Echoes Of George

The full court press put on by the Abbotsford News this week, in telling the power structure’s version of the Abbotsford Homeless Crisis, is reminiscent of the work they did for George Peary, Frank Pizzuto and Jay Teichroeb a few years ago in selling the falsehood that we had a desperate shortage of water in our rainforest city on the river.

[We all know where that little story ended up … those three are gone and the City was forced to admit we never had a shortage after all. The News is still telling stories.]

First it was the whitewashing on Monday provided for the Salvation Army’s tarnished reputation.

[The Abbotsford News has still not told residents the story published first by Abbotsford Today and then the Vancouver Sun which revealed that the Salvation Army had been asked and agreed to the City’s poisoning of the homeless with chicken feces last summer also known as the Abbotsford Chicken Manure Homeless Incident.

Then it was the attempt on Tuesday to help Bruce Banman sell the idea that since he just stumbled across this issue we’re all going to have to wait because he and the City need some time to figure it out.

“ … finding an appropriate approach for Abbotsford will take time. Just because we are under the limelight doesn’t mean we should jump at the first idea.” – Bruce Banman, Abbotsford News, September 17, 2013

“Now we will be going back to the status quo of running and hiding,” – Kerry Pakarinen, Compassion Park founder, Abbotsford News June 8, 2006

Eight years of pain, disease, death and misery not enough time for you Bruce?

The Abbotsford Social Development Committee (ASDAC) was formed in 2005 to solve the problems associated with, among other things, chronic homelessness in Abbotsford.

That fact that you just heard about the solution your staff agreed to as a location for Abbotsford Community Services (ACS) to build a supportive housing project for 20 homeless men does not make it the “first idea” nor does taking action after eight years of sitting on your ass constitute “jumping”.

The reason you are “under the limelight” is because you have done absolutely nothing since John Smith first took over as the councillor responsible for ASDAC other than to harass, steal from, sick your police force on, poison and move your fellow citizens around in an endless, costly, pointless and embarrassingly stupid policy that has made us the laughingstock of the province and the country.

We published the truth and you got caught.

Treat the citizens of Abbotsford with some respect, and do your job. Stop relying on the fact that the old newspapers will publish anything you say, verbatim and unchallenged (nobody believes them anymore) and fix your broken city. This is not a PR problem Bruce. Your fellow citizens are dying in the streets.

Stop the BS and do your job.

Addendum:

For a look at the real issue Bruce faces which keeps him and so many other rich, successful and well-paid members of Abbotsford’s power structure from solving this problem, watch the first two minutes of The 5&2 by filmmaker Kevin Miller. You’ll hear Bruce say, ““The homeless have a responsibility. They have a responsibility to want to do better themselves,” to which Norm, one of the people Bruce’s staff sprayed with chicken feces this summer replies, “I mean … who wants to come home and crawl into to a fucking plastic house.”

What about your responsibilities Bruce? You get pretty well paid by your friends and neighbours to take care of this city. We know why you’re not homeless – people were fed up with George Peary. The better we get to know you the less we can tell the difference.