By Abnor. If the Abbotsford Downtown Business Association (ADBA) thinks they have too many bars and liquor stores and not enough grocery stores, surely they can do something about that by altering the mix of their membership instead denying shelter to homeless people.
The overabundence of places to find booze and the lack of anywhere to buy groceries were major platforms in the first version of the petition the ADBA brought out against the Abbotsford Community Services (ACS) supportive housing proposal.
Read: Petition Puts Into Question ADBA’s Integrity
They seemed so concerned about the housing proposed for the poor, unfortunate, homeless men up the hill and outside of downtown (instead of the alleyways and the doorways of downtown) that they appeared worried that they might find it hard to kick their awful habits if they were allowed to stay anywhere near such an awful part of town – what with all the booze joints and the lack of groceries (most homeless people love to live near grocery stores if only to get the bits which fall out of people’s bags as they walk to their cars).
The ADBA’s original petition, along with the tall tales some of their members were telling in order to get people to sign it, was filled with falsehoods, grammatical errors and spelling mistakes so they were forced to bring out a second petition.
Everybody I have talked to feels the current directors of the ADBA, however much they appear to simply want the homeless removed and taken anywhere else (the ADBA has even suggested the homeless be moved down to the area of town near their friends at Seven Oaks Shopping Centre) are a decent and honest enough bunch that they will destroy the original petitions, since they were signed under false pretenses.
And, it hardly needs saying that, if they there are any falsehoods in their second petition, or in the things their members are telling people when they sign them, they will destroy the second batch as well.
We’re not sure how much the ADBA should be complaining out loud about what they appear to think of as their alcohol-soaked neighbourhood nor should they really be making such a fuss over the fact they down’t have any grocery stores. I think some of their members had plans for trying to convince people to move there in the future.
Who would want live downtown, what with all those booze joints and no grocery stores.
Sheesh.
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Abnor:
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Editor’s Note:Abnor joins us from time to time with a question or two about what he sees around him. He has plenty of time on his hands and he spends a great deal of his time wandering the streets of Abbotsford wondering about what he sees and hears. He’s a modern day hobo with a Blackberry.
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