Downtown Victoria

THERE ARE NO MONSTERS IN DOWNTOWN VICTORIA

by S.N. Pinto

Recent Times Colonist letters about our downtown core describe a phenomenon of uncivilized drug-addled criminals who are a scourge to “normal people.” Reading these TC letters, you’d think downtown was infested with monsters.

We speak of our most vulnerable population as if they are villains rather than people who are doing their best to survive the harsh reality of a city where rental prices have crept into the thousands and you rarely leave the grocery store without dropping $50 for the bare essentials.

Even those with full-time work and stability are struggling to stay afloat.

I don’t want to dismiss what are valid concerns for personal safety; there is never an excuse for violence and discrimination.

My issue is how so often we exclusively blame individuals rather than the reasons that have forced them into desperate situations. How are poverty, crime and violence connected? Who deserves safety and security? Are safety and security conditional to maintaining employment? Is housing reserved for the wealthy?

If you found yourself jobless, homeless and without social support, you too would do what you could to survive. No amount of policing or surveillance would change the absence of your basic human rights.

Victoria has a class problem. We will not achieve the safety of all unless we include even the most vulnerable of us. And make no mistake: every resident of this city, housed or unhoused, is part of our community. We must not leave them behind.

Image courtesy of Ales Kartal at Pixabay.com