to blame it all on outside sources.
Are there any reliable sources of comparative crime statistics between the two countries? I have heard anecdotally that the US looks better in some areas, but have no ideas if that is true.
Originally posted by Gimmethesimpelife.
Mrs. M I say Gotta great country up your way, ehThanks, Rob. :)
Are there any reliable sources of comparative crime statistics between the two countries? I have heard anecdotally that the US looks better in some areas, but have no ideas if that is true.
http://web4.uwindsor.ca/users/m/mfc/41-240.nsf/0/10ff8b04ff3a317885256d88005720f6/$FILE/ATT8BNDV/0110185-002-XIE.pdf
Remote location? As in Quebec vs. West Virginia? Or Montreal vs. Utah? A lot of Canada is remote - but so is a lot of the US.
Agreed a lot of violence is drug related - but I would think the vast majority is local factions vs. international drug cartels committing violence inside US borders. I don't think it's so easy to blame it all on outside sources.
No, remote as in farther from the epicenter of the drug trade. The comment was a little tongue in cheek, but if you look at maps of where violent crime, and especially gun crime, takes place in the US the general trend is that as you head south, toward the Mexican border states, the incidence of crime increases. With that logic the farther away from Mexico you get the lower the rate. Canada is farther away so they will naturally be less effected by the cartels and everything that goes with them. It may not have anything at all to do with their gun laws or their supposedly genteel society. That's all.
Regarding the drug violence overall you have to remember that those local factions are armed and supplied by someone. That someone is the cartels. Gangs are their primary distribution network. Part of the problem with the war on drugs is that the government expended too many resources going after little guys. The big guys stay in Central and South America and get very, very rich. Of course that was only one problem with the war on drugs. Not addressing why there is such a demand in the first place might be another...
"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." - Henry David Thoreau
http://web4.uwindsor.ca/users/m/mfc/41-240.nsf/0/10ff8b04ff3a317885256d88005720f6/$FILE/ATT8BNDV/0110185-002-XIE.pdf
This is interesting. Americans are more likely to see the in-your-face crimes like armed robbery and homicide, while Canadians have a greater tendency toward arson, car theft and B&E. Apparently we don't keep comparable stats on rape.
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