I sure managed to work the woke-progressive crowd into a social media lather this week..I know. I know. Those familiar with my social media presence are saying, “So what else is new?”.This time though, the response I garnered from a tweet drew rage, vitriol, and hysteria much beyond normal reactions.So what did I say that set folks off? I dared to point out downtown Calgary is overrun with addicts right now and that it’s harming businesses. I also pointed out mayoral candidate Jyoti Gondek supported defunding the Calgary police force while I was at it..The Defund the Police movement is irrational, destructive, and cult-like. This was exposed during the City of Calgary’s council debates on the subject last year. Coun. Jeromy Farkas dared to state the obvious in pointing out that defunding the police would be caving to and attempting to appease the demands of extreme groups. Mayor Nenshi then banned Farkas from speaking further for the remainder of the debate. Jyoti Gondek was apoplectic with Farkas and accused him of misconstruing what the debate was about. Coun. Evan Woolley even called councillor and police force veteran Sean Chu an ignorant moron for his daring to vote against the motion to defund the police..When a split city council voted to defund the Calgary police service, the public rightly went wild. City hall went into spin mode and tried to frame the move as simply “reallocating” funds rather than defunding. The public didn’t buy it and city hall ended up filling the police funding gap from the city’s contingency fund. They still funded all the community initiatives that BLM and other advocates for defunding the police had been demanding..Defund the police advocates were outraged and it exposed their shallow and vitriolic outlook. They didn’t care about the funding for community initiatives. They only wanted to punish the police. It isn’t a constructive movement. It is a vindictive one..While there is certainly a discussion to be had about reforming police forces and changing the police (sometimes over-militarized) culture, the call to defund forces is idiotic. Would we defund the education system in order to address low student test scores? Would we defund hospitals in an effort to improve medical outcomes? Of course not..Calgary — like most major North American cities — is in the midst of an opioid addiction epidemic. The problem is particularly acute in the city centre where most of the addicts tend to congregate. Calgary’s downtown is littered with syringes, human waste and has groups of addicts roaming on almost every block. The only people who can deny this are either lying or haven’t spent any time walking downtown in the last couple of years..Areas with high concentrations of addicts have higher crime rates. While addicts are indeed sick and do need help, this doesn’t change the fact they often commit crimes and can be dangerous. Addicts are desperate people who are not in their right minds. They will do anything to feed their addiction and that can include assaulting people while trying to rob them..Wired, delusional addicts can be aggressive and intimidating to the public at large and no amount of guidance councilors are going to change that reality. The only thing that will make people feel safer going downtown is a combination of addictions support and an increased police presence..The opioid epidemic is a complex problem and we can’t simply police our way out of it; but policing is a required element in controlling the damages caused by addicts whether we like it or not..Calgary’s downtown woes are also complex and it will take more than simply cleaning up the addicts in order to bring people back down there. That said, as long as the public doesn’t feel safe downtown, they are not going to visit or move there. Downtown businesses are hurting badly enough as it is. They can’t draw new patrons when visitors fear for themselves or their children. People need to feel protected and that sure won’t happen if resources are cut from police forces..Many advocates for defunding the police have realized that their cause is absurd. Rather than back off though, they have dug in their heels. They just don’t want to admit their cause was reactionary and unreasonable. They would rather try to shout down people like me who dare to point out the need for and the benefits of a visible and well-funded police force..Supporters of Jyoti Gondek’s mayoral bid are also eager to shut down any discussion on this issue. They know Gondek’s adamant support for defunding the police is offside with public opinion. It isn’t something they want to address while in the middle of an election..The City of Calgary wastes money on a myriad of items and there are all sorts of areas where spending cuts would be applauded by citizens. Policing is not one of them. If anything, we should be increasing police funding in hopes of revitalizing Calgary’s downtown. If the city core felt safe again, we would see downtown shoppers again and people may consider moving into the many vacant spaces..As long as the addicts control the streets, the dystopian downtown will remain..Cory Morgan is the Alberta Political Columnist for the Western Standard and Host of the Cory Morgan Show
