ouch

I just read a few hateful comments on stupid Facebook this morning and my first reaction was:  OUCH!  I use Facebook mainly to post my blogs which are my opinions or my life in general.  I have opinions on just about anything and anyone who doesn't agree or is offended can contact me:  I am in the book, I have messaging on Facebook, or a comment can be left at the end of the blog (although I have heard from some people that there is a problem with that - I haven't been able to fix it.) 

During my tenure as a Councillor I have made public comments and defended myself and sometimes it got out of hand.  I was also on the receiving end of a lot of rumor, innuendo and comment that was untrue.  Of course I defended myself the best I could since that is my nature.  I do not back down - maybe I should have.  I offered apologies that were not acknowledged; what can you do?

I am out of public office now; the people have spoken loud and clear.  It is what it is and I thank those who did have confidence in me.  I also apologize to those who were offended by any comments that were made intended or otherwise.  Sometimes things get dirty don't they? 

I have said it before and I will say it again:  while it is honorable to serve your community and it is a thankless job, you must also remember that it is not a volunteer position.  However large or small the compensation;  you are compensated. You are usually the first one people blame when things go wrong since you must be accountable to the citizens.  You will be judged.

Having said that I will get on with what I intended to do in the first place. 

The following is my opinion and anyone is welcome to comment:
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We all show indignation towards others who bully children.  We are all outraged at the actions that hurt a child.  We have instructed our legislators to come forward with strong laws to combat bullying.  We have also lobbied for legislative change that would provide swift action against the perpetrators of bullying.

Most communities in this area have bylaws that address bullying, in the real or cyber world.  Cyber bullying is addressed in the Town of Coronation's attempt at addressing and enforcing bullying.  It is also addressed in other legislation in the area, the province and in the country.

When conducting a Google search of bullying one usually finds a lot of information that is mainly directed towards children.  There is not much out there to address bullying across the ages in terms of where an adult can go to receive support or information on laws that protect them.

It is a very real issue and especially so since the advent of social media sites. People can pump out comments at lightening speed with little regard for one another and hide behind their computer or other device. 

This is also done without the benefit of social media and the results are the same.

Hurtful untrue comments, the inability of some  to face the truth about their own actions, immature behavior, ostracism; it happens.  This usually comes from adults since the children are told that it is inappropriate and they will be punished.  We teach our children to stop their bad behavior before it hurts some one and to apologize whether they mean it or not since that is the right thing to do. 

At some level the cyber bullying has been recognized by the citizens themselves.  Yet every now and then it raises its ugly head.  For the most part it can be ignored but it is out there for all to see.  The world can be an ugly place.  When people weigh in on all kinds of things and leave their hurtful comments behind it is usually unbeknownst to the "victim" until they happen to come upon it or have someone else point it out to them.

The other type; the rumors, the hate, the hurt that is spread surreptitiously around a community is damaging as well and is classified as bullying. Most times the "victims" of such campaigning are not aware of it either.  Adult bullying is probably the worst because it is not perceived the same way as a child who is hurt by the actions of others.  In fact there is a perception that it is justified since they somehow deserved to be on the end of an unsubstantiated comment or rumor; in other words:  "they asked for it".

The results are not so nice and are not supported by legislation of any kind.  Really, do we need legislation?  As adults we need to make amends, move on and quit with the hidden agendas and try to set a better example for the younger generation.   If we need to get back at one another I think it has happened.  Some concern should also be raised about what children are thinking when the adult community goes to war with one another. 

The old adage "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me" does not apply in this day and age.  In fact we need to come up with a better one that would explain why a public flogging would be more appropriate than a public hate fest.

Any ideas on that? 

I'm back

It feels great to be home after a wonderful holiday last week.  We spent a week in Long Beach, CA enjoying all the sunshine.

Our holiday got off to a terrible start on October 14th.  I still cannot believe what happened.  I shall start with a picture.

I still get a little shaky looking at this.



 



We started off with a terrific bang about 6 o'clock that morning.  Of course it was dark and I kept commenting that we needed to keep a close watch for deer.  A few miles east of Clive we didn't have to worry anymore about deer since we ran into a wall of cattle standing on the highway.  There was a vehicle parked on the shoulder facing east but other than that there was absolutely no warning.  It was all over in a matter of seconds and it would have been over for me if I hadn't been wearing my seatbelt.

Someone told me this should be a commercial for the safety features of Toyota.

I can't say enough about all the help we got that morning.  We were on our way to Edmonton International to catch a flight at 10 a.m.  Once it was determined that neither one of us was hurt bad enough to cancel our travel plans we decided to do all we could to carry on.  The Clive Fire Department, Bashaw RCMP and Lacombe EMS all responded and did a great job.  AMA responded with a tow truck and rental car arrangements for Red Deer.  The last piece of the puzzle was a wonderful act of kindness from a complete stranger.  The first person on the scene was a local man who also happened to be on the Clive Fire Department.  He just hopped out of bed and drove there to help.  He insisted on driving us to Red Deer to the rental car place.  We were just going to hitch a ride with the tow truck driver.  This fellow would not hear of it.  He put us in his nice warm truck and got us to where we needed to go.  Just as quickly as he came into our lives he left with a smile and a wave! 

Thus began our holiday.......again!  We got a rental, drove on to Calgary and caught a noon flight to L.A.  We were in Long Beach and settled into our hotel by 4:30 p.m.  If not for the kindness of others and for the miracle of seatbelts and airbags the outcome would have been altered.

I had all week to recover from the stress and strain, not to mention the significant bruising.  I am still not very comfortable as a passenger in a vehicle.  I am also quite sure that unless it is an emergency I really do not want to drive around in the dark again.

All that said, we had a great time in California once we got there!  More on that later.