Canada: Bystanders ignore plight of burning homeless man

Thanks for my first smile of the day.

"One lady is sitting outside in the dead of winter talking on her cell phone?"

I lived in the Rockies for several years, and that doesn't seem so far-fetched to me. People who are accustomed to cold and dress for it can be outdoors without discomfort.

"People just don't ignore the dead man, they actually go out of their way to denounce him?"

Did you read the article? He wasn't dead.

"There doesn't appear to be any other witnesses to the selfish cutomers- not even Starbucks' employees?"

Again, it was 10:30 at night. There may not be enough evidence in this article to convict anybody, but I don't see any reason to be overly suspicious of it, either.

Socialist states breed indifference to life. Wellstead is the exception. The coffee-drinker is the norm.

Coming soon to a nursing home near you.

You're being darkly sarcastic, or you're a young Nazi-in-training.

Pick one.

You are one sick f***.

And of course, the selfless heroine has no problem posing for a picture. Again, a woman at 10:30 at night in the dead of winter sitting outside, talking on her cell phone sounds more than fishy. Perhaps the nurse didn't set the fellow alight, but she does sound like a drama queen who fancies herself a modern day Joan d'Arc surrounded by craven Philistines.

"The reality of Canada's liberals"

They were all waiting for the government to put out the fire. Gotta be covered by some social service agency after all.

I've been in a lot of West Coast skid rows, from Seattle to Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles back 35 years ago. Vancouver's Hastings Street was the worst back then, and my visit there 4 years ago leads me to believe it is still the worst, and much worse than before, although the scene has shifted a few blocks.

You're sense of smell, quite frankly, stinks.

Bever Fever

This is the signature of a Lib-dominated society.
It's not my damned job. I pay enough taxes for this to be picked up, like the stuff in my trash can"

yeh...good thing no homeless people die in the blue states.

"I didn't read it that way. It was 10:30 at night; perhaps the Starbucks was the only thing open. "

There seems to be a mistake in the reprorting hear. The Starbucks at Broadway and Cambie it next to Vancouver General.

St. Pauls is downtown.

I can assure you however that Vancouver nurses are very dedicated and overworked. They deal a lot with addicts, drunks and street people and they treat everyone the same. If your sick or injured you get their best effort.

Also the average age of a Canadian nurse is 53. These gals have been at it for a long time.

"Vancouver's Hastings Street was the worst back then, and my visit there 4 years ago leads me to believe it is still the worst, and much worse than before, although the scene has shifted a few blocks."

Worst than the worst neighborhood in Beirut. But it is still confined to two blocks.

On the bright side no gun violence just creepy dispair.

BTW it has always been rough. The alley behind 100 block Hastings is called Blood Alley because of the nunber of murders there during the nineteenth century.

Same with Victoria. My father in law used to be a junk and bottle collector and dug up sealed opium vials from the turn of the century on a vacant lot in China Town.

yeh...good thing no homeless people die in the blue states.

red states dammit...i'm so canadian it hurts

"Again, a woman at 10:30 at night in the dead of winter sitting outside, talking on her cell phone sounds more than fishy."

You can have a coffee on the patio of Starbucks at 10:30 in the dead of winter wearing a sweater!!!!!!!

Vancouver isn't Bimini Minnisota.

> I'm from Vancouver. Those "people" are a nusience. They're scum. I can fully understand why no one would care.

Saddened by your attitude, Mr Scrooge. You need another visit from the three ghosts. Merry Christmas.

"Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, as you do unto Me".

And:

"There but for the grace of God, go I."

It's hard to fathom the callousness of some of the comments."

I agree with you completely, in Jesus' name amen.

What a sick scenario: a homeless guy is burning to death, in public yet very much alone and unnoticed. Pop quiz:

Q1: "What Would Jesus Do?" Hey, it's a fair question, seeing as it's Christmas Time.

Q2: "What would any decent human being do?" -- see Question 1

Q3: "What would Vancouverites do?" -- based in what I've read here, I shudder to think what some of 'em would do. But thanks, Nurse Wellstead. You're proof that Vancouver isn't yet a cesspit of self-centered heartless creeps.

I would only add to your assessment that the nanny state has everyone conditioned to "let the authorities take care of it". You don't need a gun to protect yourself/family--call 911 and let the cops handle it. Don't teach your kids anything (especially about sex)--let the state do it. Don't worry about being financially stable before starting a family--we'll take care of everything. Don't worry about that burning human being--there must be someone in "the system" that's in charge of burning people.

Katrina was a clear example of this principle in action.

What does the word Jesus do?

It invokes Christian charity, sadly lacking on this thread.

It's even more pitiful that some of these cruel remarks directed at the 'least among us' are being expressed ten days before Christ's birthday.

And in spite of what you might read on the news Canadians are just as cruel and self serving as any people.

> And in spite of what you might read on the news Canadians are just as cruel and self serving as any people.

Yet perhaps, like Nurse Wellstead, just as noble. At least I hope and pray that it is so...

Merry Christmas.

Bystanders ignore plight of burning homeless man

Maurice Bridge, CanWest News Service